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HORACE  A.  SCOTT 
2208  N.  Ross  Street 
Santa  Ana, Calif. 


WILLIAM  j.  MCKNIGHT. 


A  PIONEER  HISTORY 


1844 


OF 


JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA 


AND 


MY  FIRST  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  BROOKVILLE,  PENNSYLVANIA, 

1840-1843,   WHEN    MY    FEET    WERE    BARE    AND 

MY  CHEEKS  WERE   BROWN 


BY 

w.  j.  MCKNIGHT,  M.D. 

BROOKVILLE,    PA. 


PHILADELPHIA 

PRINTED   BY  J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 
1898 


COPYRIGHT,  1898, 

BY 
W.  J.   MCKNIGHT,  M.D. 


TO   MY 

FATHER    AND    MOTHER 

THESE   PAGES   ARE 

AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED 


F 


PREFACE. 


To  write  a  pioneer  history  of  a  single  county  years  and  years  after  all 
the  fathers  and  mothers  have  gone  to  that  "  country  from  whose  bourn 
no  traveller  returns"  is  a  task  to  appall  the  most  courageous.  To  say  it 
mildly,  it  is  a  task  requiring  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and  research,  untiring 
perseverance,  great  patience,  and  discrimination.  In  undertaking  this 
task  I  realized  its  magnitude,  and  all  through  the  work  I  have  determined 
that,  if  labor,  patience,  and  perseverance  would  overcome  error  and  false 
traditions  and  establish  the  truth,  the  object  of  this  book  would  be  fully 
attained.  This  book  is  not  written  for  gain,  nor  to  laud  or  puff  either  the 
dead  or  the  living.  It  is  designed  to  be  a  plain,  truthful  narrative  of  the 
pioneer  men  and  events  of  Jefferson  County.  I  have  compiled,  wherever 
I  could,  from  the  writings  of  others. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  following  historical  works, — viz.,  "Jefferson 
County  Atlas,"  "Jefferson  County  History,"  Day's  "  Historical  Recol- 
lections," Egle's  "History  of  Pennsylvania,"  W.  C.  Elliott's  "History 
of  Reynoldsville,"  and  the  county  histories  of  Indiana,  Armstrong,  Elk, 
Centre,  Lycoming,  Venango,  Crawford,  and  Northumberland ;  also  to 
many  individuals.  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  the  late  Mr.  G.  B.  Good- 
lander,  of  Clearfield,  for  a  complete  file  of  the  Brookville  Republican  for 
the  year  1837,  to  Clarence  M.  Barrett  for  a  file  of  the  Republican  for  1834, 
and  also  to  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

In  every  instance,  as  far  as  possible,  credit  has  been  given  to  the 
writings  of  those  who  have  preceded  me.  But,  dear  reader, 

"  Whoever  thinks  a  faultless  work  to  see, 
Thinks  what  ne'er  was,  nor  is,  nor  e'er  shall  be. 
In  every  work  regard  the  writer's  end, 
Since  none  can  compass  more  than  they  intend, 
And  if  the  means  be  just,  the  conduct  true, 
Applause,  in  spite  of  trivial  faults,  is  due." 

W.  J.  MCKNIGHT. 

BROOKVILLE,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

3 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY — TIMES,  PRIVILEGES,  SOCIAL  HABITS  OF  THE  PIONEERS,  CHRIS- 
TIANITY OF  THOSE   DAYS,    ETC 9 


CHAPTER    II. 

OUR  ABORIGINES — THE  IROQUOIS,  OR  Six  NATIONS — INDIAN  TOWNS,  VILLAGES, 
GRAVEYARDS,  CUSTOMS,  DRESS,  HUTS,  MEDICINES,  DOCTORS,  BARK- 
PEELERS,  BURIALS,  ETC 12 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  WILDERNESS  IN  1755 — THE  SAVAGE  INDIAN — MARIE  LE  ROY  AND  BAR- 
BARA LBININGER,  THE  FIRST  WHITE  PIONEERS  TO  TREAD  THIS  WIL- 
DERNESS— THE  CHINKLACAMOOSE  PATH — PUNXSUTAWNEY  AND  KIT- 
TANNING — REV.  HECKEWELDER,  REV.  ZEISBERGER,  REV.  ETTWEIN,  AND 
ROTHE 32 


CHAPTER    IV. 
THE  PURCHASE  OF  1784 42 

CHAPTER    V. 

TITLES  AND  SURVEYS — PIONEER  SURVEYS  AND  SURVEYORS — DISTRICT  LINES 

RUN  IN  NORTHUMBERLAND,  NOW  JEFFERSON,  COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA     78 

CHAPTER    VI. 

PIONEER  ANIMALS — BEAVER,  BUFFALO,  ELK,  PANTHERS,  WOLVES,  WILD-CATS, 

BEARS,  AND  OTHER  ANIMALS — PENS  AND  TRAPS — BIRDS — WILD  BEES  .      88 

CHAPTER    VII. 

RUNWAYS,  PATHS,  TRAILS,  DEER  RUNS  AND  CROSSINGS,  INDIAN  TRAILS — 
THE  WHITE  MAN'S  PATH — DAVID  AND  JOHN  MEADE — MEADE'S  PACK- 
HORSE  TRAIL — PIONEER  SETTLEMENT  IN  THE  NORTHWEST — WHITE 
BOYS  CAPTURED  AND  REARED  BY  INDIANS — PIONEER  EXPLORERS  AND 
SETTLERS 115 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER    VIII. 

PACK 

PROVISION  FOR  OPENING  A  ROAD— REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS  TO  THE 

GOVERNOR— STREAMS,  ETC ' 124 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  OLD  STATE  ROAD — EARLY  ROADS  AND  TRAILS — WHY  THE  STATE  ROAD 
WAS  MADE — THE  FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO  OPEN  THE  ROAD — LAWS,  ETC., 
TOUCHING  THE  SUBJECT — THE  SURVEY — THE  ROAD  COMPLETED — THE 
ACT  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  WHICH  SANCTIONED  THE  BUILDING  OF  THE 
ROAD 137 

CHAPTER    X. 

PIONEER  AGRICULTURE — How  THE  FARMERS  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME  HAD  TO 
MAKESHIFT — THE  PlONEER  HOMES — PlONEER  FOOD — PlONEER  EVENING 
FROLICS — TREES,  SNAKES,  AND  REPTILES — SOLDIERS  OF  1812 — PIONEER 
LEGAL  RELATIONS  OF  MAN  AND  WIFE — EARLY  AND  PIONEER  Music 
— LIST  OF  TAXABLE  INHABITANTS  IN  1820 — THE  TRANSPORTATION  OF 
IRON — THE  FIRST  SCREW  FACTORY — POPULATION  OF  THE  STATE  AND 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 150 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  ERECTION  OF  THE  COUNTY — SITE  FOR  COUNTY  ESTABLISHED,  AND  DEED 
FOR  PUBLIC  LOTS — PIONEER  COURT-HOUSE  AND  JAIL — THE  PIONEER 
ACADEMY 185 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  SYSTEM — ITS  INCEPTION — INTRODUCTION  INTO  AMERICA 
— STATE  EFFORT — HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE  STATE — SCHOOLS 
OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY — PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION,  ETC 199 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

PIONEER  MISSIONARY  WORK — THE  FIRST  WHITE  MAN  TO  TRAVEL  THE  SOIL 

OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY — REVS.  POST,  HECKEWELDER,  AND  OTHERS    ,    .    229 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

PIONEER  AND  EARLY  CHURCHES — PRESBYTERIAN   THE  PIONEER   CHURCH   IN 

THE  COUNTY — THE  PIONEER  PREACHER  AND  CHURCH 237 

CHAPTER    XV. 

WHITE  SLAVERY — ORIGIN — NATURE  IN  ROME,  GREECE,  AND  EOROPE — AFRI- 
CAN SLAVERY  IN  PENNSYLVANIA — GEORGE  BRYAN — PIONEER  COLORED 
SETTLER  IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY — CENSUS,  ETC. — DAYS  OF  BONDAGE  IN 

THIS  COUNTY ,  .  „ ,   .   .    266 

6 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER    XVI. 

PAGE 

PIONEER  MONEY 296 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

"  SCOTCH-IRISH" — ORIGIN  OF  THE  TERM  UNDER  JAMES  I. — LORDS  AND  LAIRDS 
— EARLY  SETTLERS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA — THE  PIONEER  AND  EARLY  SET- 
TLERS IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY 299 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
FROM  1830  TO  1840 311 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

PIONEER  SETTLEMENT  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA — PIONEER  PENNSYLVANIA 
INDIAN  TRADERS — THE  PIONEER  ROAD  BY  WAY  OF  THE  SOUTH 
BRANCH  OF  THE  POTOMAC  AND  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  KISKIMINITAS — 
THE  PIONEER  ROAD  FROM  EAST  TO  WEST,  FROM  RAYSTOWN,  NOW  BED- 
FORD, TO  FORT  DUQUESNE,  NOW  PlTTSBURG,  A  MILITARY  NECESSITY — 

GENERAL  JOHN  FORBES  OPENS  IT  IN  THE  SUMMER  AND  FALL  OF  1758 
— COLONEL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  OPPOSED  TO  THE  NEW  ROAD  AND 
IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  POTOMAC  ROAD — DEATH  OF  GENERAL  JOHN  FORBES 
— PIONEER  MAIL-COACHES,  MAIL- ROUTES,  AND  POST-OFFICES  ....  334 

CHAPTER    XX. 
PIONEER  ROADS  IN  PROVISIONAL  JEFFERSON  COUNTY  FROM  1808  TO  1830     .    346 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

PIONEER  COURT — PIONEER  JUDGES — PRESIDENT  AND  ASSOCIATES — PIONEER 
BAR  AND  EARLY  LAWYERS — MINUTES  OF  PIONEER  SESSIONS  OF  COURT 
— DECEMBER  SESSION,  1830,  AND  FEBRUARY  SESSION,  1831 — LIST  OF 
RETAILERS  OF  FOREIGN  MERCHANDISE  IN  THE  COUNTY,  FEBRUARY 
SESSIONS,  1831— EARLY  CONSTABLES 364 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE  PIONEER  PHYSICIAN  IN  THE  COUNTY,  DR.  JOHN  W.  JENKS,  OF  PUNX- 
SUTAWNEY — THE  PIONEER  PHYSICIAN  ON  THE  LITTLE  TOBY,  DR. 
NICHOLS — OTHER  EARLY  PHYSICIANS,  DR.  EVANS,  DR.  PRIME,  DR. 
DARLING,  DR.  BISHOP,  DR.  A.  M.  CLARKE,  DR.  JAMES  DOWLING,  DR. 
WILLIAM  BENNETT — PIONEER  MAJOR  OPERATION  IN  SURGERY  IN  1821 
— EARLY  RIDES,  FEES,  ETC 391 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

PIONEER  TOWNSHIPS  AND  BOROUGHS  AND  PIONEER  TAXABLES 396 

7 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER    XXIV. 

PAGE 

PIONEER  NEWSPAPER  IN  THE  WEST — PIONEER  NEWSPAPER  IN  THE  COUNTY — 

TERMS — EARLY  MARKET — OTHER  PAPERS 407 

CHAPTER    XXV. 
MILITIA  AND  TOWNSHIPS  . 414 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
MY  FIRST  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  BROOKVILLE 512 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CORNPLANTER — OUR  CHIEF — CHIEF  OF  THE  SENEGAS,  ONE  OF  THE  SlX  NA- 
TIONS— BRIEF  HISTORY — SOME  SPEECHES — LIFE  AND  DEATH — MOSES 
KNAPP — SAW-MILLS — JOHN  JONES 560 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

JOSEPH  BARNETT — BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  PATRIARCH  OF  JEFFERSON 

COUNTY 570 

APPENDIX 593 


A   PIONEER   HISTORY 


OF 


JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY — TIMES,    PRIVILEGES,    SOCIAL    HABITS     OF     THE     PIONEERS, 
CHRISTIANITY    OF    THOSE    DAYS,   ETC. 

AT  this  time  all  the  pioneers  have  passed  away,  and  the  facts  here 
given  are  collected  from  records  and  recollections.  Every  true  citizen 
now  and  in  the  future  of  Jefferson  County  must  ever  possess  a  feeling  of 
deep  veneration  for  the  brave  men  and  courageous  women  who  penetrated 
this  wilderness  and  inaugurated  civilization  where  savages  and  wild  beasts 
reigned  supreme.  These  heroic  men  and  women  migrated  to  this  wilder- 
ness and  endured  all  the  hardships  incidental  to  that  day  and  life,  and 
through  these  labors  and  tribulations  they  have  transmitted  to  us  all  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  a  high  civilization.  When  pioneers  pass 
off  a  given  spot  they  disappear  from  that  locality  forever.  This  county 
was  redeemed  by  the  Barnetts,  Scotts,  and  others.  We  will  know  them 
or  their  like  no  more  forever.  The  graves  have  closed  over  all  these 
pioneer  men  and  women,  and  I  have  been  deprived  of  the  great  assistance 
they  could  have  been  to  me  in  writing  this  history. 

In  1800,  when  Joseph  Barnett  settled  on  Mill  Creek,  then  Lycoming 
County,  the  United  States  contained  a  population  of  five  million  three 
hundred  and  five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  people.  Now, 
in  1890,  we  have  sixty-two  million  six  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty. 

Men  at  this  time  wore  no  beard,  whiskers,  or  moustaches,  a  full  beard 
being  held  as  fitted  only  for  heathen  or  Turks. 

In  1800  Philadelphia  and  New  York  were  but  overgrown  villages,  and 
Chicago  was  unknown.  Books  were  few  and  costly,  ignorance  the  rule, 
and  authors  famed  the  world  over  now  were  then  unborn  ;  now  we 
spend  annually  one  hundred  and  forty  million  dollars  for  schools.  Then 

' 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

there  was  no  telegraph,  telephone,  or  submarine  cable ;  now  the  earth  is 
girdled  with  telegraph  wires,  and  we  can  speak  face  to  face  through  the 
telephone  a  thousand  miles  apart,  and  millions  of  messages  are  sent  every 
year  under  the  waters  of  the  globe.  To-day  in  the  United  States  an 
average  of  one  to  twelve  telegraphic  messages  are  sent  every  minute,  day 
and  night,  the  year  through. 

In  1800  emigrants  to  America  came  in  Failing  vessels.  Each  emi- 
grant had  to  provide  his  own  food,  as  the  vessel  supplied  only  air  and 
water.  The  trip  required  a  period  of  from  thirty  days  to  three  months. 
Now  this  trip  can  be  made  by  the  use  of  Jefferson  County  coal  in  less 
than  six  days.  Now  ocean  travel  is  a  delight.  Then  canals  for  the  pas- 
sage of  great  ships  and  transatlantic  steamers  were  unknown. 

In  1800  electricity  was  in  its  infancy,  and  travel  was  by  sail,  foot, 
horseback,  and  by  coach.  Now  we  have  steamers,  street-cars,  railroads, 
bicycles,  and  horseless  carriages.  Gas  was  unheard  of  for  stoves,  streets, 
or  lights.  Pitch-pine,  fat,  and  tallow  candles  gave  the  only  light  then. 

In  1800  human  slavery  was  universal,  and  irreligion  was  the  order  of 
the  day.  Nine  out  of  every  ten  workingmen  neither  possessed  nor  ever 
opened  a  Bible.  Hymn-books  were  unknown,  and  musical  science  had 
no  system.  Medicine  was  an  illiterate  theory,  surgery  a  crude  art,  and 
dentistry  unknown.  No  snap  shots  were  thought  of.  Photography  was 
not  heard  of.  Now  this  science  has  revealed  "  stars  invisible"  and  micro- 
scopic life. 

In  1800  there  were  but  few  daily  papers  in  the  world,  no  illustrated 
ones,  no  humorous  ones,  and  no  correspondents.  Modern  tunnels  were 
unknown,  and  there  was  no  steam  heating.  Flint  and  tinder  did  duty 
for  matches.  Plate-glass  was  a  luxury  undreamed  of.  Envelopes  had  not 
been  invented,  and  postage-stamps  had  not  been  introduced.  Vulcan- 
ized rubber  and  celluloid  had  not  begun  to  appear  in  a  hundred  dainty 
forms.  Stationary  wash-tubs,  and  even  wash-boards,  were  unknown. 
Carpets,  furniture,  and  household  accessories  were  expensive.  Sewing- 
machines  had  not  yet  supplanted  the  needle.  Aniline  colors  and  coal- 
tar  products  were  things  of  the  future.  Stem-winding  watches  had  not 
appeared ;  there  were  no  cheap  watches  of  any  kind.  So  it  was  with 
hundreds  of  the  necessities  of  our  present  life. 

"In  the  social  customs  of  our  day,  many  minds  entertain  doubts 
whether  we  have  made  improvements  upon  those  of  our  ancestors.  In 
those  days  friends  and  neighbors  could  meet  together  and  enjoy  them- 
selves, and  enter  into  the  spirit  of  social  amusement  with  a  hearty  good- 
will, a  geniality  of  manners,  a  corresponding  depth  of  soul,  both  among 
the  old  and  young,  to  which  modern  society  is  unaccustomed.  Our 
ancestors  did  not  make  a  special  invitation  the  only  pass  to  their  dwell- 
ings, and  they  entertained  those  who  visited  them  with  a  hospitality  that 
is  not  generally  practised  at  the  present  time.  Guests  did  not  assemble 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

then  to  criticise  the  decorations,  furniture,  dress,  manners,  and  surround- 
ings of  those  by  whom  they  were  invited.  They  were  sensible  people, 
with  clear  heads  and  warm  hearts ;  they  visited  each  other  to  promote 
mutual  enjoyment,  and  believed  in  genuine  earnestness  in  all  things. 
We  may  ignore  obligations  to  the  pioneer  race,  and  congratulate  our- 
selves that  our  lot  has  been  cast  in  a  more  advanced  era  of  mental  and 
moral  culture ;  we  may  pride  ourselves  upon  the  developments  which 
have  been  made  in  science  and  art,  but  while  viewing  our  standard  of 
elevation  as  immeasurably  in  advance  of  that  of  our  forefathers,  it  would 
be  well  to  emulate  their  great  characteristics  for  hospitality,  honor,  and 
integrity. 

"The  type  of  Christianity  of  that  period  will  not  suffer  by  compari- 
son with  that  of  the  present  day.  If  the  people  of  olden  times  had  less 
for  costly  apparel  and  ostentatious  display,  they  had  also  more  for  offices 
of  charity  and  benevolence ;  if  they  did  not  have  the  splendor  and  lux- 
uries of  wealth,  they  at  least  had  no  infirmaries  or  paupers,  very  few  law- 
yers, and  but  little  use  for  jails.  The  vain  and  thoughtless  may  jeer  at 
their  unpretending  manners  and  customs,  but  in  all  the  elements  of  true 
manhood  and  true  womanhood  it  maybe  safely  averred  that  they  were 
more  than  the  peers  of  the  generation  that  now  occupy  their  places.  That 
race  has  left  its  impress  upon  our  times, — whatever  patriotism  the  present 
generation  boasts  of  has  descended  from  them.  Rude  and  illiterate, 
comparatively,  they  may  have  been,  but  they  possessed  strong  minds  in 
strong  bodies,  made  so  by  their  compulsory  self-denials,  their  privations 
and  toil.  It  was  the  mission  of  many  of  them  to  aid  and  participate  in 
the  formation  of  this  great  commonwealth,  and  wisely  and  well  was  the 
mission  performed.  Had  their  descendants  been  more  faithful  to  their 
noble  teachings,  harmony  would  now  reign  supreme  where  violence  and 
discord  now  hold  their  sway  in  the  land. 

"  The  pioneer  times  are  the  greenest  spot  in  the  memories  of  those  who 
lived  in  them ;  the  privations  and  hardships  they  then  endured  are  con- 
secrated things  in  the  recollection  of  the  survivors." 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    II.* 

OUR  ABORIGINES — THE  IROQUOIS,  OR  SIX  NATIONS — INDIAN  TOWNS,  VIL- 
LAGES, GRAVEYARDS,  CUSTOMS,  DRESS,  HUTS,  MEDICINES,  DOCTORS, 
BARK-PEELERS,  BURIALS,  ETC. 

AQUAXUSCHIONI,  or  "united  people,"  is  what  they  called  themselves. 
The  French  called  them  the  Iroquois ;  the  English,  the  Six  Nations. 
They  formed  a  confederate  nation,  and  as  such  were  the  most  celebrated 
and  powerful  of  all  the  Indian  nations  in  North  America.  The  confed- 
eracy consisted  of  the  Mohawk,  the  fire-striking  people ;  the  Oneidas, 
the  pipe-makers  ;  the  Onondagas,  the  hill-top  peo- 
ple ;  the  Cayugas,  the  people  from  the  lake ;  the 
Tuscaroras,  unwilling  to  be  with  other  people ;  and 
the  Senecas,  the  mountaineers. 

The  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  were  divided  into 
what  might  be  called  eight  families, — viz.,  the 
Wolf,  Bear,  Beaver,  Turtle,  Deer,  Snipe,  Heron, 
and  Hawk.  Each  of  the  Six  Nations  had  one  of 
each  of  these  families  in  their  tribe,  and  all  the 
members  of  that  family,  no  matter  how  wide  apart 
or  of  what  other  tribe,  were  considered  as  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  were  forbidden  to  marry  in  their 
own  family.  Then  a  wolf  was  a  brother  to  all 
other  wolves  in  each  of  the  nations.  This  family 
bond  was  taught  from  infancy  and,  enforced  by 
public  opinion. 

"If  at  any  time  there  appeared  a  tendency  toward  conflict  between 
the  different  tribes,  it  was  instantly  checked  by  the  thought  that,  if  per- 
sisted in,  the  hand  of  the  Turtle  must  be  lifted  against  his  brother  Turtle, 
the  tomahawk  of  the  Beaver  might  be  buried  in  the  brain  of  his  kinsman 
Beaver.  And  so  potent  was  the  feeling  that,  for  at  least  two  hundred 
years,  and  until  the  power  of  the  league  was  broken  by  the  overwhelming 
outside  force  of  the  whites,  there  was  no  serious  dissension  between  the 
tribes  of  the  Iroquois. 

"  In  peace,  all  power  was  confined  to  '  sachems  ;'  in  war,  to  '  chiefs.' 
The  sachems  of  each  tribe  acted  as  its  rulers  in  the  few  matters  which 
required  the  exercise  of  civil  authority.  The  same  rulers  also  met  in 


*  For  much  in  this  chapter  I  am  indebted  to  Rupp's  History. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

council  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  confederacy.  There  were  fifty  in  all, 
of  whom  the  Mohawks  had  nine,  the  Oneidas  nine,  the  Onondagas  four- 
teen, the  Cayugas  ten,  and  the  Senecas  eight.  These  numbers,  however, 
did  not  give  proportionate  power  in  the  councils  of  the  league,  for  all  the 
nations  were  equal  there.  There  was  in  each  tribe,  too,  the  same  num- 
ber of  war-chiefs  as  sachems,  and  these  had  absolute  authority  in  time  of 
war.  When  a  council  assembled,  each  sachem  had  a  war-chief  near  him 
to  execute  his  orders.  But  in  a  war-party  the  war-chief  commanded  and 
the  sachem  took  his  place  in  the  ranks.  This  was  the  system  in  its 
simplicity. 

"  The  right  of  heirship,  as  among  many  other  of  the  North  America 
tribes  of  Indians,  was  in  the  female  line.  A  man's  heirs  were  his 
brother, — that  is  to  say,  his  mother's  son  and  his  sister's  son, — never  his 
own  son,  nor  his  brother's  son.  The  few  articles  which  constituted  an 
Indian's  personal  property — even  his  bow  and  tomahawk — never  de- 
scended to  the  son  of  him  who  had  wielded  them.  Titles,  so  far  as  they 
were  hereditary  at  all,  followed  the  same  law  of  descent.  The  child  also 
followed  the  clan  and  tribe  of  the  mother.  The  object  was  evidently  to 
secure  greater  certainty  that  the  heir  would  be  of  the  blood  of  his  de- 
ceased kinsman.  The  result  of  the  application  of  this  rule  to  the  Iroquois 
system  of  clans  was  that  if  a  particular  sachemship  or  chieftaincy  was 
once  established  in  a  certain  clan  of  a  certain  tribe,  in  that  clan  and  tribe 
it  was  expected  to  remain  forever.  Exactly  how  it  was  filled  when  it 
became  vacant  is  a  matter  of  some  doubt ;  but,  as  near  as  can  be  learned, 
the  new  official  was  elected  by  the  warriors  of  the  clan,  and  was  then 
inaugurated  by  the  council  of  sachems. 

"  If,  for  instance,  a  sachemship  belonging  to  the  Wolf  clan  of  the 
Seneca  tribe  became  vacant,  it  could  only  be  filled  by  some  one  of  the 
Wolf  clan  of  the  Seneca  tribe.  A  clan  council  was  called  and,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  the  heir  of  the  deceased  was  chosen  to  his  place, — to  wit,  one 
of  his  brothers,  reckoning  only  on  the  mother's  side,  or  one  of  his  sister's 
sons,  or  even  some  more  distant  male  relative  in  the  female  line.  But 
there  was  no  positive  law,  and  the  warriors  might  discard  all  these  and 
elect  some  one  entirely  unconnected  with  the  deceased,  though,  as  before 
stated,  he  must  be  of  the  same  clan  and  tribe.  While  there  was  no  un- 
changeable custom  compelling  the  clan  council  to  select  one  of  the  heirs 
of  the  deceased  as  his  successor,  yet  the  tendency  was  so  strong  in  that 
direction  that  an  infant  was  frequently  chosen,  a  guardian  being  ap- 
pointed to  perform  the  functions  of  the  office  till  the  youth  should  reach 
the  proper  age  to  do  so.  All  offices  were  held  for  life,  unless  the  incum- 
bent was  solemnly  deposed  by  a  council,  an  event  which  very  seldom  oc- 
curred. Notwithstanding  the  modified  system  of  hereditary  power  in 
vogue,  the  constitution  of  every  tribe  was  essentially  republican.  War- 
riors, old  men,  and  women  attended  the  various  councils  and  made  their 

13 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

influence  felt.  Neither  in  the  government  of  the  confederacy  nor  of  the 
tribes  was  there  any  such  thing  as  tyranny  over  the  people,  though  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  tyranny  by  the  league  over  conquered  nations.  In 
fact,  there  was  very  little  government  of  any  kind,  and  very  little  need 
of  any.  There  was  substantially  no  property  interests  to  guard,  all  land 
being  in  common,  and  each  man's  personal  property  being  limited  to  a 
bow,  a  tomahawk,  and  a  few  deer- skins.  Liquor  had  not  yet  lent  its 
disturbing  influence,  and  few  quarrels  were  to  be  traced  to  the  influence 
of  women,  for  the  American  Indian  is  singularly  free  from  the  warmer 
passions. 

"His  principal  vice  is  an  easily  aroused  and  unlimited  hatred ;  but 
the  tribes  were  so  small  and  enemies  so  convenient  that  there  was  no  dif- 
ficulty in  gratifying  this  feeling  (and  attaining  to  the  rank  of  a  warrior) 
outside  of  his  own  nation.  The  consequence  was  that  although  the  war- 
parties  of  the  Iroquois  were  continually  shedding  the  blood  of  their  foes, 
there  was  very  little  quarrelling  at  home. 

"  Their  religious  creed  was  limited  to  a  somewhat  vague  belief  in  the 
existence  of  a  Great  Spirit  and  several  inferior  but  very  potent  evil  spirits. 
They  had  a  few  simple  ceremonies,  consisting  largely  of  dances,  one  called 
the  '  green- corn  dance,'  performed  at  the  time  indicated  by  its  name,  and 
others  at  other  seasons  of  the  year.  From  a  very  early  date  their  most 
important  religious  ceremony  has  been  the  'burning  of  the  white  dog,' 
when  an  unfortunate  canine  of  the  requisite  color  is  sacrificed  by  one  of 
the  chiefs.  To  this  day  the  pagans  among  them  still  perform  this  rite. 

"  In  common  with  their  fellow-savages  on  this  continent,  the  Iroquois 
have  been  termed  '  fast  friends  and  bitter  enemies.'  Events  have  proved, 
however,  that  they  were  a  great  deal  stronger  enemies  than  friends.  Re- 
venge was  the  ruling  passion  of  their  nature,  and  cruelty  was  their  abiding 
characteristic.  Revenge  and  cruelty  are  the  worst  attributes  of  human 
nature,  and  it  is  idle  to  talk  of  the  goodness  of  men  who  roasted  their 
captives  at  the  stake.  All  Indians  were  faithful  to  their  own  tribes,  and 
the  Iroquois  were  faithful  to  their  confederacy ;  but  outside  of  these 
limits  their  friendship  could  not  be  counted  on,  and  treachery  was  always 
to  be  apprehended  in  dealing  with  them. 

"  In  their  family  relations  they  were  not  harsh  to  their  children  and 
not  wantonly  so  to  their  wives ;  but  the  men  were  invariably  indolent, 
and  all  labor  was  contemptuously  abandoned  to  their  weaker  sex. 

"  Polygamy,  too,  was  practised,  though  in  what  might  be  called 
moderation.  Chiefs  and  eminent  warriors  usually  had  two  or  three 
wives,  rarely  more.  They  could  be  discarded  at  will  by  their  husbands, 
but  the  latter  seldom  availed  themselves  of  their  privilege. 

"  Our  nation — the  Senecas — was  the  most  numerous  and  comprised 
the  greatest  warriors  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy.  Their  great  chiefs, 
Cornplanter  and  Guyasutha,  are  prominently  connected  with  the  tradi- 

14 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tions  of  the  head-waters  of  the  Allegheny,  Western  New  York,  and  North- 
western Pennsylvania.  In  person  the  Senecas  were  slender,  middle-sized, 
handsome,  and  straight.  The  squaws  were  short,  not  handsome,  and 
clumsy.  The  skin  was  a  reddish  brown,  hair  straight  and  jet-black." 

There  was  a  village  of  Indians  at  Summerville,  one  at  Brookville, 
and  as  late  as  1815  there  were  six  hundred  Indians  living  between  Brook- 
ville and  New  Bethlehem.  There  was  a  village  at  Port  Barnett,  at  Rey- 
noldsville,  at  Big  Run,  and  a  big  one  at  Punxsutawney.  The  country  was 


Indian  wigwam. 

thickly  inhabited,  especially  what  is  now  Warsaw.  Their  graveyards  or 
burial-places  were  always  some  distance  from  huts  or  villages.  There  was 
one  on  the  Temple  farm,  in  what  is  now  Warsaw ;  one  on  Mill  Creek,  at 
its  junction  with  the  Big  Toby  Creek,  in  what  was  afterwards  Ridgway 
township.  They  carried  their  dead  sometimes  a  long  way  for  burial. 

"  After  the  death  of  a  Seneca,  the  corpse  was  dressed  in  a  new  blanket 
or  petticoat,  with  the  face  and  clothes  painted  red.  The  body  was  then 
laid  on  a  skin  in  the  middle  of  the  hut.  The  war  and  hunting  imple- 
ments of  the  deceased  were  then  piled  up  around  the  body.  In  the  even- 
ing after  sunset,  and  in  the  morning  before  daylight,  the  squaws  and  rela- 
tions assembled  around  the  corpse  to  mourn.  This  was  daily  repeated 
until  interment.  The  graves  were  dug  by  old  squaws,  as  the  young 
squaws  abhorred  this  kind  of  labor.  Before  they  had  hatchets  and  other 
tools,  they  used  to  line  the  inside  of  the  grave  with  the  bark  of  trees,  and 
when  the  corpse  was  let  down  they  placed  some  pieces  of  wood  across, 

15 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

which  were  again  covered  with  bark,  and  then  the  earth  thrown  in,  to 
fill  up  the  grave.  But  afterwards  they  usually  placed  three  boards,  not 
nailed  together,  over  the  grave,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  corpse  lay 
between  them.  A  fourth  board  was  placed  as  a  cover,  and  then  the 
grave  was  filled  up  with  earth.  Now  and  then  a  proper  coffin  was 
procured. 

"At  an  early  period  they  used  to  put  a  tobacco-pouch,  knife,  tinder- 
box,  tobacco  and  pipe,  bow  and  arrows,  gun,  powder  and  shot,  skins, 
and  cloth  for  clothes,  paint,  a  small  bag  of  Indian  corn  or  dried  bilber- 
ries, sometimes  the  kettle,  hatchet,  and  other  furniture  of  the  deceased, 
into  the  grave,  supposing  that  the  departed  spirits  would  have  the  same 
wants  and  occupation  in  the  land  of  souls.  But  this  custom  was  nearly 
wholly  abolished  among  the  Delawares  and  Iroquois  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century.  At  the  burial  not  a  man  shed  a  tear ;  they  deemed  it  a 
shame  for  a  man  to  weep.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  women  set  up  a 
dreadful  howl." 

THE   ORIGINAL   BARK-PEELERS. 

An  Indian  hut  was  built  in  this  manner.  Trees  were  peeled  abound- 
ing in  sap,  usually  the  linn.  When  the  trees  were  cut  down  the  bark  was 
peeled  with  the  tomahawk  and  its  handle.  They  peeled  from  the  top  of 
the  tree  to  the  butt.  The  bark  for  hut-building  was  cut  into  pieces  of  six 
or  eight  feet ;  these  pieces  were  then  dried  and  flattened  by  laying  heavy 
stones  upon  them.  The  frame  of  a  bark  hut  was  made  by  driving  poles 
into  the  ground  and  the  poles  were  strengthened  by  cross-beams.  This 
frame  was  then  covered  inside  and  outside  with  this  prepared  linnwood 
bark,  fastened  with  leatherwood  bark  or  hickory  withes.  The  roof  ran 
upon  a  ridge,  and  was  covered  in  the  same  manner  as  the  frame,  and  an 
opening  was  left  in  it  for  the  smoke  to  escape,  and  one  on  the  side  of  the 
frame  for  a  door. 

HOW  THE   INDIAN   BUILT   LOG   HUTS   IN    HIS   TOWN   OR    VILLAGE. 

They  cut  logs  fifteen  feet  long  and  laid  these  logs  upon  each  other,  at 
each  end  they  drove  posts  in  the  ground  and  tied  these  posts  together  at 
the  top  with  hickory  withes  or  moose  bark.  In  this  way  they  erected  a 
wall  of  logs  fifteen  feet  long  to  the  height  of  four  feet.  In  this  same 
way  they  raised  a  wall  opposite  to  this  one  about  twelve  feet  away.  In 
the  centre  of  each  end  of  this  log  frame  they  drove  forks  into  the  ground, 
a  strong  pole  was  then  laid  upon  these  forks,  extending  from  end  to  end, 
and  from  these  log  walls  they  set  up  poles  for  rafters  to  the  centre-pole ; 
on  these  improvised  rafters. they  tied  poles  for  sheeting,  and  the  hut  was 
then  covered  or  shingled  with  linnwood  bark.  This  bark  was  peeled 
from  the  tree,  commencing  at  the  top,  with  a  tomahawk.  The  bark-strips 

16 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  this  way  were  sometimes  thirty  feet  long  and  usually  six  inches  wide. 
These  strips  were  cut  as  desired  for  roofing. 

At  each  end  of  the  hut  they  set  up  split  lumber,  leaving  an  open  space 
at  each  end  for  a  door-way,  at  which  a  bear -skin  hung.  A  stick  leaning 
against  the  outside  of  this  skin  meant  that  the  door  was  locked.  At  the 
top  of  the  hut,  in  place  of  a  chimney,  they  left  an  open  place.  The 
fires  were  made  in  the  inside  of  the  hut,  and  the  smoke  escaped  through 
this  open  space.  For  bedding  they  had  linnwood  bark  covered  with 
bear  skins.  Open  places  between  logs  the  squaws  stopped  with  moss 
gathered  from  old  logs. 

There  was  no  door,  no  windows,  and  no  chimney.  Several  families 
occupied  a  hut,  hence  they  built  them  long.  Other  Indian  nations 
erected  smaller  huts,  and  the  families  lived  separate.  The  men  wore  a 
blanket  and  went  bare-headed.  The  women  wore  a  petticoat,  fastened 
about  the  hips,  extending  a  little  below  the  knees. 

Our  nation,  the  Senecas,  produced  the  greatest  orators,  and  more  of 
them  than  any  other.  Cornplanter,  Red  Jacket,  and  Farmer's  Brother 
were  all  Senecas.  Red  Jacket  once,  in  enumerating  the  woes  of  the  Sen- 
ecas, exclaimed, — 

"  We  stand  on  a  small  island  in  the  bosom  of  the  great  waters.  We 
are  encircled,  we  are  encompassed.  The  evil  spirit  rides  on  the  blast, 
and  the  waters  are  disturbed.  They  rise,  they  press  upon  us,  and  the 
waters  once  settled  over  us,  we  disappear  forever.  Who  then  lives  to 
mourn  us  ?  None.  What  marks  our  extinction  ?  Nothing.  We  are 
mingled  with  the  common  elements." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  address  delivered  by  Cornplanter 
to  General  Washington  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1790: 

"  FATHER, — When  you  kindled  your  thirteen  fires  separately  the  wise 
men  assembled  at  them  told  us  that  you  were  all  brothers,  the  children 
of  one  Great  Father,  who  regarded  the  red  people  as  his  children.  They 
called  us  brothers,  and  invited  us  to  his  protection.  They  told  us  he  resided 
beyond  the  great  waters  where  the  sun  first  rises,  and  he  was  a  king  whose 
power  no  people  could  resist,  and  that  his  goodness  was  as  bright  as  the 
sun.  What  they  said  went  to  our  hearts.  We  accepted  the  invitations 
and  promised  to  obey  him.  What  the  Seneca  nation  promises  they  faith- 
fully perform.  When  you  refused  obedience  to  that  king  he  commanded 
us  to  assist  his  beloved  men  in  making  you  sober.  In  obeying  him  we 
did  no  more  than  yourselves  had  bid  us  to  promise.  We  were  deceived  ; 
but  your  people,  teaching  us  to  confide  in  that  king,  had  helped  to 
deceive  us,  and  we  now  appeal  to  your  breast.  Is  all  the  blame  ours  ? 

"  You  told  us  you  could  crush  us  to  nothing,  and  you  demanded  from 
us  a  great  country  as  the  price  of  that  peace  which  you  had  offered  us,  as 
if  our  want  of  strength  had  destroyed  our  rights." 

17 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Drunkenness,  after  the  whites  were  dealing  with  them,  was  a  com- 
mon vice.  It  was  not  confined,  as  it  is  at  this  day  among  the  whites, 
principally  to  the  '  strong-minded,'  the  male  sex  ;  but  the  Indian  female, 
as  well  as  the  male,  was  infatuated  alike  with  the  love  of  strong  drink ; 
for  neither  of  them  knew  bounds  to  their  desire  :  they  drank  while  they 
had  whiskey  or  could  swallow  it  down.  Drunkenness  was  a  vice,  though 
attended  with  many  serious  consequences,  nay,  murder  and  death,  that 
was  not  punishable  among  them.  It  was  a  fashionable  vice.  Fornica- 
tion, adultery,  stealing,  lying,  and  cheating,  principally  the  offspring  of 
drunkenness,  were  considered  as  heinous  and  scandalous  offences,  and 
were  punished  in  various  ways. 

"  The  Delawares  and  Iroquois  married  early  in  life  ;  the  men  usually 
at  eighteen  and  the  women  at  fourteen  ;  but  they  never  married  near 
relations.  If  an  Indian  man  wished  to  marry  he  sent  a  present,  consist- 
ing of  blankets,  cloth,  linen,  and  occasionally  a  few  belts  of  wampum,  to 
the  nearest  relations  of  the  person  he  had  fixed  upon.  If  he  that  made  the 
present,  and  the  present  pleased,  the  matter  was  formally  proposed  to  the 
girl,  and  if  the  answer  was  affirmatively  given,  the  bride  was  conducted 
to  the  bridegroom's  dwelling  without  any  further  ceremony;  but  if  the 
other  party  chose  to  decline  the  proposal,  they  returned  the  present  by 
way  of  a  friendly  negative. 

"After  the  marriage,  the  present  made  by  the  suitor  was  divided 
among  the  friends  of  the  young  wife.  These  returned  the  civility  by  a 
present  of  Indian  corn,  beans,  kettles,  baskets,  hatchets,  etc.,  brought  in 
solemn  procession  into  the  hut  of  the  new  married  couple.  The  latter 
commonly  lodged  in  a  friend's  house  till  they  could  erect  a  dwelling  of 
their  own. 

"As  soon  as  a  child  was  born,  it  was  laid  upon  a  board  or  straight 
piece  of  bark  covered  with  moss  and  wrapped  up  in  a  skin  or  piece  of 
cloth,  and  when  the  mother  was  engaged  in  her  housework  this  rude 
cradle  or  bed  was  hung  to  a  peg  or  branch  of  a  tree.  Their  children 
they  educated  to  fit  them  to  get  through  the  world  as  did  their  fathers. 
They  instructed  them  in  religion,  etc.  They  believed  that  Manitou,  their 
God,  'the  good  spirit,'  could  be  propitiated  by  sacrifices;  hence  they 
observed  a  great  many  superstitious  and  idolatrous  ceremonies.  At  their 
general  and  solemn  sacrifices  the  oldest  men  performed  the  offices  of 
priests,  but  in  private  parties  each  man  brought  a  sacrifice,  and  offered  it 
himself  as  priest.  Instead  of  a  temple  they  fitted  up  a  large  dwelling- 
house  for  the  purpose. 

"  When  they  travelled  or  went  on  a  journey  they  manifested  much 
carelessness  about  the  weather  ;  yet,  in  their  prayers,  they  usually  begged 
'for  a  clear  and  pleasant  sky.'  They  generally  provided  themselves 
with  Indian  meal,  which  they  either  ate  dry,  mixed  with  sugar  and  water, 
or  boiled  into  a  kind  of  mush  ;  for  they  never  took  bread  made  of  Indian 

18 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

corn  for  a  long  journey,  because  in  summer  it  would  spoil  in  three  or  four 
days  and  be  unfit  for  use.     As  to  meat,  that  they  took  as  they  went. 

"  If  in  their  travels  they  had  occasion  to  pass  a  deep  river,  on  arriving 
at  it  they  set  about  it  immediately  and  built  a  canoe  by  taking  a  long 
piece  of  bark  of  proportionate  breadth,  to  which  they  gave  the  proper 
form  by  fastening  it  to  ribs  of  light  wood,  bent  so  as  to  suit  the  occasion. 
If  a  large  canoe  was  required,  several  pieces  of  bark  were  carefully  sewed 
together.  If  the  voyage  was  expected  to  be  long,  many  Indians  carried 


X 

Indians  moving. 

everything  they  wanted  for  their  night's  lodging  with  them, — namely, 
some  slender  poles  and  rush- mats,  or  birch  bark." 

When  at  home  they  had  their  amusements.  Their  favorite  one  was 
dancing.  "  The  common  dance  was  held  either  in  a  large  house  or  in  an 
open  field  around  a  fire.  In  dancing  they  formed  a  circle,  and  always 
had  a  leader,  to  whom  the  whole  company  attended.  The  men  went 
before,  and  the  women  closed  the  circle.  The  latter  danced  with  great 
decency  and  as  if  they  were  engaged  in  the  most  serious  business  ;  while 
thus  engaged  they  never  spoke  a  word  to  the  men,  much  less  joked  with 
them,  which  would  have  injured  their  character. 

"  Another  kind  of  dance  was  only  attended  by  men.  Each  rose  in 
his  turn,  and  danced  with  great  agility  and  boldness,  extolling  their  own 
or  their  forefathers'  great  deeds  in  a  song,  to  which  all  beat  time,  by  a 
monotonous,  rough  note,  which  was  given  out  with  great  vehemence  at 
the  commencement  of  each  bar. 

"  The  war-dance,  which  was  always  held  either  before  or  after  a  cam- 
paign, was  dreadful  to  behold.  None  took  part  in  it  but  the  warriors 
themselves.  They  appeared  armed,  as  if  going  to  battle.  One  carried 
his  gun  or  hatchet,  another  a  long  knife,  the  third  a  tomahawk,  the  fourth 

19 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

a  large  club,  or  they  all  appeared  armed  with  tomahawks.  These  they 
brandished  in  the  air,  to  show  how  they  intended  to  treat  their  enemies. 
They  affected  such  an  air  of  anger  and  fury  on  this  occasion  that  it  made 
a  spectator  shudder  to  behold  them.  A  chief  led  the  dance,  and  sang 
the  warlike  deeds  of  himself  or  his  ancestors.  At  the  end  of  every  cele- 
brated feat  of  valor  he  wielded  his  tomahawk  with  all  his  might  against 
a  post  fixed  in  the  ground.  He  was  then  followed  by  the  rest ;  each 
finished  his  round  by  a  blow  against  the  post.  Then  they  danced  all 
together ;  and  this  was  the  most  frightful  scene.  They  affected  the  most 
horrible  and  dreadful  gestures ;  threatened  to  beat,  cut,  and  stab  each 
other.  They  were,  however,  amazingly  dexterous  in  avoiding  the  threat- 
ened danger.  To  complete  the  horror  of  the  scene,  they  howled  as 
dreadfully  as  if  in  actual  fight,  so  that  they  appeared  as  raving  madmen. 
During  the  dance  they  sometimes  sounded- a  kind  of  fife,  made  of  reed, 
which  had  a  shrill  and  disagreeable  note.  The  Iroquois  used  the  war- 
dance  even  in  times  of  peace,  with  a  view  to  celebrate  the  deeds  of  their 
heroic  chiefs  in  a  solemn  manner. 

"The  Indians,  as  well  as  'all  human  flesh,'  were  heirs  of  disease. 
The  most  common  were  pleurisy,  weakness  and  pains  in  the  stomach  and 
breast,  consumption,  diarrhoea,  rheumatism,  bloody  flux,  inflammatory 
fevers,  and  occasionally  the  small-pox  made  dreadful  ravages  among 
them.  Their  general  remedy  for  all  disorders,  small  or  great,  was  a 
sweat.  For  this  purpose  they  had  in  every  town  an  oven,  situated  at 
some  distance  from  the  dwellings,  built  of  stakes  and  boards,  covered 
with  sods,  or  were  dug  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  and  heated  with  some  red- 
hot  stones.  Into  this  the  patient  crept  naked,  and  in  a  short  time  was 
thrown  into  profuse  perspiration.  As  soon  as  the  patient  felt  himself 
too  hot  he  crept  out,  and  immediately  plunged  himself  into  a  river  or 
some  cold  water,  where  he  continued  about  thirty  seconds,  and  then 
went  again  into  the  oven.  After  having  performed  this  operation  three 
times  successively,  he  smoked  his  pipe  with  composure,  and  in  many  cases 
a  cure  was  completely  effected. 

"In  some  places  they  had  ovens  constructed  large  enough  to  receive 
several  persons.  Some  chose  to  pour  water  now  and  then  upon  the 
heated  stones,  to  increase  the  steam  and  promote  more  profuse  perspira- 
tion. Many  Indians  in  perfect  health  made  it  a  practice  of  going  into 
the  oven  once  or  twice  a  week  to  renew  their  strength  and  spirits.  Some 
pretended  by  this  operation  to  prepare  themselves  for  a  business  which 
requires  mature  deliberation  and  artifice.  If  the  sweating  did  not  remove 
the  disorder,  other  means  were  applied.  Many  of  the  Indians  believed 
that  medicines  had  no  efficacy  unless  administered  by  a  professed  physi- 
cian ;  enough  of  professed  doctors  could  be  found  ;  many  of  both  sexes 
professed  to  be  doctors. 

"  Indian  doctors  never  applied  medicines  without  accompanying  them 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

with  mysterious  ceremonies,  to  make  their  effect  appear  supernatural.  The 
ceremonies  were  various.  Many  breathed  upon  the  sick ;  they  averred 
their  breath  was  wholesome.  In  addition  to  this,  they  spurted  a  certain 
liquor  made  of  herbs  out  of  their  mouth  over  the  patient's  whole  body, 
distorting  their  features  and  roaring  dreadfully.  In  some  instances  physi- 
cians crept  into  the  oven,  where  they  sweat,  howled,  roared,  and  now 
and  then  grinned  horribly  at  their  patients,  who  had  been  laid  before  the 
opening,  and  frequently  felt  the  pulse  of  the  patient.  Then  pronounced 
sentence,  and  foretold  either  their  recovery  or  death.  On  one  occasion 
a  Moravian  missionary  was  present,  who  says,  '  An  Indian  physician  had 
put  on  a  large  bear  skin,  so  that  his  arms  were  covered  with  the  fore  legs, 
his  feet  with  the  hind  legs,  and  his  head  was  entirely  concealed  in  the 
bear's  head,  with  the  addition  of  glass  eyes.  He  came  in  this  attire  with 
a  calabash  in  his  hand,  accompanied  by  a  great  crowd  of  people,  into  the 
patient's  hut,  singing  and  dancing,  when  he  grasped  a  handful  of  hot 
ashes,  and  scattering  them  into  the  air,  with  a  horrid  noise,  approached 
the  patient,  and  began  to  play  several  legerdemain  tricks  with  small 
bits  of  wood,  by  which  he  pretended  to  be  able  to  restore  him  to 
health.' 

"The  common  people  believed  that  by  rattling  the  calabash  the 
physician  had  power  to  make  the  spirits  discover  the  cause  of  the  disease, 
and  even  evade  the  malice  of  the  evil  spirit  who  occasioned  it. 

"Their  materia  medica,  or  the  remedies  used  in  curing  diseases,  were 
such  as  rattlesnake-root,  the  skins  of  rattlesnakes  dried  and  pulverized, 
thorny  ash,  toothache-tree,  tulip-tree,  dogwood,  wild  laurel,  sassafras, 
Canada  shrubby  elder,  poison-ash,  wintergreen,  liverwort,  Virginia  poke, 
jalap,  sarsaparilla,  Canadian  sanicle,  scabians  or  devil's-bit,  bloodvvort, 
cuckoo  pint,  ginseng,  and  a  few  others. 

"Wars  among  the  Indians  were  always  carried  on  with  the  greatest 
fury,  and  lasted  much  longer  than  they  do  now  among  them.  The  offen- 
sive weapons  were,  before  the  whites  came  among  them,  bows,  arrows, 
and  clubs.  The  latter  were  made  of  the  hardest  kind  of  wood,  from 
two  to  three  feet  long  and  very  heavy,  with  a  large  round  knob  at  one 
end.  Their  weapon  of  defence  was  a  shield,  made  of  the  tough  hide  of 
a  buffalo,  on  the  convex  side  of  which  they  received  the  arrows  and 
darts  of  the  enemy.  But  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  this  was 
all  laid  aside  by  the  Delawares  and  Iroquois,  though  they  used  to  a  later 
period  bows,  arrows,  and  clubs  of  war.  The  clubs  they  used  were  pointed 
with  nails  and  pieces  of  iron,  when  used  at  all.  Guns  were  measurably 
substituted  for  all  these.  The  hatchet  and  long-knife  was  used,  as  well 
as  the  gun.  The  army  of  these  nations  consisted  of  all  their  young  men, 
including  boys  of  fifteen  years  old.  They  had  their  captains  and  subor- 
dinate officers.  Their  captains  would  be  called  among  them  com- 
manders or  generals.  The  requisite  qualifications  for  this  station  were 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


prudence,    cunning,    resolution,   bravery,   undauntedness,  and   previous 
good  fortune  in  some  fight  or  battle. 

"  'To  lift  the  hatchet,'  or  to  begin  a  war,  was  always,  as  they  de- 
clared, not  till  just  and  important  causes  prompted  them  to  it.  Then 
they  assigned  as  motives  that  it  was  necessary  to  revenge  the  injuries  done 
to  the  nation.  Perhaps  the  honor  of  being  distinguished  as  great  warriors 
may  have  been  an  '  ingredient  in  the  cup.' 

"  But  before  they  entered  upon  so  hazardous  an  undertaking  they 
carefully  weighed  all  the  proposals  made,  compared  the  probable  advan- 
tages or  disadvantages  that  might  accrue.  A  chief  could  not  begin  a  war 
without  the  consent  of  his  captains,  nor  could  he  accept  of  a  war-belt 
only  on  the  condition  of  its  being  considered  by  the  captains. 

"The  chief  was  bound  to  preserve  peace  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 
But  if  several  captains  were  unanimous  in  declaring  war,  the  chief  was 
then  obliged  to  deliver  the  care  of  his  people, 
for  a  time,  into  the  hands  of  the  captains,  and 
to  lay  down  his  office.  Yet  his  influence  tended 
greatly  either  to  prevent  or  encourage  the  com- 
mencement of  war,  for  the  Indians  believed  that 
a  war  could  not  be  successful  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  chief,  and  the  captains,  on  that  ac- 
count, strove  to  be  in  harmony  with  him.  After 
war  was  agreed  on,  and  they  wished  to  secure  the 
assistance  of  a  nation  in  league  with  them,  they 
notified  that  nation  by  sending  a  piece  of  to- 
bacco, or  by  an  embassy.  By  the  first,  they 
intended  that  the  captains  were  to  smoke  pipes 
and  consider  seriously  whether  they  would  take 
part  in  the  war  or  not.  The  embassy  was  in- 
trusted to  a  captain,  who  carried  a  belt  of  wam- 
pum, upon  which  the  object  of  the  embassy  was 
described  by  certain  figures,  and  a  hatchet  with 
a  red  handle.  After  the  chief  had  been  in- 
formed of  his  commission,  it  was  laid  before  a  council.  The  hatchet 
having  been  laid  on  the  ground,  he  delivered  a  long  speech,  while  hold- 
ing the  war-belt  in  his  hand,  always  closing  the  address  with  the  request 
to  take  up  the  hatchet,  and  then  delivering  the  war-belt.  If  this  was 
complied  with,  no  more  was  said,  and  this  act  was  considered  as  a  solemn 
promise  to  lend  every  assistance  ;  but  if  neither  the  hatchet  was  taken 
up  nor  the  belt  accepted,  the  ambassador  drew  the  just  conclusion  that 
the  nation  preferred  to  remain  neutral,  and  without  any  further  cere- 
mony returned  home. 

"The  Delawares  and  Iroquois  were  very  informal  in  declaring  war. 
They  often  sent  out  small  parties,  seized  the  first  man  they  met  belong- 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ing  to  the  nation  they  had  intended  to  engage,  killed  and  scalped  him, 
then  cleaved  his  head  with  a  hatchet,  which  they  left  stick  in  it,  or  laid 
a  war-club,  painted  red,  upon  the  body  of  the  victim.  This  was  a  formal 
challenge.  In  consequence  of  which,  a  captain  of  an  insulted  party  would 
take  up  the  weapons  of  the  murderers  and  hasten  into  their  country,  to 
be  revenged  upon  them.  If  he  returned  with  a  scalp,  he  thought  he  had 
avenged  the  rights  of  his  own  nation. 

"Among  the  Delawares  and  Iroquois  it  required  but  little  time  to 
make  preparations  for  war.  One  of  the  most  necessary  preparations  was 
to  paint  themselves  red  and  black,  for  they  held  it  that  the  most  horrid 
appearance  of  war  was  the  greatest  ornament.  Some  captains  fasted  and 
attended  to  their  dreams,  with  the  view  to  gain  intelligence  of  the  issue 
of  the  war.  The  night  previous  to  the  march  of  the  army  was  spent  in 
feasting,  at  which  the  chiefs  were  present,  when  either  a  hog  or  some 
dogs  were  killed.  Dog's  flesh,  said  they,  inspired  them  with  the  genuine 
martial  spirit.  Even  women,  in  some  instances,  partook  of  this  feast,  and 
ate  dog's  flesh  greedily.  Now  and  then,  when  a  warrior  was  induced  to 
make  a  solemn  declaration  of  his  war  inclination,  he  held  up  a  piece  of 
dog's  flesh  in  sight  of  all  present  and  devoured  it,  and  pronounced  these 
words,  '  Thus  will  I  devour  my  enemies!'  After  the  feast  the  captain 
and  all  his  people  began  the  war-dance,  and  continued  till  daybreak,  till 
they  had  become  quite  hoarse  and  weary.  They  generally  danced  all 
together,  and  each  in  his  turn  took  the  head  of  a  hog  in  his  hand.  As 
both  their  friends  and  the  women  generally  accompanied  them  to  the  first 
night's  encampment,  they  halted  about  two  or  three  miles  from  the  town, 
danced  the  war-dance  once  more,  and  the  day  following  began  their  march. 
Before  they  made  an  attack  they  reconnoitred  every  part  of  the  country. 
To  this  end  they  dug  holes  in  the  ground ;  if  practicable,  in  a  hillock, 
covered  with  wood,  in  which  they  kept  a  small  charcoal  fire,  from  which 
they  discovered  the  motions  of  the  enemy  undiscovered.  When  they 
sought  a  prisoner  or  a  scalp,  they  ventured,  in  many  instances,  even  in 
daytime,  to  execute  their  designs.  Effectually  to  accomplish  this,  they 
skulked  behind  a  bulky  tree,  and  crept  slyly  around  the  trunk,  so  as  not 
to  be  observed  by  the  person  or  persons  for  whom  they  lay  in  ambush.  In 
this  way  they  slew  many.  But  if  they  had  a  family  or  town  in  view,  they 
always  preferred  the  night,  when  their  enemies  were  wrapt  in  profound 
sleep,  and  in  this  way  killed,  scalped,  and  made  prisoners  many  of  the 
enemies,  set  fire  to  the  houses,  and  retired  with  all  possible  haste  to  the 
woods  or  some  place  of  safe  retreat.  To  avoid  pursuit,  they  disguised 
their  footmarks  as  much  as  possible.  They  depended  much  on  stratagem 
for  their  success.  Even  in  war  they  thought  it  more  honorable  to  dis- 
tress their  enemy  more  by  stratagem  than  combat.  The  English,  not 
aware  of  the  artifice  of  the  Indians,  lost  an  army  when  Braddock  was 
defeated. 

23 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"The  Indian's  cruelty,  when  victorious,  was  without  bounds;  their 
thirst  for  blood  was  almost  unquenchable.  They  never  made  peace  till 
compelled  by  necessity.  No  sooner  were  terms  of  peace  proposed  than 
the  captains  laid  down  their  office  and  delivered  the  government  of  the 
state  into  the  hands  of  the  chiefs.  A  captain  had  no  more  right  to  con- 
clude a  peace  than  a  chief  to  begin  war.  When  peace  had  been  offered 
to  a  captain  he  could  give  no  other  answer  than  to  mention  the  proposal 
to  the  chief,  for  as  a  warrior  he  could  not  make  peace.  If  the  chief  in- 
clined to  peace,  he  used  all  his  influence  to  effect  that  end,  and  all  hos- 
tility ceased,  and,  in  conclusion,  the  calumet,  or  peace-pipe,  was  smoked 
and  belts  of  wampum  exchanged,  and  a  concluding  speech  made,  with 
the  assurance  '  that  their  friendship  should  last  as  long  as  the  sun  and 
moon  give  light,  rise  and  set ;  as  long  as  the  stars  shine  in  the  firmament, 
and  the  rivers  flow  with  water. '  ' 

The  weapons  employed  by  our  Indians  two  hundred  years  ago  were 
axes,  arrows,  and  knives  of  stone.  Shells  were  sometimes  used  to  make 
knives. 

The  Indian  bow  was  made  as  follows  :  the  hickory  limb  was  cut  with 
a  stone  axe,  the  wood  was  then  heated  on  both  sides  near  a  fire  until  it 
was  soft  enough  to  scrape  down  to  the  proper  size  and  shape. 

A  good  bow  measured  forty  six  inches  in  length,  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  thick  in  the  centre,  and  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  width,  narrow- 
ing down  to  the  points  to  five  eighths  of  inch.  The  ends  were  thinner 
than  the  middle.  Bow-making  was  tedious  work. 

"  The  bow-string  was  made  of  the  ligaments  obtained  from  the  verte- 
bra of  the  elk.  The  ligament  was  split,  scraped,  and  twisted  into  a  cord 
by  rolling  the  fibres  between  the  palm  of  the  hand  and  the  thigh.  One 
end  of  the  string  was  knotted  to  the  bow  but  the  other  end  was  looped, 
in  order  that  the  bow  could  be  quickly  strung." 

Quivers  to  carry  the  arrows  were  made  of  dressed  buckskin,  with  or 
without  the  fur.  The  squaws  did  all  the  tanning. 

The  arrow-heads  were  made  of  flint  or  other  hard  stone  or  bone  ; 
they  were  fastened  to  the  ash  or  hickory  arrows  with  the  sinews  of  the 
deer.  The  arrow  was  about  two  feet  and  a  half  in  length,  and  a  feather 
was  fastened  to  the  butt  end  to  give  it  a  rotary  motion  in  its  flight. 

Poisoned  arrows  were  made  by  dipping  them  into  decomposed  liver, 
to  which  had  been  added  the  poison  of  the  rattlesnake.  The  venom  or 
decomposed  animal  matter  no  doubt  caused  blood-poisoning  and  death. 

Bows  and  arrows  were  long  used  by  the  red  men  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  fire-arms,  because  the  Indian  could  be  more  sure  of  his  game 
without  revealing  his  presence.  For  a  long  time  after  the  introduction 
of  fire-arms  the  Indians  were  more  expert  with  the  bow  and  arrow  than 
with  the  rifle. 

Their  tobacco-pipes  were  made  of  stone  bowls  and  ash  stems.  Canoes 

24 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

were  made  of  birch  or  linnwood  bark,  and  many  wigwam  utensils  of  that 
bark.  This  bark  was  peeled  in  early  spring.  The  bark  canoe  was  the 
American  Indian's  invention. 

When  runners  were  sent  with  messages  to  other  tribes  the  courier  took 
an  easy  running  gait,  which  he  kept  up  for  hours  at  a  time.  It  was  a 
"dog-trot,"  an  easy,  jogging  gait.  Of  course  he  had  no  clothes  on 
except  a  breech-clout  and  moccasins.  He  always  carried  both  arms  up 
beside  the  chest  with  the  fists  clinched  and  held  in  front  of  the  breast. 
He  eat  but  little  the  day  before  his  departure.  A  courier  could  make  a 
hundred  miles  from  sunrise  to  sunset. 

When  a  young  squaw  was  ready  to  marry  she  wore  something  on  her 
head  as  a  notice. 

Then  kettles  were  made  of  clay,  or  what  was  called  "  pot  stone." 

The  stone  hatchets  were  in  the  shape  of  a  wedge  ;  they  were  of  no  use 
in  felling  trees.  They  did  this  with  a  fire  around  the  roots  of  the  tree. 
Their  stone  pestles  were  about  twelve  inches  long  and  five  inches  thick. 
They  used  bird-claws  for  "  fish-hooks."  They  made  their  ropes,  bridles, 
nets,  etc.,  out  of  a  wild  weed  called  Indian  hemp. 

The  twine  or  cords  were  manufactured  by  the  squaws,  who  gathered 
stalks  of  this  hemp,  separating  them  into  filaments,  and  then  taking  a  num- 
ber of  filaments  in  one  hand,  rolled  them  rapidly  upon  their  bare  thighs 
until  twisted,  locking,  from  time  to  time,  the  ends  with  fresh  fibres.  The 
cord  thus  made  was  finished  by  dressing  with  a  mixture  of  grease  and 
wax,  and  drawn  over  a  smooth  groove  in  a  stone. 

Their  hominy-mills  can  be  seen  yet  about  a  mile  north  of  Samuel 
Temple's  barn,  in  Warsaw  township. 

All  the  stone  implements  of  our  Indians  except  arrows  were  ground 
and  polished.  How  this  was  done  the  reader  must  imagine.  Indians 
had  their  mechanics  and  their  workshops  or  "  spots"  where  implements 
were  made.  You  must  remember  that  the  Indian  had  no  iron  or  steel 
tools,  only  bone,  stone,  and  wood  to  work  with.  The  flint  arrows  were 
made  from  a  stone  of  uniform  density.  Large  chips  were  flaked  or  broken 
from  the  rock.  These  chips  were  again  deftly  chipped  with  bone  chisels 
into  arrows,  and  made  straight  by  pressure.  A  lever  was  used  on  the  rock 
to  separate  chips, — a  bone  tied  to  a  heavy  stick. 

From  Jones's  "  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians"  the  writer  has 
gleaned  most  of  the  following  facts.  They  had  a  limited  variety  of  cop- 
per implements,  which  were  of  rare  occurrence,  and  which  were  too  soft  to 
be  of  use  in  working  so  hard  a  material  as  flint  or  quartzite.  Hence  it  is 
believed  that  they  fashioned  their  spear-  and  arrow-heads  with  other  im- 
plements than  those  of  iron  or  steel.  They  must  have  acquired,  by  their 
observation  and  numerous  experiments,  a  thorough  and  practical  knowl- 
edge of  cleavage, — that  is,  "  the  tendency  to  split  in  certain  directions, 
which  is  characteristic  of  most  of  the  crystallizable  minerals."  Captain 
3  25 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

John  Smith,  speaking  of  the  Virginia  Indians  in  his  sixth  voyage,  says, 
"  His  arrow-head  he  quickly  maketh  with  a  little  bone,  which  heweareth 
at  his  bracelet,  of  a  splint  of  a  stone  or  glasse,  in  the  form  of  a  heart,  and 
these  they  glue  to  the  ends  of  the  arrows.  With  the  sinews  of  the  deer 
'and  the  tops  of  deers'  horns  boiled  to  a  jelly  they  make  a  glue  which 
will  not  dissolve  in  cold  water."  Schoolcraft  says,  "  The  skill  displayed 
in  this  art,  as  it  is  exhibited  by  the  tribes  of  the  entire  continent,  has 
excited  admiration.  The  material  employed  is  generally  some  form  of 
horn  stone,  sometimes  passing  into  flint.  No  specimens  have,  however, 
been  observed  where  the  substance  is  gun-flint.  The  horn-stone  is  less 
hard  than  common  quartz,  and  can  be  readily  broken  by  contact  with 
the  latter."  Catlin,  in  his  "Last  Ramble  among  the  Indians,"  says, 
"  Every  tribe  has  its  factory  in  which  these  arrow-heads  are  made,  and  in 
these  only  certain  adepts  are  able  or  allowed  to  make  them  for  the  use  of 
the  tribe.  Erratic  bowlders  of  flint  are  collected  and  sometimes  brought 
an  immense  distance,  and  broken  with  a  sort  of  sledge-hammer  made  of 
a  rounded  pebble  of  horn-stone  set  in  a  twisted  withe,  holding  the  stone 
and  forming  a  handle.  The  flint,  at  the  indiscriminate  blows  of  the 
sledge,  is  broken  into  a  hundred  pieces,  and  such  flakes  selected  as  from 
the  angles  of  their  fracture  and  thickness  will  answer  as  the  basis  of  an 
arrow-head.  The  master-workman,  seated  on  the  ground,  lays  one  of 
these  flakes  on  the  palm  of  his  hand,  holding  it  firmly  down  with  two  or 
more  fingers  of  the  same  hand,  and  with  his  right  hand,  between  the 
thumb  and  two  forefingers,  places  his  chisel  or  punch  on  the  point  that  is 
to  be  broken  off,  and  a  co-operator — a  striker — in  front  of  him,  with  a 
mallet  of  very  hard  wood,  strikes  the  chisel  or  punch  on  the  upper  end, 
flaking  the  flint  off  on  the  under  side  below  each  projecting  point  that  is 
struck.  The  flint  is  then  turned  and  chipped  in  the  same  manner  from 
the  opposite  side,  and  that  is  chipped  until  required  shape  and  dimensions 
are  obtained,  all  the  fractures  being  made  on  the  palm  of  the  hand.  In 
selecting  the  flake  for  the  arrow-head  a  nice  judgment  must  be  used  or 
the  attempt  will  fail.  A  flake  with  two  opposite  parallel,  or  nearly  par- 
allel, planes  of  cleavage  is  found,  and  of  the  thickness  required  for  the 
centre  of  the  arrow-point.  The  first  chipping  reaches  nearly  to  the  cen- 
tre of  these  planes,  but  without  quite  breaking  it  away,  and  each  clip- 
ping is  shorter  and  shorter,  until  the  shape  and  edge  of  the  arrow-head 
is  formed.  The  yielding  elasticity  of  the  palm  of  the  hand  enables  the 
chip  to  come  off  without  breaking  the  body  of  the  flint,  which  would  be 
the  case  if  they  were  broken  on  a  hard  substance.  These  people  have  no 
metallic  instruments  to  work  with,  and  the  punch  which  they  use,  I  was 
told,  was  a  piece  of  bone,  but  on  examining  it,  I  found  it  to  be  of  sub- 
stance much  harder,  made  of  the  tooth — incisor — of  the  sperm  whale, 
which  cetaceans  are  often  stranded  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific." 

"A  considerable  number  of  Indians  must  have  returned  and  settled 

26 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

along  the  Red  Bank  as  late  as  1815-16.  James  White,  of  'Mexico,' 
informed  the  writer  that  three  hundred  of  them,  about  that  time,  settled 
along  this  stream  below  Brookville,  partly  in  Armstrong  County.  Re- 
specting their  return  to  this  section,  Dr.  M.  A.  Ward  wrote  to  Eben 
Smith  Kelly  at  Kittanning,  from  Pittsburg,  January  18,  1817, — 

"  'I  am  not  at  all  surprised  that  the  sober,  industrious,  religious  in- 
habitants of  Red  Bank  should  be  highly  incensed  at  their  late  accession 
of  emigrants,  not  only  because  by  them  they  will  probably  be  deprived 
of  many  fat  bucks  and  delicious  turkeys,  to  which,  according  to  the  strict 
interpretation  of  all  our  game  laws,  they  have  as  good  a  right,  if  they 
have  the  fortune  to  find  and  the  address  to  shoot  them,  as  any  ' '  dirty, 
nasty"  Indians  whatever,  but  because  the  presence  and  examples  of  such 
neighbors  must  have  a  very  depraving  influence  upon  the  morals.  Their 
insinuating  influence  will  be  apt  to  divert  the  minds  of  the  farmers  from 
the  sober  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  inspire  a  propensity  for  the  barbarous 
pleasures  of  the  chase.  .  .  .  But  what  is  worse  than  all,  I  have  heard  that 
they  love  whiskey  to  such  an  inordinate  degree  as  to  get  sometimes 
beastly  drunk,  and  even  beat  their  wives  and  behave  unseemly  before 
their  families,  which  certainly  must  have  a  most  demoralizing  tendency 
on  the  minds  of  the  rising  generation.'  " — History  of  Armstrong  County. 

The  Delaware  Indians  styled  themselves  "  Lenni  Lenape,"  the  original 
or  unchanged  people.  The  eastern  division  of  their  people  was  divided 
into  three  tribes, — the  Unamies,  or  Turtles  of  the  sea-shore ;  the  Una- 
chlactgos,  or  Turkeys  of  the  woods ;  and  the  Minsi-monceys,  or  Wolves  of 
the  mountains.  A  few  of  the  Muncy  villages  of  this  latter  division  were 
scattered  as  far  west  as  the  valley  of  the  Allegheny. 

From  Penn's  arrival  in  1682  the  Delawares  were  subject  to  the  Iro- 
quois,  or  the  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations,  who  were  the  most  warlike 
savages  in  America.  The  Iroquois  were  usually  known  among  the 
English  people  as  the  Five  Nations.  The  nations  were  divided  and 
known  as  the  Mohawks,  the  fire-striking  people,  having  been  the  first  to 
procure  fire-arms.  The  Senecas,  mountaineers,  occupied  Western  New 
York  and  Northwestern  Pennsylvania.  They  were  found  in  great  num- 
bers in  the  Allegheny  and  its  tributaries.  Their  great  chiefs  were  Corn- 
planter  and  Guyasutha.  This  tribe  was  the  most  numerous,  powerful,  and 
warlike  of  the  Iroquois  nation,  and  comprised  our  Jefferson  County  Indians. 

"But  these  were  Indians  pure  and  uncorrupted.  Before  many  a  log 
fire,  at  night,  old  settlers  have  often  recited  how  clear,  distinct,  and  im- 
mutable were  their  laws  and  customs ;  that  when  fully  understood  a  white 
man  could  transact  the  most  important  business  with  as  much  safety  as 
he  can  to-day  in  any  commercial  centre. 

"  In  this  day  and  age  of  progress  we  pride  ourselves  upon  our  rail- 
roads and  telegraph  as  means  of  rapid  communication,  and  yet,  while  it 
was  well  known  to  the  early  settlers  that  news  and  light  freight  would 

27 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

travel  with  incomprehensible  speed  from  tribe  to  tribe,  people  of  the 
present  day  fail  to  understand  the  complete  system  by  which  it  was 
done. 

"In  many  places  through  the  western  counties  you  will  find  traces  of 
pits,  which  the  early  settlers  will  tell  you  were  dug  by  white  men  looking 
for  silver,  which,  as  well  as  copper,  was  common  among  the  Indians,  and 
was  supposed  by  first  comers  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity ;  but  experience 
soon  proved  the  copper  came,  perhaps,  from  Lake  Superior,  by  this 
Indian  express,  as  we  might  term  it,  and  the  silver,  just  as  possible,  from 
the  far  West.  Our  railroads  wind  along  the  valleys,  almost  regardless  of 
length  or  circuit,  if  a  gradual  rise  can  only  be  obtained.  To  travellers  on 
wheels  straight  distances  between  points  are  much  less  formidable  than  is 
generally  supposed.  We  find  traces  of  the  example  of  the  Indian  in  the 
first  white  men.  The  first  settlers  of  1799  and  1805  took  their  bags  of 
grain  on  their  backs,  walked  fifty  miles  to  the  mill  in  Indiana  or  Arm- 
strong County,  and  brought  home  their  flour  the  same  way." 

"  The  following  is  taken  from  the  '  Early  Days  of  Punxsutawney  and 
Western  Pennsylvania,'  contributed  a  few  years  ago  to  the  Punxsutawney 
Plaindealer  by  the  late  John  K.  Coxson,  Esq.,  who  had  made  considerable 
research  into  Indian  history,  and  was  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Coxson,  '  More  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  the 
Iroquois  held  a  lodge  in  Punxsutawney  (this  town  still  bears  its  Indian 
name,  which  was  their  sobriquet  for  "gnat  town"),  to  which  point  they 
could  ascend  with  their  canoes,  and  go  still  higher  up  the  Mahoning  to 
within  a  few  hours'  travel  of  the  summit  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains. 
There  were  various  Indian  trails  traversing  the  forests,  one  of  which 
entered  Punxsutawney  near  where  Judge  Mitchell  now  resides. 

"  '  These  trails  were  the  thoroughfares  or  roadways  of  the  Indians,  over 
which  they  journeyed  when  on  the  chase  or  the  "war-path,"  just  as  the 
people  of  the  present  age  travel  over  their  graded  roads.  "  An  erroneous 
impression  obtains  among  many  at  the  present  day  that  the  Indian,  in 
travelling  the  interminable  forests  which  once  covered  our  towns  and 
fields,  roamed  at  random,  like  a  modern  afternoon  hunter,  by  no  fixed 
paths,  or  that  he  was  guided  in  his  long  journeyings  solely  by  the  sun  and 
stars,  or  by  the  course  of  the  streams  and  mountains ;  and  true  it  is  that 
these  untutored  sons  of  the  woods  were  considerable  astronomers  and 
geographers,  and  relied  much  upon  these  unerring  guide-marks  of  nature. 
Even  in  the  most  starless  nights  they  could  determine  their  course  by  feel- 
ing the  bark  of  the  oak-trees,  which  is  always  smoothest  on  the  south 
side  and  roughest  on  the  north.  But  still  they  had  their  trails,  or  paths, 
as  distinctly  marked  as  are  our  county  and  State  roads,  and  often  better 
located.  The  white  traders  adopted  them,  and  often  stole  their  names, 
to  be  in  turn  surrendered  to  the  leader  of  some  Anglo  Saxon  army,  and, 
finally,  obliterated  by  some  costly  highway  of  travel  and  commerce. 

28 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

They  are  now  almost  wholly  effaced  or  forgotten.  Hundreds  travel 
along,  or  plough  over  them,  unconscious  that  they  are  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  red  men."*  It  has  not  taken  long  to  obliterate  all  these  Indian  land- 
marks from  our  land  ;  little  more  than  a  century  ago  the  Indians  roamed 
over  all  this  western  country,  and  now  scarce  a  vestige  of  their  presence 
remains.  Much  has  been  written  and  said  about  their  deeds  of  butchery 
and  cruelty.  True,  they  were  cruel,  and  in  many  instances  fiendish,  in 
their  inhuman  practices,  but  they  did  not  meet  the  first  settlers  in  this 
spirit.  Honest,  hospitable,  religious  in  their  belief,  reverencing  their 
Manitou,  or  Great  Spirit,  and  willing  to  do  anything  to  please  their  white 
brother, — this  is  how  they  met  their  first  white  visitors  ;  but  when  they 
had  seen  nearly  all  their  vast  domain  appropriated  by  the  invaders,  when 
wicked  white  men  had  introduced  into  their  midst  the  "wicked  fire- 
water," which  is  to-day  the  cause  of  many  an  act  of  fiendishness  perpe- 
trated by  those  who  are  not  untutored  savages,  then  the  Indian  rebelled, 
all  the  savage  in  his  breast  was  aroused,  and  he  became  pitiless  and  cruel 
in  the  extreme. 

"  '  It  is  true  that  our  broad  domains  were  purchased  and  secured  by 
treaty,  but  the  odds  were  always  on  the  side  of  the  whites.  The  "  Colo- 
nial Records"  give  an  account  of  the  treaty  of  1686,  by  which  a  deed  for 
"  walking  purchase  was  executed,  by  which  the  Indians  sold  as  far  as  a 
man  could  walk  in  a  day.  But  when  the  walk  was  to  be  made  the  most 
active  white  man  was  obtained,  who  ran  from  daylight  until  dark,  as  fast 
as  he  was  able,  without  stopping  to  eat  or  drink.  This  much  dissatisfied 
the  Indians,  who  expected  to  walk  leisurely,  resting  at  noon  to  eat  and 
shoot  game,  and  one  old  chief  expressed  his  dissatisfaction  as  follows : 
'  Lun,  lun,  lun ;  no  lay  down  to  drink ;  no  stop  to  shoot  squirrel,  but 
lun,  lun,  lun  all  day;  me  no  keep  up;  lun,  lun  for  land.'  That  deed, 
it  is  said,  does  not  now  exist,  but  was  confirmed  in  1737." 

"  '  When  the  white  man  came  the  Indians  were  a  temperate  people, 
and  their  chiefs  tried  hard  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks 
among  their  tribes;  and  when  one  Sylvester  Garland,  in  1701,  intro- 
duced rum  among  them  and  induced  them  to  drink,  at  a  council  held  in 
Philadelphia,  Shemekenwhol,  chief  of  the  Shawnese,  complained  to 
Governor  William  Penn,  and  at  a  council  held  on  the  i3th  of  October, 
1701,  this  man  was  held  in  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  never  to  deal 
rum  to  the  Indians  again ;  and  the  bond  and  sentence  was  approved  by 
Judge  Shippen,  of  Philadelphia.  At  the  chief's  suggestion  the  council  en- 
acted a  law  prohibiting  the  trade  in  rum  with  the  Indians.  Still  later  the 
ruling  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  opposed  the  use  of  rum,  and  Red  Jacket, 
in  a  speech  at  Buffalo,  wished  that  whiskey  would  never  be  less  than  "  a 
dollar  a  quart."  He  answered  the  missionary's  remarks  on  drunkenness 

*  Judge  Veech. 
29 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

thus:  "  Go  to  the  white  man  with  that."  A  council,  held  on  the  Allegheny 
River,  deplored  the  murder  of  the  Wigden  family  in  Butler  County  by 
a  Seneca  Indian  while  under  the  influence  of  whiskey,  approved  the 
sentence  of  our  law,  and  again  passed  their  prohibitory  resolutions,  and 
implored  the  white  man  not  to  give  rum  to  the  Indian.' 

"Mr.  Coxson  claims  that  the  council  of  the  Delawares,  Muncys, 
Shawnese,  Nanticokes,  Tuscorawas,  and  Mingos,  to  protest  against  the 
sale  of  their  domain  by  the  Six  Nations,  at  Albany,  in  1754,  was  held  at 
Punxsutawney,  and  cites  Joncaire's  '  Notes  on  Indian  Warfare,'  '  Life  of 
Bezant,'  etc.  '  It  is  said  they  ascended  the  tributary  of  La  Belle  Riviere 
to  the  mountain  village  on  the  way  to  Chinklacamoose  (Clearfield)  to 
attend  the  council.'  *  At  that  council,  though  Sheklemas,  the  Christian 
king  of  the  Delawares,  and  other  Christian  chiefs,  tried  hard  to  prevent 
the  war,  they  were  overruled,  and  the  tribes  decided  to  go  to  war  with 
their  French  allies  against  the  colony.  'Travellers,  as  early  as  1731, 
reported  to  the  council  of  the  colony  of  a  town  sixty  miles  from  the 
Susquehanna.'  f 

"'After  the  failure  of  the  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne,  the 
white  captives  were  taken  to  Kittanning,  Logtown,  and  Pukeesheno 
(Punxsutawney).  The  sachem,  Pukeesheno  (for  whom  the  town  was 
called),  was  the  father  of  Tecumseh  and  his  twin  brother,  the  Prophet, 
and  was  a  Shawnese.  We  make  this  digression  to  add  another  proof  that 
Punxsutawney  was  named  after  a  Shawnese  chief  as  early  as  1750.'  J 

"  '  I  went  with  Captain  Brady  on  an  Indian  hunt  up  the  Allegheny 
River.  We  found  a  good  many  signs  of  the  savages,  and  I  believe  we 
were  so  much  like  the  savages  (when  Brady  went  on  a  scouting  expedition 
he  always  dressed  in  Indian  costume)  that  they  could  hardly  have  known 
us  from  a  band  of  Shawnese.  But  they  had  an  introduction  to  us  near 
the  mouth  of  Red  Bank.  General  Brodhead  was  on  the  route  behind 
Captain  Brady,  who  discovered  the  Indians  on  a  march.  He  lay  con- 
cealed among  the  rocks  until  the  painted  chiefs  and  their  braves  had  got 
fairly  into  the  narrow  pass,  when  Brady  and  his  men  opened  a  destructive 
fire.  The  sylvan  warriors  retuned  the  volley  with  terrific  yells  that  shook 
the  caverns  and  mountains  from  base  to  crest.  The  fight  was  short  but 
sanguine.  The  Indians  left  the  pass  and  retired,  and  soon  were  lost  sight 
of  in  the  deepness  of  the  forest.  We  returned  with  three  children  re- 
captured, whose  parents  had  been  killed  at  Greensburg.  We  immediately 
set  out  on  a  path  that  led  us  to  the  mountains,  to  a  lodge  the  savages  had 
near  the  head-waters  of  Mahoning  and  Red  Bank. 

"  '  We  crossed  the  Mahoning  about  forty  miles  from  Kittanning,  and 
entered  a  town,  which  we  found  deserted.  It  seemed  to  be  a  hamlet, 
built  by  the  Shawnese.  From  there  we  went  over  high  and  rugged  hills, 

*  Joncaire.  f  Bezant.  J  History  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  p.  302. 

30 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

through  laurel  thickets,  darkened  by  tall  pine  and  hemlock  groves,  for 
one  whole  day,  and  lay  quietly  down  on  the  bank  of  a  considerable 
stream  (Sandy  Lick).  About  midnight  Brady  was  aroused  by  the  sound 
of  a  rifle  not  far  down  the  creek.  We  arose  and  stole  quietly  along  about 
half  a  mile,  when  we  heard  the  voices  of  Indians  but  a  short  distance 
below  us ;  there  another  creek  unites  its  waters  with  the  one  upon  whose 
banks  we  had  rested.  We  ascertained  that  two  Indians  had  killed  a  deer 
at  a  lick,  They  were  trying  to  strike  a  light  to  dress  their  game.  When 
the  flame  of  pine-knots  blazed  brightly  and  revealed  the  visages  of  the 
savages,  Brady  appeared  to  be  greatly  excited,  and  perhaps  the  caution 
that  he  always  took  when  on  a  war-path  was  at  that  time  disregarded. 
Revenge  swallowed  and  absorbed  every  faculty  of  his  soul.  He  recog- 
nized the  Indian  who  was  foremost,  when  they  chased  him,  a  few  months 
before,  so  closely  that  he  was  forced  to  leap  across  a  chasm  of  stone  on 
the  slippery  rock  twenty-three  feet ;  between  the  jaws  of  granite  there 
roared  a  deep  torrent  twenty  feet  deep.  When  Brady  saw  Conemah  he 
sprang  forward  and  planted  his  tomahawk  in  his  head.  The  other  Indian, 
who  had  his  knife  in  his  hand,  sprang  at  Brady.  The  long,  bright  steel 
glistened  in  his  uplifted  hand,  when  the  flash  of  Farley's  rifle  was  the 
death-light  of  the  brave,  who  sank  to  the  sands.  .  .  .  Brady  scalped  the 
Indians  in  a  moment,  and  drew  the  deer  into  the  thicket  to  finish  dress- 
ing it,  but  had  not  completed  his  undertaking  when  he  heard  a  noise  in 
the  branches  of  the  neighboring  trees.  He  sprang  forward,  quenched 
the  flame,  and  in  breathless  silence  listened  for  the  least  sound,  but  noth- 
ing was  heard  save  the  rustling  of  the  leaves,  stirred  by  the  wind.  One 
of  the  scouts  softly  crept  along  the  banks  of  the  creek  to  catch  the 
faintest  sound  that  echoes  on  the  water,  when  he  found  a  canoe  down 
upon  the  beach.  The  scout  communicated  this  to  Brady,  who  resolved 
to  embark  on  this  craft,  if  it  was  large  enough  to  carry  the  company.  It 
was  found  to  be  of  sufficient  size.  We  all  embarked  and  took  the  deer 
along.  We  had  not  gone  forty  rods  down  the  stream  when  the  savages 
gave  a  war-whoop,  and  about  a  mile  off  they  were  answered  with  a  hun- 
dred voices.  We  heard  them  in  pursuit  as  we  went  dashing  down  the 
frightful  and  unknown  stream.  We  gained  on  them.  We  heard  their 
voices  far  behind  us,  until  the  faint  echoes  of  the  hundreds  of  warriors 
were  lost ;  but,  unexpectedly,  we  found  ourselves  passing  full  fifty  canoes 
drawn  up  on  the  beach.  Brady  landed  a  short  distance  below.  There 
was  no  time  to  lose.  If  the  pursuers  arrived  they  might  overtake  the 
scouts.  It  was  yet  night.  He  took  four  of  his  men  along,  and  with 
great  caution  unmoored  the  canoes  and  sent  them  adrift.  The  scouts 
below  secured  them,  and  succeeded  in  arriving  at  Brodhead's  quarters 
with  the  scalps  of  two  Indians  and  their  whole  fleet,  which  disabled  them 
much  from  carrying  on  their  bloody  expeditions.' 

"  In  the  legend  of  Noshaken,  the  white  captive  of  the  Delawares,  in 

31 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1753,  who  was  kept  at  a  village  supposed  to  have  been  Punxsutawney, 
occurs  the  following :  '  The  scouts  were  on  the  track  of  the  Indians,  the 
time  of  burning  of  the  captives  was  extended,  and  the  whole  band  pre- 
pared to  depart  for  Fort  Venango  with  the  prisoners.  .  .  .  They  con- 
tinued on  for  twenty  miles,  and  encamped  by  a  beautiful  spring,  where  the 
sand  boiled  up  from  the  bottom  near  where  two  creeks  unite.  Here  they 
passed  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  again  headed  for  Fort  Venango. 

"  '  This  spring  is  believed  to  have  been  the  "  sand  spring"  at  Brook- 
ville.  Thus  both  the  earlier  histories  and  traditions  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  Jefferson  County  was  once  the  scene  of  Indian  occupation. 
The  early  settlers  found  many  vestiges  of  them,  and  even  at  this  late  day 
"  Indian  relics"  in  the  shape  of  stone  tomahawks,  flint  arrows,  darts,  etc., 
are  frequently  found. 

"  'But  it  was  long  after  these  scenes,  when  Joseph  Barnett,  the  first 
white  settler,  came  into  the  wilds  of  what  is  now  Jefferson  County.  Then 
nearly  all  the  Indians  had  gone,  some  toward  the  setting  sun,  others 
toward  Canada.  Of  all  the  tribes  that  once  composed  the  great  Indian 
confederations,  only  a  few  Muncies  and  Senecas  of  Cornplanter's  tribe 
remained.  These  Indians,  for  a  number  of  years  after  the  white  men 
came,  extended  their  hunting  excursions  into  these  forests.  They  were 
always  peaceable  and  friendly.  The  first  settlers  found  their  small 
patches  of  corn,  one  of  which  was  planted  where  the  fair-grounds  are 
now  located,  and  another  in  the  flat  at  Port  Barnett.  Indian  corn,  or 
maize,  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  is  undoubtedly  an  American  cereal, 
being  first  discovered  on  this  continent  in  1600,  though  it  is  now  grown 
in  all  civilized  lands.'  "  * — Kate  Scot?  s  History  of  Jefferson  County. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    WILDERNESS     IN      1755 THE    SAVAGE     INDIAN MARIE     LE     ROY     AND 

BARBARA  LEININGER,  THE  FIRST  WHITE  PIONEERS  TO  TREAD  THIS 
WILDERNESS THE  CHINKLACAMOOSE  PATH — PUNXSUTAWNEY  AND  KIT- 
TANNING — REV.  HECKEWELDER,  REV.  ZEISBERGER,  REV.  ETTWEIN,  AND 
ROTHE. 

FROM  what  I  can  learn,  the  first  white  pioneers  to  tread  the  soil  of 
Jefferson  County,  as  it  now  is,  were  Marie  Le  Roy  and  Barbara  Leininger. 
They  were  Swiss  people,  and  lived  with  their  parents  about  fifteen  miles 
from  where  the  city  of  Sunbury  now  is,  in  Northumberland  County,  then 

*  Drs.  Sturtevant,  Pickering,  and  other  eminent  botanists  and  antiquarians,  believed 
that  maize  (or  Indian  corn)  is  mentioned  by  the  old  Icelandic  writers,  who  are  thought 
to  have  visited  the  coast  of  eastern  North  America  as  early  as  1006. 

32 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Lancaster  or  Berks  County.  These  girls  were  Indian  prisoners,  and  were 
being  taken  to  Kittanning,  as  it  is  called  now,  by  and  over  the  "  Chink- 
lacamoose  path"  or  "Indian  trail."  This  "trail"  passed  through  Punx- 
sutawney,  and  here  the  Indians  with  these  captive  girls  rested  five 
days. 

I  quote  from  the  "  Narrative  of  Marie  Le  Roy  and  Barbara  Leinin- 
ger"  as  follows  : 

"  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  i6th  of  October,  1755,  while  Le  Roy's 
hired  man  went  out  to  fetch  the  cows,  he  heard  the  Indians  shooting  six 
times.  Soon  after  eight  of  them  came  to  the  house  and  killed  Marie 
Le  Roy's  father  with  tomahawks.  Her  brother  defended  himself  des- 
perately for  a  time,  but  was  at  last  overpowered.  The  Indians  did  not 
kill  him,  but  took  him  prisoner,  together  with  Marie  Le  Roy  and  a  little 
girl,  who  was  staying  with  the  family.  Thereupon  they  plundered  the 
homestead  and  set  it  on  fire.  Into  this  fire  they  laid  the  body  of  the 
murdered  father,  feet  foremost,  until  it  was  half  consumed.  The  upper 
half  was  left  lying  on  the  ground,  with  the  two  tomahawks  with  which 
they  had  killed  him  sticking  in  his  head.  Then  they  kindled  another 
fire,  not  far  from  the  house.  While  sitting  around  it,  a  neighbor  of  Le 
Roy,  named  Bastian,  happened  to  pass  by  on  horseback.  He  was  imme- 
diately shot  down  and  scalped. 

"  Two  of  the  Indians  now  went  to  the  house  of  Barbara  Leininger, 
where  they  found  her  father,  her  brother,  and  her  sister  Regina.  Her 
mother  had  gone  to  the  mill.  They  demanded  rum ;  but  there  was  none 
in  the  house.  Then  they  called  for  tobacco,  which  was  given  them. 
Having  filled  and  smoked  a  pipe,  they  said,  '  We  are  Allegheny  Indians, 
and  your  enemies.  You  must  all  die  !'  Thereupon  they  shot  her  father, 
tomahawked  her  brother,  who  was  twenty  years  of  age,  took  Barbara  and 
her  sister  Regina  prisoners,  and  conveyed  them  into  the  forest  for  about 
a  mile.  There  they  were  soon  joined  by  the  other  Indians,  with  Marie 
Le  Roy  and  the  little  girl. 

"  Not  long  after  several  of  the  Indians  led  the  prisoners  to  the  top  of 
a  high  hill,  near  the  two  plantations.  Toward  evening  the  rest  of  the 
savages  returned  with  six  fresh  and  bloody  scalps,  which  they  threw  at 
the  feet  of  the  poor  captives,  saying  that  they  had  a  good  hunt  that 
day. 

"  The  next  morning  we  were  taken  about  two  miles  farther  into  the 
forest,  while  the  most  of  the  Indians  again  went  out  to  kill  and  plunder. 
Toward  evening  they  returned  with  nine  scalps  and  five  prisoners. 

"  On  the  third  day  the  whole  band  came  together  and  divided  the 
spoils.  In  addition  to  large  quantities  of  provisions,  they  had  taken  four- 
teen horses  and  ten  prisoners, — namely,  one  man,  one  woman,  five  girls, 
and  three  boys.  We  two  girls,  as  also  two  of  the  horses,  fell  to  the  share 
of  an  Indian  named  Galasko. 

33 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  We  travelled  with  our  new  master  for  two  days.  He  was  tolerably 
kind,  and  allowed  us  to  ride  all  the  way,  while  he  and  the  rest  of  the  In- 
dians walked.  Of  this  circumstance  Barbara  Leininger  took  advantage, 
and  tried  to  escape.  But  she  was  almost  immediately  recaptured,  and 
condemned  to  be  burned  alive.  The  savages  gave  her  a  French  Bible, 
which  they  had  taken  from  Le  Roy's  house,  in  order  that  she  might  pre- 
pare for  death ;  and  when  she  told  them  that  she  could  not  understand 
it,  they  gave  her  a  German  Bible.  Thereupon  they  made  a  large  pile  of 
wood  and  set  it  on  fire,  intending  to  put  her  into  the  midst  of  it.  But  a 
young  Indian  begged  so  earnestly  for  her  life  that  she  was  pardoned, 
after  having  promised  not  to  attempt  to  escape  again,  and  to  stop  her 
crying. 

"  The  next  day  the  whole  troop  was  divided  into  two  bands,  the  one 
marching  in  the  direction  of  the  Ohio,  the  other,  in  which  we  were  with 
Galasko,  to  Jenkiklamuhs,*  a  Delaware  town  on  the  west  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna.  There  we  stayed  ten  days,  and  then  proceeded  to  Punck- 
sotonay,f  or  Eschentown.  Marie  Le  Roy's  brother  was  forced  to  remain 
at  Jenkiklamuhs. 

"  After  having  rested  for  five  days  at  Puncksotonay,  we  took  our  way 
to  Kittanny.  As  this  was  to  be  the  place  of  our  permanent  abode,  we 
here  received  our  welcome,  according  to  Indian  custom.  It  consisted  of 
three  blows  each,  on  the  back.  They  were,  however,  administered  with 
great  mercy.  Indeed,  we  concluded  that  we  were  beaten  merely  in  order 
to  keep  up  an  ancient  usage  and  not  with  the  intention  of  injuring  us. 
The  month  of  December  was  the  time  of  our  arrival,  and  we  remained  at 
Kittanny  until  the  month  of  September,  1756. 

"  The  Indians  gave  us  enough  to  do.  We  had  to  tan  leather,  to  make 
shoes  (moccasins),  to  clear  land,  to  plant  corn,  to  cut  down  trees  and  build 
huts,  to  wash  and  cook.  The  want  of  provisions,  however,  caused  us  the 
greatest  suffering.  During  all  the  time  that  we  were  at  Kittanny  we  had 
neither  lard  nor  salt,  and  sometimes  we  were  forced  to  live  on  acorns, 
roots,  grass,  and  bark.  There  was  nothing  in  the  world  to  make  this 
new  sort  of  food  palatable,  excepting  hunger  itself. 

"  In  the  month  of  September  Colonel  Armstrong  arrived  with  his 
men,  and  attacked  Kittanny  Town.  Both  of  us  happened  to  be  in  that 
part  of  it  which  lies  on  the  other  (right)  side  of  the  river  (Allegheny). 
We  were  immediately  conveyed  ten  miles  farther  into  the  interior,  in 
order  that  we  might  have  no  chance  of  trying,  on  this  occasion,  to  escape. 
The  savages  threated  to  kill  us.  If  the  English  had  advanced,  this  might 
have  happened,  for  at  that  time  the  Indians  were  greatly  in  dread  of 
Colonel  Armstrong's  corps.  After  the  English  had  withdrawn,  we  were 

*  Chinklacamoose,  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Clenrfield. 
j-  Punxsutawney,  in  Jefferson  County. 
34 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

again  brought  back  to  Kittanny,  which  town  had  been  burned  to  the 
ground. 

"There  we  had  the  mournful  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  cruel  end 
of  an  English  woman,  who  had  attempted  to  flee  out  of  her  captivity  and 
to  return  to  the  settlements  with  Colonel  Armstrong.  Having  been  recap- 
tured by  the  savages  and  brought  back  to  Kittanny,  she  was  put  to  death 
in  an  unheard-of  way.  First  they  scalped  her,  next  they  laid  burning 
splinters  of  wood  here  and  there  upon  her  body,  and  then  they  cut  off 
her  ears  and  fingers,  forcing  them  into  her  mouth,  so  that  she  had  to- 
swallow  them.  Amidst  such  torments  this  woman  lived  from  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  toward  sunset,  when  a  French  officer  took  compas- 
sion on  her  and  put  her  out  of  her  misery.  A.n  English  soldier,  on  the 

contrary,  named  John ,  who  escaped  from  prison  at  Lancaster  and 

joined  the  French,  had  a  piece  of  flesh  cut  from  her  body  and  ate  iL. 
When  she  was  dead,  the  Indians  chopped  her  in  two,  through  the  middle, 
and  let  her  lie  until  the  dogs  came  and  devoured  her. 

"Three  days  later  an  Englishman  was  brought  in,  who  had  likewise 
attempted  to  escape  with  Colonel  Armstrong,  and  burned  alive  in  the 
same  village.  His  torments,  however,  continued  only  about  three  hours ; 
but  his  screams  were  frightful  to  listen  to.  It  rained  that  day  very  hard, 
so  that  the  Indians  could  not  keep  up  the  fire  :  hence  they  began  to  dis- 
charge gunpowder  at  his  body.  At  last,  amidst  his  worst  pains,  when 
the  poor  man  called  for  a  drink  of  water,  they  brought  him  melted  lead 
and  poured  it  down  his  throat.  This  draught  at  once  helped  him  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  for  he  died  on  the  instant. 

"It  is  easy  to  imagine  what  an  impression  such  fearful  instances  of 
cruelty  make  upon  the  mind  of  a  poor  captive.  Does  he  attempt  to 
escape  from  the  savages,  he  knows  in  advance  that  if  retaken  he  will 
be  roasted  alive :  hence  he  must  compare  two  evils, — namely,  either  to- 
remain  among  them  a  prisoner  forever  or  to  die  a  cruel  death.  Is  he 
fully  resolved  to  endure  the  latter,  then  he  may  run  away  with  a  brave 
heart. 

"Soon  after  these  occurrences  we  were  brought  to  Fort  Duquesne, 
where  we  remained  for  about  two  months.  We  worked  for  the  French, 
and  our  Indian  master  drew  our  wages.  In  this  place,  thank  God,  we 
could  again  eat  bread.  Half  a  pound  was  given  us  daily.  We  might 
have  had  bacon,  too,  but  we  took  none  of  it,  for  it  was  not  good.  In 
some  respects  we  were  better  off  than  in  the  Indian  towns.  We  could 
not,  however,  abide  the  French.  They  tried  hard  to  induce  us  to  for- 
sake the  Indians  and  stay  with  them,  making  us  various  favorable  offers. 
But  we  believed  that  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  remain  among  the  In- 
dians, inasmuch  as  they  would  be  more  likely  to  make  peace  with  the 
English  than  the  French,  and  inasmuch  as  there  would  be  more  ways 
open  for  flight  in  the  forest  than  in  a  fort.  Consequently  we  declined 

35 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

•the  offers  of  the  French  and  accompanied  our  Indian  master  to  Sackum,* 
where  we  spent  th?  winter,  keeping  house  for  the  savages,  who  were  con- 
tinually on  the  chase.  In  the  spring  we  were  taken  to  Kaschkaschkung,f 
an  Indian  town  on  the  Beaver  Creek.  There  we  again  had  to  clear  the 
plantations  of  the  Indian  nobles,  after  the  German  fashion,  to  plant  corn, 
and  to  do  other  hard  work  of  every  kind.  We  remained  at  this  place  for 
about  a  year  and  a  half. 

"After  having,  in  the  past  three  years,  seen  no  one  of  our  own  flesh 
and  blood,  except  those  unhappy  beings  who,  like  ourselves,  were  bearing 
the  yoke  of  the  heaviest  slavery,  we  had  the  unexpected  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing with  a  German,  who  was  not  a  captive,  but  free,  and  who,  as  we 
heard,  had  been  sent  into  this  neighborhood  to  negotiate  a  peace  between 
the  English  and  the  natives.  His  name  was  Frederick  Post.  We  and 
all  the  other  prisoners  heartily  wished  him  success  and  God's  blessing 
upon  his  undertaking.  We  were,  however,  not  allowed  to  speak  with 
him.  The  Indians  gave  us  plainly  to  understand  that  any  attempt  to  do 
this  would  be  taken  amiss.  He  himself,  by  the  reserve  with  which  he 
treated  us,  let  us  see  that  this  was  not  the  time  to  talk  over  our  afflictions. 
But  we  were  greatly  alarmed  on  his  account,  for  the  French  told  us  that 
if  they  caught  him  they  would  roast  him  alive  for  five  days,  and  many 
Indians  declared  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  get  safely  through,  that 
he  was  destined  for  death. 

"  Last  summer  the  French  and  Indians  were  defeated  by  the  English 
in  a  battle  fought  at  Loyal-Hannon,  or  Fort  Ligonier.  This  caused  the 
utmost  consternation  among  the  natives.  They  brought  their  wives  and 
children  from  Lockstown,^  Sackum,  Schomingo,  Mamalty,  Kaschkasch- 
kung,  and  other  places  in  that  neighborhood,  to  Moschkingo,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  west.  Before  leaving,  however,  they  de- 
stroyed their  crops  and  burned  everything  which  they. could  not  carry 
with  them.  We  had  to  go  along,  and  stayed  at  Moschkingog  the  whole 
winter. 

"In  February,  Barbara  Leininger  agreed  with  an  Englishman,  named 
David  Breckenreach  (Breckenridge),  to  escape,  and  gave  her  comrade, 
Marie  Le  Roy,  notice  of  their  intentions.  On  account  of  the  severe 
season  of  the  year  and  the  long  journey  which  lay  before  them,  Marie 
strongly  advised  her  to  relinquish  the  project,  suggesting  that  it  should 

*  Sakunk,  outlet  of  the  Big  Beaver  into  the  Ohio,  a  point  well  known  to  all  In- 
•dians ;  their  rendezvous  in  the  French  wars,  etc.  Post,  in  his  Journal,  under  date  of 
August  20,  1758,  records  his  experience  at  Sakunk  (Reichel).  See  Post's  Journal, 
Pennsylvania  Archives,  O.  S.,  vol.  iii.  p.  527. 

f  Kaskaskunk,  near  the  junction  of  the  Shenango  and  Mahoning,  in  Lawrence 
•County. 

t  Loggstown,  on  the  Ohio,  eight  miles  above  Beaver. —  Weiser's  Jotirnal. 

\  Muskingum. 

36 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

be  postponed  until  spring,  when  the  weather  would  be  milder,  and 
promising  to  accompany  her  at  that  time. 

"  On  the  last  day  of  February  nearly  all  the  Indians  left  Moschkingo, 
and  proceeded  to  Pittsburg  to  sell  pelts.  Meanwhile,  their  women 
travelled  ten  miles  up  the  country  to  gather  roots,  and  we  accompanied 
them.  Two  men  went  along  as  a  guard.  It  was  our  earnest  hope  that 
the  opportunity  for  flight,  so  long  desired,  had  now  come.  Accordingly, 
Barbara  Leininger  pretended  to  be  sick,  so  that  she  might  be  allowed  to 
put  up  a  hut  for  herself  alone.  On  the  i4th  of  March,  Marie  Le  Roy 
was  sent  back  to  the  town,  in  order  to  fetch  two  young  dogs  which  had 
been  left  there,  and  on  the  same  day  Barbara  Leininger  came  out  of 
her  hut  and  visited  a  German  woman,  ten  miles  from  Moschkingo.  This 

woman's  name  is  Mary ,  and  she  is  the  wife  of  a  miller  from  the 

South  Branch.*  She  had  made  every  preparation  to  accompany  us  on 
our  flight ;  but  Barbara  found  that  she  had  meanwhile  become  lame,  and 
could  not  think  of  going  along.  She,  however,  gave  Barbara  the  pro- 
visions which  she  had  stored, — namely,  two  pounds  of  dried  meat,  a  quart 
of  corn,  and  four  pounds  of  sugar.  Besides,  she  presented  her  with  pelts 
for  moccasins.  Moreover,  she  advised  a  young  Englishman,  Owen  Gib- 
son, to  flee  with  us  two  girls. 

'"  On  the  1 6th  of  March,  in  the  evening,  Gibson  reached  Barbara  Lei- 
ninger's  hut,  and  at  ten  o'clock  our  whole  party,  consisting  of  us  two  girls, 
Gibson,  and  David  Breckenreach,  left  Moschkingo.  This  town  lies  on 
a  river,  in  the  country  of  the  Dellamottinoes.  We  had  to  pass  many 
huts  inhabited  by  the  savages,  and  knew  that  there  were  at  least  sixteen 
dogs  with  them.  In  the  merciful  providence  of  God  not  a  single  one  of 
these  dogs  barked.  Their  barking  would  at  once  have  betrayed  us  and 
frustrated  our  design. 

"It  is  hard  to  describe  the  anxious  fears  of  a  poor  woman  under  such 
circumstances.  The  extreme  probability  that  the  Indians  would  pursue 
and  recapture  us  was  as  two  to  one  compared  with  the  dim  hope  that, 
perhaps,  we  would  get  through  in  safety.  But,  even  if  we  escaped  the 
Indians,  how  would  we  ever  succeed  in  passing  through  the  wilderness, 
unacquainted  with  a  single  path  or  trail,  without  a  guide,  and  helpless, 
half  naked,  broken  down  by  more  than  three  years  of  hard  slavery, 
hungry  and  scarcely  any  food,  the  season  wet  and  cold,  and  many  rivers 
and  streams  to  cross?  Under  such  circumstances,  to  depend  upon  one's 
own  sagacity  would  be  the  worst  of  follies.  If  one  could  not  believe  that 
there  is  a  God  who  helps  and  saves  from  death,  one  had  better  let  run- 
ning away  alone. 

"We  safely  reached  the  river  (Muskingum).  Here  the  first  thought 
in  all  our  minds  was,  Oh,  that  we  were  safely  across  !  And  Barbara  Lei- 

*  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac. 

37 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

winger,  in  particular,  recalling  ejaculatory  prayers  from  an  old  hymn, 
which  she  had  learned  in  her  youth,  put  them  together,  to  suit  our  present 
•circumstances,  something  in  the  following  style  : 

"  O  bring  us  safely  across  this  river ! 
In  fear  I  cry,  yea,  my  soul  doth  quiver. 
The  worst  afflictions  are  now  before  me, 
Where'er  I  turn  nought  but  death  do  I  see. 
Alas,  what  great  hardships  are  yet  in  store 
In  the  wilderness  wide,  beyond  that  shore ! 
It  has  neither  water,  nor  meat,  nor  bread, 
But  each  new  morning  something  new  to  dread. 
Yet  little  sorrow  would  hunger  me  cost 
If  but  I  could  flee  from  the  savage  host, 
Which  murders  and  fights  and  burns  far  and  wide, 
While  Satan  himself  is  array'd  on  its  side. 
Should  on  us  fall  one  of  its  cruel  bands, 
Then  help  us,  Great  God,  and  stretch  out  Thy  hands ! 
In  Thee  will  we  trust,  be  Thou  ever  near, 
Art  Thou  our  Joshua,  we  need  not  fear. 

"  Presently  we  found  a  raft,  left  by  the  Indians.  Thanking  God  that 
He  had  himself  prepared  a  way  for  us  across  these  first  waters,  we  got  on 
board  and  pushed  off.  But  we  were  carried  almost  a  mile  down  the  river 
before  we  could  reach  the  other  side.  There  our  journey  began  in  good 
earnest.  Full  of  anxiety  and  fear,  we  fairly  ran  that  whole  night  and  all 
next  day,  when  we  lay  down  to  rest  without  venturing  to  kindle  a  fire. 
Early  the  next  morning  Owen  Gibson  fired  at  a  bear.  The  animal  fell, 
but  when  he  ran  with  his  tomahawk  to  kill  it,  it  jumped  up  and  bit 
him  in  the  feet,  leaving  three  wounds.  We  all  hastened  to  his  assistance. 
The  bear  escaped  into  narrow  holes  among  the  rocks,  where  we  could  not 
follow.  On  the  third  day,  however,  Owen  Gibson  shot  a  deer.  We  cut 
off  the  hind-quarters  and  roasted  them  at  night.  The  next  morning  he 
again  shot  a  deer,  which  furnished  us  with  food  for  that  day.  In  the 
evening  we  got  to  the  Ohio  at  last,  having  made  a  circuit  of  over  one 
hundred  miles  in  order  to  reach  it. 

"About  midnight  the  two  Englishmen  rose  and  began  to  work  at  a 
raft,  which  was  finished  by  morning.  We  got  on  board  and  safely  crossed 
the  river.  From  the  signs  which  the  Indians  had  there  put  up  we  saw 
that  we  were  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne. 
After  a  brief  consultation  we  resolved,  heedless  of  path  or  trail,  to  travel 
straight  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun.  This  we  did  for  seven  days.  On 
the  seventh  we  found  that  we  had  reached  the  Little  Beaver  Creek,  and 
were  about  fifty  miles  from  Pittsburg. 

"And  now  that  we  imagined  ourselves  so  near  the  end  of  all  our 
troubles  and  misery,  a  whole  host  of  mishaps  came  upon  us.  Our  pro- 
visions were  at  an  end,  Barbara  Leininger  fell  into  the  water  and  was 

38 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

nearly  drowned,  and,  worst  misfortune  of  all !  Owen  Gibson  lost  his  flint 
and  steel.  Hence  we  had  to  spend  four  nights  without  fire,  amidst  rain 
and  snow. 

"  On  the  last  day  of  March  we  came  to  a  river,  Alloquepy,*  about  three 
miles  below  Pittsburg.  Here  we  made  a  raft,  which,  however,  proved  to 
be  too  light  to  carry  us  across.  It  threatened  to  sink,  and  Marie  le  Roy 
fell  off,  and  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  We  had  to  put  back  and  let 
one  of  our  men  convey  one  of  us  across  at  a  time.  In  this  way  we  reached 
the  Monongahela  River,  on  the  other  side  of  Pittsburg,  the  same  evening. 

"  Upon  our  calling  for  help,  Colonel  Mercer  immediately  sent  out  a  boat 
to  bring  us  to  the  fort.  At  first,  however,  the  crew  created  many  diffi- 
culties about  taking  us  on  board.  They  thought  we  were  Indians,  and 
wanted  us  to  spend  the  night  where  we  were,  saying  they  would  fetch  us 
in  the  morning.  When  we  had  succeeded  in  convincing  them  that  we 
were  English  prisoners,  who  had  escaped  from  the  Indians,  and  that  we 
were  wet  and  cold  and  hungry,  they  brought  us  over.  There  was  an 
Indian  with  the  soldiers  in  the  boat.  He  asked  us  whether  we  could 
speak  good  Indian.  Marie  Le  Roy  said  she  could  speak  it.  Thereupon 
he  inquired  why  she  had  run  away.  She  replied  that  her  Indian 
mother  had  been  so  cross  and  had  scolded  her  so  constantly,  that  she 
could  not  stay  with  her  any  longer.  This  answer  did  not  please  him ; 
nevertheless,  doing  as  courtiers  do,  he  said  he  was  very  glad  we  had 
safely  reached  the  fort. 

"  It  was  in  the  night  from  the  last  of  March  to  the  first  of  April  that  we 
came  to  Pittsburg.  Most  heartily  did  we  thank  God  in  heaven  for  all 
the  mercy  which  he  showed  us,  for  His  gracious  support  in  our  weary 
captivity,  for  the  courage  which  He  gave  us  to  undertake  our  flight  and 
to  surmount  all  the  many  hardships  it  brought  us,  for  letting  us  find  the 
road  which  we  did  not  know,  and  of  which  He  alone  could  know  that  on 
it  we  would  meet  neither  danger  nor  enemy,  and  for  finally  bringing  us 
to  Pittsburg  to  our  countrymen  in  safety. 

"  Colonel  Mercer  helped  and  aided  us  in  every  way  which  lay  in  his 
power.  Whatever  was  on  hand  and  calculated  to  refresh  us  was  offered 
in  the  most  friendly  manner.  The  colonel  ordered  for  each  of  us  a  new 
chemise,  a  petticoat,  a  pair  of  stockings,  garters,  and  a  knife.  After 
having  spent  a  day  at  Pittsburg,  we  went,  with  a  detachment  under  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Mile,f  to  Fort  Ligonier.  There  the  lieutenant 
presented  each  of  us  with  a  blanket.  On  the  i5th  we  left  Fort  Ligonier, 
under  protection  of  Captain  Weiser  and  Lieutenant  Atly,|  for  Fort  Bed- 
ford, where  we  arrived  in  the  evening  of  the  i6th,  and  remained  a 
week.  Thence,  provided  with  passports  by  Lieutenant  Geiger,  we 

*  Chartiers  Creek.  f  Lieutenant  Samuel  Miles. 

J  Lieutenant  Samuel  J.  Atlee. 

39 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

travelled  in  wagons  to  Harris'  Ferry,  and  from  there,  afoot,  by  way  of 
Lancaster,  to  Philadelphia.  Owen  Gibson  remained  at  Fort  Bedford 
and  David  Breckenreach  at  Lancaster.  We  two  girls  arrived  in  Phila- 
delphia on  Sunday,  the  6th  of  May." 

In  1762  the  great  Moravian  missionary,  Rev.  John  Heckewelder,  may 
have,  and  probably  did,  spend  a  day  or  two  in  Punxsutawney.  In  or 
about  the  year  1765  a  Moravian  missionary — viz.,  Rev.  David  Zeisber- 
ger — established  a  mission  near  the  present  town  of  Wyalusing,  Brad- 
ford County,  Pennsylvania.  He  erected  forty  frame  buildings,  with 
shingle  roofs  and  chimneys,  in  connection  with  other  improvements,  and 
Christianized  a  large  number  of  the  savages.  The  Muncy  Indians  were 
then  living  in  what  is  now  called  Forest  County,  on  the  Allegheny  River. 
This  brave,  pious  missionary  determined  to  reach  these  savages  also, 
and,  with  two  Christian  Indian  guides,  he  traversed  the  solitude  of  the 
forests  and  reached  his  destination  on  the  i6th  of  October,  1767.  He 
remained  with  these  savages  but  seven  days  ;  they  were  good  listeners  to 
his  sermons,  but  every  day  he  was  in  danger  of  being  murdered.  Of 
these  Indians  he  wrote, — 

"  I  have  never  found  such  heathenism  in  any  other  parts  of  the  Indian 
country.  Here  Satan  has  his  stronghold.  Here  he  sits  on  his  throne. 
Here  he  is  worshipped  by  true  savages,  and  carries  on  his  work  in  the 
hearts  of  the  children  of  darkness."  These,  readers,  were  the  Indians 
that  roamed  over  our  hills,  then  either  Lancaster  or  Berks  County.  In 
1768  this  brave  minister  returned  and  put  up  a  log  cabin,  twenty-six  by 
sixteen  feet,  and  in  1769  was  driven  back  to  what  is  now  called  Wya- 
lusing by  repeated  attempts  on  his  life.  He  says  in  his  journal,  "  For  ten 
months  I  have  lived  between  these  two  towns  of  godless  and  malicious 
savages,  and  my  preservation  is  wonderful." 

In  1768  the  six  Indian  nations  having  by  treaty  sold  the  land  from 
"under  the  feet"  of  the  Wyalusing  converts,  the  Rev.  Zeisberger  was 
compelled  to  take  measures  for  the  removal  of  these  Christian  Indians, 
with  their  horses  and  cattle,  to  some  other  field.  After  many  councils  and 
much  consideration,  he  determined  to  remove  the  entire  body  to  a  mis- 
sion he  had  established  on  the  Big  Beaver,  now  Lawrence  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. Accordingly,  "on  the  nth  of  June,  1772,  everything  being 
in  readiness,  the  congregation  assembled  for  the  last  time  in  their  church 
and  took  up  their  march  toward  the  setting  sun."  They  were  "di- 
vided into  two  companies,  and  each  of  these  were  subdivided.  One 
of  these  companies  went  overland  by  the  Wyalusing  path,  up  the  Sugar 
Run,  and  down  the  Loyal  Sock,  via  Dushore.  This  company  was  in 
charge  of  Ettwein,  who  had  the  care  of  the  horses  and  cattle.  The 
other  company  was  in  charge  of  Rothe,  and  went  by  canoe  down  the 
Susquehannah  and  up  the  west  branch."  The  place  for  the  divisions  to 
unite  was  the  Great  Island,  now  Lock  Haven,  and  from  there,  under  the 

40 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

lead  of  Rev.  John  Ettwein,  to  proceed  up  the  west  branch  of  the  Susque- 
hanna,  and  then  cross  the  mountains  over  the  Chinklacamoose  path, 
through  what  is  now  Clearfield 
and     Punxsutawney,    and    from 
there  to  proceed,  via  Kittanning, 
to  the  Big  Beaver,  now  in  Law- 
rence     County,      Pennsylvania. 
Reader,  just  think  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  people  of  all  ages, 
with  seventy  head  of  oxen  and  a 
greater   number  of  horses,  trav- 
ersing these  deep  forests,  over  a 
small  path  sometimes  scarcely  dis- 
cernible, under  drenching  rains,  Rattlesnake, 
and  through  dismal  swamps,  and 

all  this  exposure  continued  for  days  and  weeks,  with  wild  beasts  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left  of  them,  and  the  path  alive  with  rattlesnakes  in  front 
of  them,  wading  streams  and  overtaken  by  sickness,  and  then,  dear 
reader,  you  will  conclude  with  me  that  nothing  but  "praying  all  night 
in  the  wilderness"  ever  carried  them  successfully  to  their  destination. 
This  story  of  Rev.  Ettwein  is  full  of  interest.  I  reprint  a  paragraph  or 
two  that  applies  to  what  is  now  Jefferson  County, — viz. : 

"1772,  Tuesday,  July  142/1. — Reached  Clearfield  Creek,  where  the 
Buffaloes  formerly  cleared  large  tracts  of  undergrowth,  so  as  to  give  them 
the  appearance  of  cleared  fields.  Hence  the  Indians  called  the  creek 
'  Clearfield. '  Here  we  shot  nine  deer.  On  the  route  we  shot  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  deer  and  three  bears. 

"  Friday,  July  ijth. — Advanced  only  four  miles  to  a  creek  that  comes 
down  from  the  Northwest."  This  was  and  is  Anderson  Creek,  near  Cur- 
wensville,  Pennsylvania. 

"July  1 8th. — Moved  on  ... 

"  Sunday,  July  iqth. — As  yesterday,  but  two  families  kept  up  with 
me,  because  of  the  rain,  we  had  a  quiet  Sunday,  but  enough  to  do  drying 
our  effects.  In  the  evening  all  joined  me,  but  we  could  hold  no  service 
as  the  Ponkies  were  so  excessively  annoying  that  the  cattle  pressed  toward 
and  into  our  camp  to  escape  their  persecutors  in  the  smoke  of  the  fire. 
This  vermin  is  a  plague  to  man  and  beast  by  day  and  night,  but  in  the 
swamp  through  which  we  are  now  passing,  their  name  is  legion.  Hence 
the  Indians  call  it  the  Ponsetunik,  i.e.  the  town  of  the  Ponkies."  This 
swamp  was  in  what  we  now  call  Punxsutawney.  These  people  on  their 
route  lived  on  fish,  venison,  etc. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    PURCHASE   OF    1784. 

THE  following  article  on  the  purchase  made  by  the  Commonwealth 
from  the  Indian  tribes  known  as  the  Six  Nations  in  1784,  of  all  the  lands 
within  the  charter  boundaries  of  Pennsylvania  in  which  the  Indian  title 
had  not  been  extinguished  by  previous  purchases,  was  written  and  com- 
piled by  Major  R.  H.  Forster,  of  the  Department  of  Internal  Affairs,  for 
this  book  : 

"At  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  in  the  year  1783,  the 
ownership  of  a  large  area  of  the  territory  within  the  charter  boundaries 
of  Pennsylvania  was  still  claimed  by  the  Indians  of  the  several  tribes  that 
were  commonly  known  as  the  Six  Nations.  The  last  purchase  of  lands 
from  the  Six  Nations  by  the  proprietary  government  of  the  province  was 
made  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  November,  1768,  and  the  limit  of  this  purchase 
may  be  described  as  extending  to  lines  beginning  where  the  northeast 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  crosses  the  northern  line  of  the  State, 
in  the  present  county  of  Bradford  ;  thence  down  the  river  to  the  mouth 
of  Towanda  Creek,  and  up  the  same  to  its  head-waters  ;  thence  by  a  range 
of  hills  to  the  head-waters  of  Pine  Creek,  and  down  the  same  to  the  west 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna ;  thence  up  the  same  to  Cherry  Tree ;  thence 
by  a  straight  line,  across  the  present  counties  of  Indiana  and  Armstrong, 
to  Kittanning,*  on  the  Allegheny  River,  and  thence  down  the  Allegheny 
and  Ohio  Rivers  to  the  western  boundary  line  of  the  province.  The  In- 
dian claim,  therefore,  embraced  all  that  part  of  the  State  lying  to  the 
northwest  of  the  purchase  lines  of  1768,  as  they  are  here  described. 
With  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  the  authorities  of  the  new 
Commonwealth,  anxiously  looking  to  its  future  stability  and  prosperity, 


*  "Canoe  Place,"  so  called  in  the  old  maps  of  the  State  to  designate  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  is  the  point  at  which  the  pur- 
chase line  of  1768  from  that  river  to  Kittanning,  on  the  Allegheny  River,  begins.  A 
survey  of  that  line  was  made  by  Robert  Galbraith  in  the  year  1786,  and  a  cherry-tree 
standing  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  was  marked  by  him  as  the  beginning  of  his  sur- 
vey. The  same  cherry-tree  was  marked  by  William  P.  Brady  as  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  a  tract  surveyed  by  him  "  at  Canoe  Place,"  in  1794,  on  warrant  No.  3744,  in  the 
name  of  John  Nicholson,  Esq.  The  town  of  Cherry  Tree  now  covers  part  of  this 
ground.  The  old  tree  disappeared  years  ago.  Its  site,  however,  was  regarded  as  of 
some  historic  importance,  and  under  an  appropriation  of  $1500,  granted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1893,  a  substantial  granite  monument  has  been  erected  to  mark  the  spot  where  it 
stood. 

42 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

soon  found  themselves  confronted  with  duties  and  responsibilities  differ- 
ent in  many  respects  from  those  that  had  engaged  their  serious  attention 
and  earnest  effort  during  the  previous  seven  years  of  war.  They  were  to 
enact  just  and  equitable  laws  for  the  government  of  a  new  State,  and  to 
devise  such  measures  as  would  stimulate  its  growth  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion and  promote  the  development,  settlement,  and  improvement  of  its 
great  domain. 

"As  early  as  the  i2th  of  March,  1783,  the  General  Assembly  had 
passed  an  act  setting  apart  certain  lands  lying  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio 
and  Allegheny  Rivers  and  Conewango  Creek  to  be  sold  for  the  purpose 
of  redeeming  the  depreciation  certificates  given  to  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers of  the  Pennsylvania  Line  who  had  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  also  for  the  purpose  of  making  donations  of  land  to  the  same 
officers  and  soldiers  in  compliance  with  a  promise  made  to  them  by  a  res- 
olution passed  in  1780.  It  will  be  observed  that  when  this  act  was  passed 
the  Indian  claim  of  title  to  the  lands  mentioned  was  still  in  force ;  but 
the  State  authorities,  though  seemingly  slow  and  deliberate  in  their 
actions,  were  no  doubt  fully  alive  to  the  necessity  of  securing  as  speedily 
as  possible  the  right  to  all  the  lands  within  the  State — about  five-six- 
teenths of  its  area — that  remained  unpurchased  after  the  treaty  at  Fort 
Stanwix  in  1768.  With  that  purpose  in  view,  the  first  movement  made 
by  the  General  Assembly  to  be  found  on  record  was  on  the  25th  day  of 
September,  1783.  This  action  is  in  the  form  of  a  resolution  passed  on 
that  day  by  the  recommendation  of  the  report  of  a  committee  that  had 
been  previously  appointed  '  to  digest  such  plans  as  they  might  conceive 
necessary  to  facilitate  and  expedite  the  laying  off  and  surveying  of  the 
lands'  set  apart  by  the  act  of  the  previous  March.  The  resolution  reads, — 

"  '  Resolved,  unanimously,  That  the  supreme  executive  council  be, 
and  they  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  appoint  commissioners 
to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  Indians  claiming  the  unpurchased  territory 
within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
the  same,  agreeable  to  ancient  usage,  and  that  all  the  expenses  accruing 
from  the  said  meeting  and  purchase  be  defrayed  out  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  State.' — Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  x.  p.  in. 

"  It  next  appears  by  a  minute  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  of 
February  23,  1784,  that  Samuel  John  Atlee,  William  Maclay,  and  Francis 
Johnston  were  on  that  day  chosen  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  In- 
dians as  proposed  in  the  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  gentle- 
men named — all  of  them  prominent  citizens — were  informed  on  the  apth 
of  the  same  month  of  their  appointment,  but  they  did  not  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  President  Dickinson's  letter  until  the  i7th  of  May  follow- 
ing. On  that  day  Messrs.  Atlee  and  Johnston  reply  in  a  letter  of  thanks 
for  the  honor  conferred  upon  them,  and  explain  the  delay  as  having  been 
caused  by  circumstances  that  required  Mr.  Maclay  and  Colonel  Atlee  to 

43 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

visit  their  families,  the  first  named  still  remaining  absent.  The  letter 
also  contains  a  statement  of  their  views  upon  various  matters  pertaining 
to  the  mission  upon  which  they  are  about  to  enter.  They  suggest  Sam- 
uel Weiser,  a  son  of  Conrad  Weiser,  the  noted  Indian  missionary,  as  a 


Conrad  Weiser. 

proper  person  to  notify  the  Indians  of  the  desire  to  treat  with  them,  and, 
from  his  familiarity  with  their  language  and  customs,  to  act  as  interpreter. 
The  time  and  place  for  holding  the  treaty  are  mentioned,  but  nothing 
definite  suggested,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Continental  Congress  had 
likewise  appointed  commissioners  to  meet  the  Six  Nations  for  the  purpose 
of  treating  with  them  in  relation  to  the  lands  of  the  Northwest,  beyond 
the  limits  of  Pennsylvania,  and  it  was  deemed  proper  to  permit  the  rep- 
resentatives of  Congress  to  arrange  for  the  meeting.*  Fort  Stanwix,  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  was  finally  agreed  upon  as  the  place  where  the 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  x   p.  265. 

44 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

meeting  should  be  held,  and  thither  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of 
Pennsylvania  were  directed  to  proceed.  On  the  25th  of  August,  1784, 
a  committee  of  the  General  Assembly,  having  Indian  affairs  under  con- 
sideration, made  the  following  report : 

"  '  That  weighty  reasons  have  occurred  in  favor  of  the  design  for  hold- 
ing a  conference  with  the  Indians  on  the  part  of  this  State,  and  if  under 
the  present  situation  of  Continental  affairs  that  measure  can  be  conducted 
on  sure  ground  and  without  too  unlimited  an  expense,  it  ought  to  take 
place  and  be  rendered  as  effective  as  this  House  can  make  it,  under  whose 
auspices  a  foundation  would  thus  be  laid  of  essential  and  durable  advan- 
tage to  the  public,  by  extending  population,  satisfying  our  officers  and 
soldiers  in  regard  to  their  donation  lands  and  depreciation  certificates, 
restoring  that  ancient,  friendly,  and  profitable  intercourse  with  the  In- 
dians, and  guarding  against  all  occasions  of  war  with  them.' — Pennsyl- 
vania Archives,  vol.  x.  p.  316. 

"  To  aid  the  commissioners  in  their  efforts  to  attain  objects  so  worthy 
and  laudable,  the  above  report  was  accompanied  by  a  resolution  that 
authorized  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  to  expend  $9000  in  the  pur- 
chase of  '  such  goods,  merchandize,  and  trinkets'  as  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  Indians,  to  be  given  them  as  part  of  the  consideration  in  the  event 
of  a  purchase  being  made.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  the  council 
promptly  ordered  a  warrant  to  be  issued  by  the  treasurer  in  favor  of  the 
commissioners  for  the  sum  of  ^3375  (equivalent  in  Pennsylvania  cur- 
rency to  $9100),  to  be  expended  by  them  in  purchasing  the  necessary 
articles.* 

"After  a  tedious  and  fatiguing  journey,  in  which  they  met  with  a 
number  of  unexpected  delays,  the  commissioners  reached  Fort  Stanwix 
early  in  the  month  of  October,  where  they  found  some  of  the  tribes 
already  assembled,  and  with  them  the  commissioners  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  In  a  letter  to  President  Dickinson,  dated  October  4,  1784, 
they  announce  their  arrival,  and  state  that  the  negotiations  had  already 
commenced,  and  while  they  would  not  venture  an  opinion  as  to  the  final 
issue,  they  say  the  disposition  of  the  Indians  appeared  to  be  favorable. 
The  negotiations  continued  until  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  and  on  that 
day  ended  in  an  agreement  by  which  the  Indian  title  to  all  the  lands 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  State  that  remained  after  the  treaty  of  1768 
was  extinguished.  The  Indians  represented  at  the  conference  were  the 
Mohawks,  the  Oneidas,  the  Onondagas,  the  Senecas,  the  Cayugas,  and  the 
Tuscaroras.  The  consideration  fixed  for  the  surrender  of  their  rights  was 


*  For  a  list  of  the  articles  designated  in  the  order  see  Colonial  Records,  vol.  xiv. 
p.  186.  After  the  negotiations  at  Foil  Stanwix  had  been  concluded  the  commissioners 
gave  an  obligation  for  an  additional  thousand  dollars  in  goods,  to  be  delivered  at 
Tioga.  For  this  list  see  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  x.  p.  496. 

45 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

$5000.  The  deed  is  dated  October  23,  1784,  is  signed  by  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  Six  Nations  and  by  the  Continental  commissioners  as  witnesses. 
The  boundaries  of  the  territory  ceded  are  thus  described  :  '  Beginning  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river  Ohio,  where  the  western  boundary  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  crosses  the  said  river,  near  Shingo's  old  town,  at  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  Creek,  and  thence  by  a  due  north  line  to  the  end  of  the 
forty-second  and  the  beginning  of  the  forty-third  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude, thence  by  a  due  east  line  separating  the  forty-second  and  the  forty- 
third  degrees  of  north  latitude,  to  the  east  side  of  the  east  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  River,  thence  by  the  bounds  of  the  late  purchase  made  at 
Fort  Stanwix,  the  fifth  day  of  November,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  as  follows  :  Down  the  said  east  branch  of 
Susquehanna,  on  the  east  side  thereof,  till  it  comes  opposite  to  the  mouth 
of  a  creek  called  by  the  Indians  Awandac,  and  across  the  river,  and  up 
the  said  creek  on  the  south  side  thereof,  all  along  the  range  of  hills  called 

Burnet's  Hills  by  the  English  and  by  the  Indians ,  on  the  north  side 

of  them,  to  the  head  of  a  creek  which  runs  into  the  west  branch  of  Sus- 
quehanna, which  creek  is  by  the  Indians  called  Tyadaghton,  but  by  the 
Pennsylvanians  Pine  Creek,  and  down  the  said  creek  on  the  south  side 
thereof  to  the  said  west  branch  of  Susquehanna,  thence  crossing  the  said 
river,  and  running  up  the  south  side  thereof,  the  several  courses  thereof 
to  the  forks  of  the  same  river,  which  lies  nearest  to  a  place  on  the  river 
Ohio  called  Kittanning,  and  from  the  fork  by  a  straight  line  to  Kittan- 
ning  aforesaid,  and  thence  down  the  said  river  Ohio  by  the  several  courses 
thereof  to  where  said  State  of  Pennsylvania  crosses  the  same  river  at  the 
place  of  beginning.'  After  the  commissioners  had  accomplished  in  so 
satisfactory  a  manner  the  object  for  which  they  had  journeyed  to  Fort 
Stanwix,  it  became  necessary  to  appease  the  Western  Indians,  the  Wyan- 
dots  and  the  Delawares,  who  also  claimed  rights  in  the  same  lands.  The 
same  commissioners  were  therefore  sent  to  Fort  Mclntosh,  on  the  Ohio 
River,  at  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Beaver,  where,  in  January,  1785, 
they  were  successful  in  reaching  an  agreement  with  those  Indians  for  the 
same  lands.  This  deed,  signed  by  the  chiefs  of  both  tribes,  is  dated 
January  21,  1785,  and  is  in  the  same  words  (except  as  to  the  consid- 
eration money,  which  is  $2000)  and  recites  the  same  boundaries  as  the 
deed  signed  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  the  previous  month  of  October.* 

"After  the  purchase  of  1768  a  disagreement  arose  between  the  pro- 
prietary government  and  the  Indians  as  to  whether  the  creek  flowing  into 
the  west  branch  of  the  river  Susquehanna,  and  called  in  the  deed  '  Tya- 
daghton,' was  intended  for  Lycoming  Creek  or  Pine  Creek.  The  In- 

*  The  conference  of  the  commissioners  at  Fort  Stanwix  and  Fort  Mclntosh  with 
the  deeds  signed  at  those  places  are  published  in  the  Appendix  to  the  General  Assembly 
for  the  session  of  February  to  April,  1785. 

46 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dians  said  it  was  the  former,  and  that  the  purchase  only  extended  that 
far,  the  proprietaries  claimed  the  latter  stream  to  be  the  extent  of  the  pur- 
chase ;  but,  in  order  to  avoid  any  trouble  that  might  arise  from  the  dis- 


s.  \ 


pute,  it  was  wisely  determined  that  no  rights  should  be  granted  for  lands 
west  of  Lycoming  Creek.  This  determination,  however,  did  not  deter 
"or  prevent  adventurous  pioneers  from  entering  upon  and  making  settle- 
ments within  the  disputed  territory,  and  from  their  persistency  in  so 

47 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

doing  arose  an  interesting,  not  to  say  serious,  condition  of  affairs,  to 
which  reference  will  again  be  made.  The  commissioners  at  Fort  Stan- 
wix  were  instructed  to  ascertain  definitely  from  the  Indians  which  of  the 
two  streams  they  meant  by  'Tyadaghton.'  They  then  admitted  that  it 
was  Pine  Creek,  being  the  largest  emptying  into  the  west  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna. 

"The  Indian  claim  of  right  to  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania,  within  its 
charter  limits,  had  thus,  in  a  period  of  a  little  more  than  one  hundred 
years,  ceased  to  exist.  A  glance  at  a  map  of  the  State  will  show  that 
within  the  magnificent  domain  that  comprises  the  purchase  of  1784  are 
to  be  found  at  the  present  day  the  counties  of  Tioga,  Potter,  McKean, 
Warren,  Crawford,  Venango,  Forest,  Clarion,  Elk,  Jefferson,  Cameron, 
Butler,  Lawrence,  and  Mercer,  and  parts  of  the  counties  of  Bradford, 
Clinton,  Clearfield,  Indiana,  Armstrong,  Allegheny,  Beaver,  and  Erie.* 
This  large  and  important  division  of  our  great  Commonwealth,  now  teem- 
ingjwith  population  and  wealth,  the  abiding-place  of  a  noble  civilization, 
and^containing  within  its  boundaries  thousands  upon  thousands  of  homes 
of  comfort  and  many  of  elegance  and  luxury,  fertile  valleys  to  reward  the 
labor  of  the  husbandman,  thriving  villages,  busy  towns,  and  growing, 
bustling  cities,  was,  in  1784,  largely  an  uninhabited  and  untraversed 
wilderness. 

"LANDS    EAST   OF   THE   ALLEGHENY   RIVER   AND   CONEWANGO 

CREEK. 

"The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  did  not  delay  in  enacting  laws 
which  would  open  to  settlers  and  purchasers  that  part  of  the  late  acquisi- 
tion that  had  not  been  otherwise  appropriated.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in 
anticipation  of  the  purchase,  an  act  was  passed  on  the  ist  day  of  April, 
1784,  in  which  it  was  provided  that  as  soon  as  the  Indians  were  '  satisfied 
for  the  unpurchased  lands,'  the  supreme  executive  council  should  give 
official  information  thereof  to  the  surveyor-general,  who  was  then  to  ap- 
point district  surveyors  to  survey  all  such  lands  within  the  purchase  as 
should  '  be  found  fit  for  cultivation. '  The  tracts  were  to  contain  not 
more  than  500  nor  less  than  200  acres  each,  and  were  to  be  numbered 
on  a  general  draft  of  each  district.  When  a  certain  number  of  lots  were 
surveyed,  they  were  to  be  sold  at  public  auction,  the  purchaser  having 
the  privilege  of  paying  one  moiety  at  the  time  of  purchase  and  receiving 
a  credit  of  two  years  for  the  other  moiety.  The  mode  of  disposing  of  the 
lands  thus  indicated  was  soon  changed  by  subsequent  legislation.  By  an 
act  passed  December  21,  1784,  to  amend  the  act  of  April  i,  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law  for  sales  by  public  auction  and  the  giving  of  credit 
were  repealed.  Section  6  of  the  act  provided  that  the  land-office  should 

*  See  accompanying  map,  which  shows  the  extent  of  the  purchase. 

48 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

be  open  on  the  ist  day  of  May,  1785,  to  receive  applications  for  lands  at 
the  rate  of  ^30*  for  every  hundred  acres  of  the  same,  and  that  the  sur- 
vey of  an  application  should  not  contain  more  than  1000"  acres,  with  the 
usual  allowance  of  six  per  centum  for  highways.  This  act  was  intended 
to  apply  to  all  lands  within  the  purchase,  except  the  lands  north  and  west 
of  the  Ohio  and  Allegheny  Rivers  and  Conewango  Creek  (which,  as 
already  mentioned,  had  been  appropriated  for  the  redemption  of  depre- 
ciation certificates  and  for  the  donations  of  land  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Line)  and  the  disputed  territory  between  Lycoming  and 
Pine  Creeks.  By  Section  7,  a  warrant  issued  in  pursuance  of  the  act 
was  not  descriptive,  and  was  rot  confined  to  any  particular  place,  but 
could  be  located  on  any  vacant  land,  not  within  the  excepted  districts, 
that  the  applicant  might  select.  Sections  8,  9,  and  10  of  the  act  pro- 
vide for  the  persons  who  occupied  lands  between  Lycoming  and  Pine 
Creek,  in  violation  of  the  proprietary  mandate.  The  situation  of  these 
settlers  was  peculiar.  When  the  disagreement  in  regard  to  the  purchase 
lines  of  the  purchase  of  1768  occurred,  the  proprietaries,  always  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  avoid  giving  offence  to  the  Indians,  decided  to  with- 
hold the  territory  between  the  two  streams  from  sale  and  settlement  until 
the  differences  could  be  properly  adjusted  by  mutual  agreement.  Though 
many  applications  for  land  west  of  Lycoming  Creek  were  on  file,  surveys 
would  not  be  accepted,  and  at  the  same  time  stringent  orders  were  issued 
protesting  against  persons  making  settlement  beyond  that  stream,  and 
warning  those  already  there  to  depart.  In  defiance  of  warnings,  protests, 
and  proclamations,  however,  many  sturdy,  self-reliant  men  persisted  in 
occupying  the  forbidden  ground,  where  they  found  themselves  beyond 
the  bounds  of  lawful  authority,  and  could  not  expect  to  receive  encour- 
agement or  protection  from  the  proprietary  government.  But  with  the 
energy  and  courage  common  to  pioneer  settlers  they  at  once  began  the 
work  of  subduing  the  wilderness  and  building  homes  for  their  families, 
and  from  accounts  that  have  come  down  to  us,  the  little  community,  if  it 
did  not  live  in  luxury,  was  at  least  able  to  earn  a  subsistence  that  was  not 
meagre  in  quantity,  whatever  may  have  been  its  quality.  Being  without 
law  or  government,  the  members  of  the  community  were  compelled  by 
the  necessities  of  their  situation  and  surroundings  to  adopt  a  system  of 
government  of  their  own,  the  details  of  which  are  not  fully  known.  All, 
however,  were  under  solemn  obligations  to  support  and  defend  their 
agreement  for  mutual  support  and  protection.  They  called  themselves 
Fair-Play  Men,  and  it  is  known  that  annually  they  elected  three  of  their 
number  to  constitute  a  court,  which  held  stated  meetings  to  dispense  jus- 
tice. To  this  tribunal  all  disputes  and  controversies  were  referred  for 
settlement,  and  from  its  decisions  there  was  no  appeal.  A  stranger 

*  In  Pennsylvania  currency  this  was  at  the  rate  of  80  cents  an  acre. 

49 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

coming  among  them  was  obliged  to  appear  before  the  court  and  promise 
under  oath  to  submit  to  the  laws  of  the  community.  If  he  did  this,  he 
could  remain,  take  possession  of  unoccupied  land,  and  receive  assistance 
in  building  his  cabin.  If  he  would  not  take  the  obligation,  he  was  quickly 
notified  to  absent  himself  without  delay,  which  he  usually  did,  without 
awaiting  the  call  of  a  committee,  whose  methods  of  expulsion  might  be 
none  too  gentle.  Many  of  these  brave  frontiersmen  served  in  the  army 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  Section  8  of  the  act  recited  that  by 
reason  of  their  services  as  soldiers,  they  merited  the  'pre-emption  of 
their  respective  plantations.'  Sections  9  and  10  of  the  same  act  allowed 
a  pre-emption  to  all  settlers  and  their  legal  representatives  who  had  set- 
tled on  the  lands  between  the  two  streams  prior  to  the  year  1780,  limit- 
ing each  claim  to  300  acres,  providing  that  the  application  should  be 
made  and  the  consideration  paid  on  or  before  November  i,  1785.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  time  fixed  by  the  act  of  December  21, 
1784,  for  the  land-office  to  be  opened  to  receive  applications  was  May 
i,  1785.  Before  that  day  arrived,  however,  the  Legislature  passed 
another  act.  which,  in  many  respects,  changed  the  policy  previously  pur- 
sued in  disposing  of  unappropriated  lands.  This  act  became  a  law  on 
the  8th  day  of  April,  1785,  and  with  it  came  the  practice,  as  provided  in 
the  act,  of  numbering  all  warrants  for  land  in  the  last  purchase  to  the  east 
of  the  Allegheny  River  and  Conewango  Creek,  a  change  in  practice  that 
has  always  been  regarded  as  a  valuable  improvement  on  the  old  system. 
The  act  is  entitled  '  An  act  to  provide  further  regulations,  whereby  to 
secure  fair  and  equal  proceedings  in  the  land- office,  and  the  surveying  of 
lands.'  It  was  believed  that  when  the  office  was  opened  on  the  day  fixed 
by  the  law,  numerous  applications  would  be  made  at  the  same  time,  and 
that  preference  would  necessarily  be  given  to  some  persons  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  others,  and  thereby  cause  dissatisfaction.  In  order  to  prevent 
any  one  from  profiting  by  such  preference,  it  was  enacted  in  Section  2 
of  the  act  that  the  priority  of  all  warrants  to  be  granted  on  applications 
received  during  the  first  ten  days  after  the  opening  of  the  office  should 
be  determined  by  a  lottery  to  be  drawn  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Land- Office.  Not  more  than  1000  acres  were  to  be 
included  in  one  application,  and  the  warrants  were  to  be  numbered 
'according  to  the  decision  of  the  lottery.'  For  conducting  the  lottery 
the  section  contains  minute  directions.  All  applications  made  after  the 
expiration  of  ten  days  were  to  have  priority  according  to  the  order  in 
which  they  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Secretary,  and  were  to  be  num- 
bered accordingly.  The  other  sections  of  the  act  relate  mainly  to  the 
duties  of  the  surveyor-general  and  the  deputy- surveyors  to  be  by  him 
appointed,  and  the  way  in  which  surveys  were  to  be  made  and  returned. 
It  also  prescribes  the  fees  to  be  received  by  the  officers  of  the  land  office 
and  the  deputy  surveyors,  and  attaches  the  territory  east  of  the  Allegheny 

50 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

River  and  Conewango  Creek  to  Northumberland  County,  a  part  of  which 
county  it  remained  until  Lycoming  County  was  formed  in  1795,  when  it 
became  part  of  that  county.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  purchase  was 
attached  to  Westmoreland  County,  and  so  continued  until  Allegheny  was 
formed  in  1 788,  when  it  was  included  in  the  boundary  of  that  county. 
The  applications  received  during  the  first  ten  days  from  the  opening  of 
the  office  were  listed  and  numbered,  placed  in  the  lottery-wheel,  and 
drawn  therefrom  in  the  manner  provided  by  the  second  section  of  the 
act.  They  numbered  five  hundred  and  sixty- four,  and  warrants  for  that 
number  of  tracts  were  issued,  and  received  a  number  that  corresponded 
with  the  number  drawn  from  the  wheel.  These  warrants  were  called 
'  Northumberland  County  Lottery  Warrants,'  and  under  that  designation 
are  yet  carried  on  the  warrant  registers  of  the  office.  They  could  be, 
and  were,  located  in  such  localities  within  the  purchase  east  of  the  Alle- 
gheny River  as  the  owners  might  select,  except  on  a  reservation  of  1000 
acres  at  the  forks  of  Sinnemahoning  Creek,  for  which  General  James 
Potter  held  a  pre-emption. 

"The  surveyor  general  had  authority  to  appoint  deputy-surveyors, 
and  to  fix  the  number,  extent,  and  boundaries  of  the  districts  to  which 
they  were  to  be  assigned.  The  territory  was  divided  into  eighteen  dis- 
tricts, and  a  deputy -surveyor  appointed  for  each.  These  districts  were 
numbered  consecutively,  beginning  with  No.  i,  on  the  Allegheny  River, 
and  running  eastward  to  No.  18,  which  extended  to  the  north  branch  of 
the  Susquehanna  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  purchase.  This  arrange- 
ment of  the  districts  continued  until  after  the  year  1 790,  when  a  change 
was  made  by  the  surveyor-general.  The  number  of  districts  was  then 
reduced  to  six,  and  were  numbered  westward  from  district  No.  i,  begin- 
ning at  the  mouth  of  Lycoming  Creek.  In  the  new  arrangement  John 
Adlum  was  appointed  deputy-surveyor  for  district  No.  i,  John  Broadhead 
for  No.  2,  John  Canan  for  No.  3,  James  Hunter  for  No.  4,  William  P. 
Brady  for  No.  5,  and  Enion  Williams  for  No.  6,  on  the  Allegheny  River. 
In  1793,  John  Adlum,  whose  surveys  were  principally  along  the  northern 
line  of  the  State,  was  succeeded  by  William  Ellis,  and  Enion  Williams 
by  John  Broadhead.  After  the  drawing  of  the  lottery  warrants  the  busi- 
ness of  the  land- office  does  not  appear  to  have  been  very  pressing.  It 
would  seem  that  at  the  price  fixed  by  the  act  of  December,  1784 — ^"30 
per  hundred,  or  80  cents  an  acre — purchasers  were  not  numerous.  The 
records  show  that  from  the  time  of  the  drawing  and  issuing  of  the  lottery 
warrants  in  May,  1785,  down  to  the  year  1792,  not  more  than  400  war- 
rants were  granted  for  these  lands,  and  among  these  warrants  were  many 
to  religious  and  educational  institutions  issued  under  various  acts  of 
endowment.  There  were  32  to  Dickinson  College, — 28  of  300  acres 
each,  and  4  of  400  acres  each,  making  in  all  7000  acres ;  the  Episcopal 
Academy  had  33  warrants, — 32  of  300  acres  each,  and  i  of  400  acres, 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

making  10,000  acres;  the  Lutheran  congregation,  of  Philadelphia,  10 
warrants  of  500  acres  each,  making  5000  acres ;  the  Pittsburg  Academy, 
10  warrants  of  500  acres  each,  making  5000  acres;  the  Washington 
Academy,  10  warrants  of  500  each,  making  5000  acres;  the  Reading 
Academy,  7  warrants, — 3  of  1000  acres  each  and  4  of  500  acres  each, 
making  5000  acres ;  and  Franklin  College  33  warrants  of  300  acres  each, 
and  i  of  100  acres,  making  10,000  acres, — making  in  the  aggregate  112 
warrants  for  52,000  acres  of  land. 

"It  had  now  become  apparent  to  the  authorities  that  the  price  of 
land  was  too  high  to  induce  investments  of  money  in  them,  and  that 
the  General  Assembly  must  fix  a  lower  rate  to  promote  sales.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  the  president  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  under  date  of 
February  23,  1787,  addressed  a  letter  to  that  body  in  which  he  says, 
'  We  are  convinced  that  it  will  be  of  advantage  to  the  State  to  lower  the 
price  of  land  within  the  late  Indian  purchase  ;  only  eight  warrants  have 
been  taken  out  for  lands  these  six  months  passed.'*  The  Legislature 
accordingly  passed  an  act,  October  3,  1788,  to  reduce  the  price  from  the 
rate  of  ^30  per  hundred  acres  to  £20.  This  rate  was  to  be  charged 
after  March  i,  1789,  and  was  a  reduction  from  the  old  rate  of  80  cents 
an  acre  to  53^  cents  an  acre.  This  rate  continued  until  April  3,  1792  ; 
but,  contrary  to  expectations,  did  not  have  the  effect  of  increasing  sales, 
and,  therefore,  brought  little  or  no  change  in  the  business  of  the  office. 
By  another  act,  passed  April  3,  1792,  the  price  was  again  reduced.  The 
rate  fixed  by  this  act  was  ^5,  or  $13.33^,  for  each  hundred  acres,  and 
at  this  rate  sales  almost  astonishing  in  extent  were  made,  and  the  years 
1792-93-94  proved  to  be  noted  and  important  years  for  disposing  of  un- 
appropriated lands.  The  low  price  at  which  lands  could  now  be  bought, 
and  the  alluring  prospect  of  a  large  increase  in  their  value,  undoubtedly 
induced  many  large  purchasers  to  enter  their  applications.  The  applica- 
tions received  at  the  land-office  were  for  a  large  number  of  tracts,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  years  named  more  than  5000  warrants  of  900  and 
1000  acres  each,  covering  almost  5,000,000  acres,  were  granted  for 
lands  north  and  west  of  the  purchase  line  of  1768,  and  east  of  the  Alle- 
gheny River.  These  were  all  numbered  in  consecutive  order,  as  required 
by  the  act  of  April,  1785,  and  were  sent  to  the  deputy  surveyors  of  the 
six  districts  to  be  executed.  They  were  issued  in  the  names  of  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  persons,  but  the  holdings,  as  a  rule,  were  very 
large.  While  it  would  be  tedious  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  holders  of 
these  warrants,  generally  called  'late  purchase  warrants,'  it  may  not 
prove  uninteresting  to  mention  a  few  of  those  whose  purchases  were  more 
than  usually  large,  if  only  to  show  that  a  spirit  of  speculation  might  have 
existed  in  those  days,  even  as  it  does  at  the  present  time.  The  first  to 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  xv.  p.  167. 
52 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

be  mentioned  will  be  the  warrants  issued  in  the  names  of  Wilhelm  Willink,. 
Nicholas  Van  Staphorst,  Christian  Van  Eeghan,  Pieter  Stadnitski,  Hen- 
drick  Vollenhoven,  and  Ruter  Jan  Schimmelpenninck.  These  gentle- 
men were  merchants  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  Holland.  In  the  land 
history  of  Pennsylvania  they  are  known  as  the  '  Holland  Land  Com- 
pany,' and  through  agents  they  invested  a  large  amount  of  money  in 
land  in  the  purchase  of  1784  The  warrant  registers  show  that  in  the 
three  years,  1792-93-94,  they  paid  for  and  received  1105  warrants  of  900 
acres  each,  aggregating  995,400  acres  of  land  lying  east  of  the  Allegheny 
River.  These  warrants  were  divided  among  the  deputy- surveyors  of  the 
six  districts.  James  Wilson  was  another  large  owner  of  warrants,  the 
number  held  by  him  being  510,  of  900  acres  each,  making  451,000  acres. 
Herman  Le  Roy  and  Jan  Lincklean,  A.  Z.,  also  of  Amsterdam,  303 
warrants  of  900  acres  each,  making  272,700  acres.  John  Nicholson  300 
warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  300,000  acres.  Thomas  M.  Willing, 
311  warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  311,000  acres.  George  Meade, 
306  warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  306,000  acres.  Robert  Gil- 
more,  200  warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  200,000  acres.  Samuel' 
Wallis,  100  warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  100,000  acres.  William 
Bingham,  1 25  warrants  of  1000  acres  each,  making  1 25,000  acres.  Robert 
Morris,  185  warrants,  141  of  1000  acres  each,  and  44  of  500  acres  each, 
making  163,000  acres.  The  magnitude  of  the  purchases  made  by  a  few 
individuals  is  here  clearly  indicated.  There  were,  however,  other  large 
purchasers,  such  as  Robert  Blackwell,  John  Olden,  Charles  Willing, 
Philip  Nicklin  and  Robert  Griffith,  James  Strawbridge,  Jeremiah  Parker, 
and  others  whose  names  we  are  obliged  to  omit.  The  surveys  generally 
were  carefully  and  correctly  made,  and,  considering  the  extent  of  terri- 
tory covered  by  them,  and  the  large  interests  involved,  no  great  amount 
of  litigation  from  conflicting  locations  afterwards  grew  out  of  defective 
or  careless  work  by  the  surveyor,  as  was  too  often  the  case  with  surveys 
made  in  other  sections  of  the  State.  In  1817  the  price  of  the  lands  was 
again  changed  to  26^3  cents  an  acre,  to  correspond  with  the  price  in  the 
older  purchases.  At  the  same  time  warrants  were  made  descriptive,  and 
have  since  been  carried  in  the  warrant  registers  by  counties.  The  sur- 
veys made  on  the  numbered  warrants  did  not  appropriate  all  the  land 
within  the  limits  to  which  they  were  restricted,  and  since  then  many 
warrants  have  been  granted  in  all  the  counties  erected  from  the  territory 
that  in  1785  was  made  to  form  a  part  of  the  county  of  Northumberland. 

"LANDS     NORTH     AND     EAST     OF     THE     OHIO     AND     ALLEGHENY 
RIVERS   AND   CONEWANGO   CREEK. 

"After  the  surveys  of  the  tracts  to  be  sold  for  the  redemption  of 
depreciation  certificates  and  the  donation  lots  to  be  given  to  the  soldiers 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Line  had  been  made,  there  remained  in  this  part  of 

53 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  purchase  a  large  surplus  of  lands  to  be  otherwise  appropriated.  The 
Legislature,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1792,  passed  an  act  for  the  sale  of  these 
lands,  entitled  '  An  act  for  the  sale  of  vacant  lands  within  this  Common- 
wealth.' This  act  differs  from  all  previous  laws  for  disposing  of  the 
public  lands,  by  providing  that  they  should  only  be  offered  for  sale  to 
such  persons  as  would  '  cultivate,  improve,  and  settle  the  same,  or  cause 
the  same  to  be  cultivated,  improved,  and  settled.'  The  price  fixed  was 
£l  los.  in  Pennsylvania  currency,  for  every  hundred  acres,  or  in  other 
words,  20  cents  an  acre,  and  the  warrants  were  limited  to  400  acres  each. 
The  surveyor  general  was  authorized  to  divide  the  territory  offered  for 
sale  into  proper  and  convenient  districts  and  appoint  deputy-surveyors, 
who  were  to  give  the  customary  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their 
duties.  They  were  to  execute  warrants  according  to  their  priority,  but 
*  not  to  survey  any  tract  actually  settled  and  improved  prior  to  the  date 
of  the  entry  of  such  warrant  with  the  deputy,  except  to  the  owner  of  such 
settlement  and  improvement.'  The  territory  was  divided  into  eleven 
districts,  and  a  deputy- surveyor  appointed  for  each ;  Thomas  Reese  for 
district  No.  i,  William  Powers  for  No.  2,  Benjamin  Stokely  for  No.  3, 
Thomas  Stokely  for  No.  4,  John  Moore  for  No.  5,  Samuel  Nicholson  for 
No.  6,  John  McCool  for  No.  7,  Stephen  Gapen  for  No.  8,  Jonathan  and 
Daniel  Leet  for  Nos.  9  and  10,  John  Hoge  for  No.  ti. 

"  By  Section  8  of  the  act,  on  application  being  made  to  the  deputy- 
surveyor  of  the  proper  district  by  any  person  who  had  made  an  actual 
settlement  and  improvement,  that  officer,  on  being  paid  the  legal  fees, 
was  required  to  survey  the  lines  of  the  tract,  not  exceeding  400  acres,  to 
which  such  person  may  have  become  entitled  by  virtue  of  his  settlement. 
Many  such  surveys  were  returned  to  the  land  office  and  constituted  pre- 
emptions to  persons  for  whom  they  were  made.  Some  of  the  tracts  thus 
returned  still  remain  unpaid,  as  a  glance  at  the  land  lien  docket  of  the 
land-office  will  show.  By  Section  9,  no  warrant  or  survey  made  in  pur- 
suance of  the  act  was  to  vest  title  to  the  lands  unless  the  guarantee  had, 
'  prior  to  the  date  of  such  warrant  made,  or  caused  to  be  made,  or  should 
within  the  space  of  two  years  next  after  the  date  of  the  same,  make,  or 
cause  to  be  made,  an  actual  settlement  thereon,  by  clearing,  fencing,  and 
cultivating  at  least  two  acres  for  every  hundred  acres  contained  in  one 
survey,  erecting  thereon  a  messuage  for  the  habitation  of  man,  and  re- 
siding or  causing  a  family  to  reside  thereon,  for  the  space  of  five  years  next 
following  his  first  settling  of  the  same,  if  he  or  she  shall  so  long  live. ' 
In  default  of  such  actual  settlement  and  residence  the  right  was  forfeited, 
and  new  warrants,  reciting  the  original  warrants  and  the  lack  of  compli- 
ance with  the  requirements  of  the  act,  could  be  granted  to  other  actual 
settlers.  It  was  provided,  however,  '  that  if  any  actual  settler  or  any 
grantee  in  any  such  original  or  succeeding  warrant,  shall  by  force  of 
arms  of  the  enemies  of  the  United  States,  be  prevented  from  making 

54 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

such  actual  settlement,  or  be  driven  therefrom  and  shall  persist  in  his 
endeavors  to  make  such  actual  settlement  as  aforesaid,  then,  in  either 
case,  he  and  his  heirs  shall  be  entitled  to  have  and  to  hold  the  said  lands 
in  the  same  manner  as  if  the  actual  settlement  had  been  made  and  con- 
tinued.' Under  the  provisions  of  this  act  many  surveys,  as  already 
stated,  were  returned  for  actual  settlers,  and  many  warrants  were  taken 
out  immediately  after  its  passage.  The  warrants  were  for  400  acres  each, 
and  immense  numbers  of  them  in  fictitious  names,  in  which  great  families 
of  Inks,  Pirns,  etc.,  appear,  were  taken  out  by  a  few  individuals.  For 
instance,  the  Holland  Land  Company,  previously  mentioned,  again 
appears  in  the  territory  west  of  the  Allegheny.  That  company  alone 
took  out  1162  warrants  representing  464,800  acres  of  land,  and  making 
the  entire  purchases  of  the  company  from  the  State  amount  to  more  than 
1,500,000  acres.  John  Nicholson  was  another  purchaser  who  held  a 
large  number  of  these  warrants.  To  the  '  Pennsylvania  Population 
Company'  he  assigned  100,000  acres  lying  principally  in  the  present 
County  of  Erie,  and  proposed  to  assign  250,000  acres  lying  along  Beaver 
Creek  and  the  western  line  of  the  State  to  another  of  his  land  schemes 
called  the  'North  American  Land  Company.'  The  warrants  all  con- 
tained the  actual  settlement  clause,  but  not  any  of  the  large  owners  of 
warrants  made  the  slightest  pretence  of  complying  with  it.  Owing  to 
the  disturbed  condition  of  the  western  border  at  the  time  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  do  so.  A  state  of  war  existed  with  the  western  Indians.  The 
United  States  forces  had  met  with  serious  reverses  in  the  defeat  of  Harmer 
and  St.  Clare  in  1791,  and  it  was  not  until  after  Wayne's  treaty,  in 
December,  1795,  gave  peace  and  safety  to  the  borders  that  settlers  with 
their  families  could  enter  upon  those  lands  free  from  the  fear  and  danger 
of  Indian  incursions. 

"  But  with  the  settling  of  the  Indian  disorders  and  the  return  of  peace, 
there  soon  came  other  troubles,  with  expensive  and  vexatious  litigation, 
to  annoy  and  harass  settlers  and  warrantees  by  the  uncertainty  that  was 
cast  upon  their  titles.  This  uncertainty  grew  out  of  differences  of  opinion 
in  relation  to  the  construction  the  two  years'  clause  of  the  law  requiring 
actual  settlement,  after  the  termination  of  the  Indian  hostilities  that  had 
prevented  such  settlement  from  being  made,  should  receive.  The  oppo- 
site views  held  by  those  interested  in  titles  are  clearly  stated  in  Sergeant's 
'  Land  Laws,'  page  98  :  '  On  one  side  it  was  contended  that  the  conditions 
of  actual  settlement  and  residence,  required  by  the  act,  was  dispensed  with, 
on  account  of  the  prevention  for  two  years  after  the  date  of  the  warrant  * 
by  Indian  hostilities ;  and  that  the  warrant  holder  was  not  bound  to  do 
anything  further,  but  was  entitled  to  a  patent.  On  the  other  side  it  was 
insisted  that  the  right  under  the  warrant  was  forfeited,  at  the  expiration 

*  Nearly  all  of  these  warrants  were  granted  in  1792-93. 
55 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  two  years,  without  a  settlement,  and  that  actual  settlers  might  then  enter 
on  such  tracts  and  hold  them  by  making  a  settlement.  On  this  and  other 
constructions,  numbers  of  persons  entered  on  the  lands  of  warrantees 
and  claimed  to  hold  under  the  act,  as  settlers,  after  a  forfeiture.'  The 
authorities  of  the  State  at  the  time — 1796  to  1800 — held  to  the  first 
opinion,  and  by  the  advice  of  Attorney-General  Ingersoll,  the  Board  of 
Property  devised  what  was  called  a  'prevention  certificate,'  which  set 
forth  the  fact  of  the  inability  of  the  warrantee  or  settler  to  make  the  re- 
quired settlement.  This  certificate  was  to  be  signed  by  two  justices,  and 
on  its  presentation,  properly  signed,  the  land  officers  freely  granted  a 
patent  for  the  land  described.  Under  prevention  certificates  of  this  kind 
many  patents  were  granted.  The  Holland  Land  Company  received  more 
than  one  thousand,  and  John  Field,  William  Crammond,  and  James  Gib- 
son, in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  Pennsylvania  Population  Company,  more 
than  eight  hundred.  These  patents  all  contained  a  recital  of  the  preven- 
tion certificate,  as  follows  :  '  And  also  in  consideration  of  it  having  been 
made  to  appear  to  the  Board  of  Property  that  the  said  (name  of  warrantee) 
was  by  force  of  arms  of  the  enemies  of  the  United  States  prevented  from 
making  settlement  as  is  required  by  the  ninth  section  (act  of  April  3, 
1792),  and  the  assignees  of  the  said  (warrantee)  had  persisted  in  their 
endeavors  to  make  such  settlement,'  etc.  With  a  change  of  administra- 
tion in  October,  1799,  there  followed  a  change  of  policy.  The  new 
authorities  did  not  regard  the  policy  and  proceedings  of  the  former  Board 
of  Property  binding,  and  the  further  issuing  of  patents  on  prevention 
certificates  was  refused.  In  the  mean  time,  the  contentions  between  the 
owners  of  warrants  and  settlers  were  carried  into  the  courts,  where  a  like 
difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  contending  parties 
under  the  act  of  1792  soon  manifested  itself,  the  judges  disagreeing  as 
widely  in  their  construction  of  the  ninth  section  as  the  parties  in  interest. 
It  was  only  after  years  of  exciting  and  troublesome  litigation,  and  the 
enactment  of  a  number  of  laws  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  to  facilitate 
an  adjustment  of  the  contentions,  that  titles  became  settled  and  owners 
felt  secure  in  their  possessions.  It  may  be  said  that  while  the  judges  of 
the  courts  often  differed  in  their  opinions  on  the  points  at  issue,  the  liti- 
gation ended  generally  in  favor  of  the  holders  of  the  warrants.  The  Hol- 
land Land  Company,  being  composed  of  foreigners,  could  appeal  to  the 
courts  of  the  United  States.  In  one  case  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
the  company  was  actually  absolved  from  making  the  settlement  prescribed 
by  the  ninth  section.  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  holding  that  a  warrant  for 
a  tract  of  land  under  the  Act  of  1792  '  to  a  person  who,  by  force  of  arms 
of  the  enemies  of  the  United  States,  was  prevented  from  settling  and  im- 
proving the  said  land,  and  from  residing  thereon  from  the  date  of  the 
warrant  until  the  ist  of  January,  1796,  but  who,  during  the  said  period, 
persisted  in  his  endeavors  to  make  such  settlement  and  residence,  vests  in 

56 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

such  grantee  a  fee-simple  in  said  land.'*  That  the  uncertainty  in  re- 
gard to  land" titles  during  these  years  did  much  to  retard  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  this  northwestern  section  of  the  State  cannot  be  doubted ; 
but,  under  the  influence  of  better  conditions,  brought  about  by  the  adjust- 
ment of  land  rights  and  the  allaying  of  local  strife,  it  afterwards  made 
marvellous  strides  forward  in  the  march  of  progress  and  improvement. 

"The  dispositions  made  of  the  unsold  depreciation  and  the  undrawn 
donation  lots  in  this  part  of  the  purchase  were  fully  treated  of  in  former 
papers,  and,  therefore,  need  no  further  notice.  It  may  not,  however,  be 
amiss  to  say  a  word  in  relation  to  the  purchase  of  the  Erie  triangle,  an 
acquisition  that  was  of  vast  importance  to  Pennsylvania  by  reason  of  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Erie.  The  triangle  was  claimed  by  the  States  of  New 
York  and  Massachusetts,  but  was  ceded  by  both  States,  in  the  years  1781 
and  1785,  to  the  United  States.  The  Pennsylvania  authorities,  antici- 
pating its  possession,  had,  through  a  treaty  made  at  Fort  Mclntosh  by 
General  St.  Clair,  Colonel  Harmer,  and  others,  secured  a  deed  from  the 
Indians  by  which  their  claim  of  title  was  extinguished.  This  deed, 
signed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  is  dated  January  9,  1789,  and  the 
consideration  paid  was  $2000.  It  was  then,  by  a  deed  dated  March  3, 
1792,  ceded  by  the  United  States  to  Pennsylvania.  This  deed  is  signed 
by  George  Washington,  President,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary  of 
State.  In  1790,  Andrew  Ellicott  made  a  survey  of  the  triangle  and 
found  it  to  contain  202,287  acres,  and  the  purchase- money  paid  to  the 
United  States,  at  the  rate  of  75  cents  an  acre,  amounted  to  $151,640.25. 
This  purchase  having  been  completed  before  the  passage  of  the  act  of 
April  3,  1792,  the  lands  within  it,  except  the  reservations,  were  sold 
under  the  provisions  of  that  act.  Before  the  completion  of  the  purchase, 
John  Nicholson  had  made  application  for  the  entire  tract,  and  probably 
held  a  larger  number  of  warrants  for  lands  within  its  boundaries  than  any 
other  individual. 

"THE  RESERVATIONS  NORTH  AND  WEST  OF  THE  OHIO  AND  ALLE- 
GHENY RIVERS  AND  CONEWANGO  CREEK. 

"In  the  act  of  March  12,  1783,  setting  apart  the  depreciation  lands, 
two  reservations  for  the  use  of  the  State  were  made, — one  of  '  three  thou- 
sand acres,  in  an  oblong  of  not  less  than  one  mile  in  depth  from  the 
Allegheny  and  Ohio  Rivers,  and  extending  up  and  down  the  said  rivers, 
from  opposite  Fort  Pitt,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  include  the  same  ;' 
and  the  other  '  three  thousand  acres  on  the  Ohio,  and  on  both  sides  of 
Beaver  Creek,  including  Fort  Mackintosh.'  There  was  also  reserved 
on  Lake  Erie  for  the  use  of  the  State  the  peninsula  of  Presque  Isle,  a 
tract  extending  eight  miles  along  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  three  miles 

*  Smith's  Laws,  vol.  ii.  p.  228. 

5  57 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  breadth,  and  another  tract  of  2000  acres  on  the  lake  at  the  mouth  of 
Harbor  Creek  ;  and  also  tracts  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  at  Fort 
Le  Bceuf,  and  at  the  mouth  of  Conewango  Creek.  For  th$  purpose  of 
raising  an  additional  sum  by  the  sale  of  town  lots  to  be  used  in  paying 
the  debts  of  the  State,  the  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
was  authorized  by  an  act  passed  the  nth  day  of  September,  1787,  to 
cause  a  town  to  be  laid  out  on  the  reservation  opposite  Fort  Pitt.  The 
tract,  except  312  acres  within  its  boundaries,  was  accordingly  surveyed 
into  town  and  out  lots  and  sold  at  public  auction.  The  regular  lots  of 
the  town,  as  laid  down  in  the  survey,  were  in  dimensions  60  by  240  feet, 
while  the  out  lots  contained  from  five  to  ten  acres.  The  part  containing 
312  acres,  not  included  in  the  plan  of  the  town,  was  patented  to  James 
O'Hara  on  the  5th  day  of  May,  1789.  This  town  has  grown  into  the 
large  and  flourishing  city  of  Allegheny.  By  another  act,  passed  Sep- 
tember 28,  1791,  the  governor  was  given  power  to  authorize  the  sur- 
veyor-general to  cause  a  part  of  the  reservation  at  the  mouth  of  Beaver 
Creek  to  be  laid  out  in  town  lots,  '  on  or  near  the  ground  where  the  old 
French  town  stood,'  in  such  manner  as  commissioners,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  governor,  should  direct.  By  this  act  200  acres  were  to  be  sur- 
veyed into  town  lots,  and  1000  acres,  adjoining  on  the  upper  side,  into 
out  lots  to  contain  not  less  than  five  acres,  nor  more  than  ten  acres. 
Daniel  Leet,  a  deputy- surveyor,  who  had  previously  surveyed  district 
No.  2,  of  the  depreciation  lands  and  one  of  the  donation  districts,  was 
employed  to  lay  out  these  town  and  out  lots,  and  his  survey  of  the  town 
and  out  lots  was  confirmed  by  an  act  passed  in  March,  1793.  The  same 
act  directed  the  governor  to  proceed  to  make  sale  of  the  lots  and  grant 
conveyances  for  them,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  act  authorizing 
the  laying  out  of  the  town.  The  town  was  called  Beavertown,  and  when 
the  county  of  Beaver  was  erected  in  1800  was  made  the  county  seat. 
The  act  erecting  the  county  appropriated  500  acres  of  the  reservation  for 
the  use  of  such  school  or  academy  as  might  thereafter  be  established  in 
the  town.  The  town  then  called  Beaver  was  incorporated  into  a  borough 
in  1802,  and  the  boroughs  of  Rochester  and  Bridgewater,  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  creek,  also  occupy  parts  of  this  reservation. 

"The  towns  of  Erie,  Franklin,  Waterford,  and  Warren  were  estab- 
lished by  an  act  passed  on  the  i8th  day  of  April,  1795.  Of  the  large 
reservation  on  Lake  Erie,  at  Presque  Isle,  the  governor  was  authorized  to 
appoint  two  commissioners  to  survey  1600  acres  for  town  lots  and  3400, 
adjoining  thereto,  for  out  lots,  with  such  streets,  alleys,  lanes,  and  reser- 
vations for  public  uses  as  the  commissioners  should  direct.  The  town 
lots  were  to  contain  not  more  than  one-third  of  an  acre,*  the  out  lots  not 

*  The  regular  town  lots  of  Erie  as  laid  down  in  the  map  of  the  town  are  82  feet  6 
inches  front  and  165  feet  in  depth. 

58 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

more  than  five  acres,  the  reservations  for  public  uses  not  to  exceed  twenty 
acres,  and  the  town  was  to  be  called  Erie.  After  the  survey  of  the  town, 
made  by  General  William  Irvine  and  Andrew  Ellicott,  was  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  governor  was  directed 
to  sell  at  public  auction  one-third  of  the  town  lots  and  one  third  of  the 
out  lots  to  the  highest  bidders,  and  grant  patents  to  the  purchasers  upon 
the  condition  that  within  two  years  they  respectively  should  'build  a 
house,  at  least  sixteen  feet  square,  and  contain  at  least  one  brick  or  stone 
chimney,'  on  each  lot  purchased,  the  patent  not  to  be  issued  until  after 
the  expiration  of  two  years,  and  then  only  on  proof  that  the  condition  of 
the  sale  had  been  complied  with.  In  addition  to  the  surveys  of  the  town 
and  out  lots,  the  act  provided  that  three  lots — one  of  60  acres  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  harbor,  another  of  30  on  the  peninsula,  and  a 
third  of  100  acres  also  on  the  peninsula — should  be  surveyed  for  the 
'  use  of  the  United  States  in  erecting  and  maintaining  forts,  magazines, 
and  dock-yards  thereon.'  Of  the  tract  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek, 
300  acres  for  town  lots  and  700  acres  for  out  lots  were  to  be  surveyed  for 
the  town  of  Franklin  ;  and  of  the  tract  at  the  mouth  of  Conewango  Creek, 
300  acres  for  town  lots  and  700  acres  for  out  lots  were  to  be  surveyed 
for  the  town  of  Warren.  At  the  time  the  act  providing  for  the  laying 
out  of  these  towns  became  a  law  a  settlement  had  been  made  at  Fort  Le 
Bceuf.  Andrew  Ellicott  had  surveyed  and  laid  out  a  town,  and  his  draft 
of  the  town  was  accepted  and  confirmed  by  the  Legislature.  It  was  pro- 
vided, however,  that  in  addition  to  the  town  lots  of  Ellicott's  survey, 
500  acres  should  be  surveyed  for  out  lots,  and  that  the  town  should  be 
called  Waterford.  The  size  of  the  town  and  out  lots  for  Franklin  and 
Warren,  the  out  lots  for  Waterford,  and  the  provisions  for  streets,  lanes, 
alleys,  and  reservations  for  public  use, — the  reservations  reduced  to  ten 
acres, — were  the  same  as  for  the  town  of  Erie,  as  were  also  the  regulations 
for  the  sale  of  the  lots.  At  Waterford  a  number  of  settlers  who  had  built 
houses  were  given  a  right  of  pre  emption  to  the  lots  on  which  they  settled. 
A  subsequent  act  passed  April  n,  1799,  provided  that  surveys  should  be 
made  of  the  reserved  tracts  adjoining  Erie,  Franklin,  Warren,  and 
Waterford,  not  laid  out  in  town  or  out  lots,  into  lots  not  to  exceed 
150  acres  in  each,  to  be  sold  by  commissioners,  one  of  whom  was  to 
reside  in  each  town.  The  tracts  were  to  be  graded  in  quality,  and  no 
sale  was  to  be  made  at  less  than  four  dollars  an  acre  for  land  of  the  first 
quality ;  three  dollars  for  the  second  quality,  and  two  dollars  for  the  third 
quality,  and  purchasers,  before  title  could  vest  in  them,  were  required 
within  three  years  from  the  date  of  their  purchases  to  make  an  actual 
settlement  on  the  land  '  by  clearing,  fencing,  and  cultivating  at  least  two 
acres  for  every  fifty  contained  in  one  survey,  and  erect  on  each  lot  or 
tract  a  messuage  for  the  habitation  of  man  and  reside  thereon  for  the 
space  of  five  years  following  their  first  settlement  of  the  same.'  The 

59 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

same  act  required  500  acres  in  each  of  the  reserved  tracts  to  be  surveyed 
for  the  use  of  schools  or  academies,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  ap- 
praisement of  the  residue  of  the  town  and  out  lots,  and  for  their  sale  by 
the  commissioner  residing  in  the  town.  It  was  also  provided  in  this  act 
that  the  reserved  lot  in  the  town  of  Erie,  at  the  mouth  of  Cascade  Creek, 
was  to  be  sold  at  public  sale,  on  consideration  of  settlement  and  im- 
provement, provided  it  brought  $50  an  acre.  By  an  act  passed  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1800,  the  clause  of  the  act  that  required  settlement  and  im- 
provement of  lots  was  repealed.  The  other  reservation  of  2000  acres  in 
the  Erie  triangle,  at  the  mouth  of  Harbor  Creek,  was  donated  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  to  General  William  Irvine  to  indemnify  him  for  the  loss  of 
Montour's  Island  (now  called  Neville  Island),  in  the  Ohio  River  below 
the  city  of  Pittsburg.  General  Irvine  held  the  island  under  a  Penn- 
sylvania patent,  but  was  divested  of  his  title  by  a  judgment  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  in  an  ejectment  suit  brought  against  him  by  a 
party  who  claimed  ownership  under  a  Virginia  right,  which,  under  the 
agreement  between  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  for  settling  the  south- 
western boundary  dispute,  was  held  by  the  court  to  be  good." 

INDIAN   TREATIES   AT    FORTS   STANVVIX    AND    McINTOSH. 

"  Proceedings  of  the  treaties  held  at  Forts  Stanwix  and  McTntosh,  be- 
tween the  commissioners  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
deputies  of  the  Six  Nations  and  the  Wyandott  and  Delaware  Indians, 
claiming  the  unpurchased  territory  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  the 
said  Commonwealth : 

"  FORT  STANWIX,  October  4,  1784. 

"  The  commissioners  of  Indian  affairs  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
pursuant  to  their  letter  of  the  3d  instant,  met  in  conference  with  the 
commissioners  on  part  of  the  Continent. 

"  PRESENT. 

The  Hon.  OLIVER  WOLCOTT, 

RICHARD  BUTLER,  and          I  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 

ARTHUR  LEE,  ESQS.,  ) 

The  HON.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE, 

WILLIAM  McCLAY,  and         \  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 

FRANCIS  JOHNSTON,  ESQS.,  j       State  °f  f****?*™***- 

"It  was  requested  by  the  State  commissioners  that  the  commissioners 
for  the  United  States  should  introduce  and  announce  them  in  their  offi- 
cial character  to  the  Indians,  and  to  inform  them  that  they,  by  consent 
of  Congress,  had  some  business  of  importance  to  transact  with  them,  re- 

60 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

lating  to  the  affairs  of  said  State,  to  be  brought  forward  at  a  proper 
period. 

"  Which  requisition,  after  being  discussed,  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

"FoRT  STANWIX,  October  17,  1784. 

"  At  the  request  of  the  commissioners  from  the  United  States,  the 
commissioners  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  met  them  this  day  in  con- 
ference on  the  same  subject  as  above.  Present  as  before. 

"  Whereupon  it  was  agreed,  That  upon  the  close  of  the  council  to  be 
held  this  day  with  the  Indians  in  the  council-house  of  Fort  Stanwix,  the 
commissioners  on  part  of  said  State  should  be  introduced  and  announced 
in  due  form  to  the  Indian  chiefs  or  sachems  in  full  council. 

"  The  same  day,  in  council  held  between  the  commissioners  on  part 
of  the  United  States  and  the  representatives  of  the  Six  Indian  Nations, 
present  also  the  commissioners  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  General 
Wolcott  arose  and  addressed  the  Indians  as  follows, — viz.  : 

"  '  SACHEMS  AND  WARRIORS, — We  now  announce  to  you  Colonel  Atlee, 
Mr.  McClay,  and  Colonel  Johnston,  three  honorable  gentlemen  from 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  who  have  come,  by  the  consent  of  Congress, 
as  commissioners,  to  transact  some  affairs  with  you,  on  the  part  of  their 
State,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  present  treaty,  should  it  be  concluded 
in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  United  States. ' 

"After  which  Colonel  Atlee,  in  behalf  of  the  Indian  commissioners 
for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  delivered  the  following  speech, — viz. : 

"  '  SACHEMS  AND  WARRIORS, — You  have  been  now  told  by  the  honor- 
able commissioners  from  Congress  that  we  attend  as  commissioners  from 
your  old  friends  of  Pennsylvania  to  transact  business  with  you  on  the 
part  of  that  State.  At  a  proper  season  we  will  produce  to  you  our  com- 
mission, and  lay  before  you  the  business  committed  to  our  charge,  and 
we  doubt  not  but  you  will  take  it  under  immediate  consideration  and 
return  a  favorable  answer.' 

"  (FOUR  STRINGS.) 

"  IN  CONFERENCE,  FORT  STANWIX,  October  22,  1784. 

"  PRESENT: 
The  HON.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE, 

FRANCIS  JOHNSTON,  and 
WILLIAM  McCLAY,  ESQS. 
GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 

The  REV.  SAMUEL  KIRKLAND  ) 

,  - ,      _  ~  \  Interpreters. 

and  MR.  JAMES  DEAN,  j 

And  the  deputies  of  the  Six  Indian  Nations. 

"  The  commissioners,  through  Colonel  Atlee,  opened  their  business  by 
addressing  them  as  follows, — viz. : 

61 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  'BROTHERS  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS, — It  is  probable  that  the  business 
between  you  and  the  Continental  commissioners  will  be  settled  this  day 
in  council.  Previous  to  which  we  are  desirous  of  meeting  you  this 
morning  with  a  view  of  laying  before  you  the  particular  objects  of  our 
mission,  and  which  we  have  attended  here  so  long  to  negotiate  with  you 
on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  not  our  wish  to  settle 
any  matters  finally  until  the  conclusion  of  the  Continental  treaty.  The 
design  of  our  present  interview  is  to  prepare  your  minds  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  our  business  at  a  proper  season,  to  discuss  with  freedom  and  seri- 
ously deliberate  upon  the  subjects  necessary  to  be  taken  into  consideration, 
that  we  may  fully  and  perfectly  understand  each  other. 

"  We  now  inform  you  that  we  are  commissioned,  and  sent  from  your 
old  friends  in  Pennsylvania  to  purchase  from  you,  according  to  ancient 
custom,  the  unpurchased  lands  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  the  said 
State.  This  has  been  the  invariable  usage  of  our  forefathers,  and  we, 
desirous  of  pursuing  their  good  example,  wish  that  our  young  men,  who 
have  become  very  numerous  and  require  more  lands,  should  settle  and 
improve  the  same  in  quietness  and  peace  ;  for  this  desirable  purpose  we 
have  brought  with  us  a  valuable  cargo  of  goods,  suited  to  your  various 
wants  and  necessities,  as  a  compensation  for  your  right  to  these  lands. 
But  these  lands  being  more  remote  and  consequently  less  valuable  than 
those  our  fathers  have  heretofore  purchased,  you  ought  not,  therefore,  to 
expect  so  great  a  consideration  for  them.' 

"  (The  commissioners  then  produced  a  map  of  the  State,  pointing  out 
to  them  the  unpurchased  land  now  intended  to  be  purchased.) 

"  '  We  here  produce  to  you  all  the  deeds  of  purchase  made  by  our 
forefathers  from  their  first  coming  into  this  country,  which,  if  you  require, 
shall  be  read  and  explained  to  you  for  your  information  and  satisfaction, 
by  which  you  will  learn  the  extreme  regard  the  people  of  Pennsylvania 
have  ever  shown  the  Six  Confederated  Nations. ' 

"  To  which  Captain  O'Bale,*  a  chief  of  the  Seneca  Nation,  replied  in 
behalf  of  the  Six  Nations : 

"  'BROTHERS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, — We  now  call  your  attention  to  our 
reply  to  what  you  have  said.  We  greatly  rejoice  in  meeting  our  brothers 
of  Pennsylvania  once  more  in  peace  and  friendship.  Your  language  has 
been  friendly  and  agreeable  to  us,  as  that  of  your  forefathers  always  was. 
You  have  informed  us  of  the  business  you  are  commissioned  from  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  to  transact  with  us.  We  have  seen  the  deeds  given 
by  our  fathers  to  yours  and  understand  you  well.  We  will  take  up  the 
matter,  keep  it  in  mind,  and  deliberate  upon  it  till  the  close  of  the 
Continental  business.' 

*  Captain  O'Bale  was  more  generally  known  as  the  great  chief  "  Cornplanter,"  who 
lived  on  the  Allegheny  River,  in  what  is  now  Warren  County.  He  received  two  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  from  the  State. 

62 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  commissioners  then  thanked  them,  and  proceeded  as  follows, — 
viz.: 

"  'We  come  in  the  most  peaceable  and  friendly  manner,  and  do  not 
wish  to  irritate  your  minds  with  a  recapitulation  of  former  grievances, 
but  to  make  the  road  between  us  smooth  and  even.  We  are  to  inform 
you  that  one  of  our  brothers  present  (pointing  to  Mr.  McClay)  is  ap- 
pointed by  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  to  run  the  boundary  line 
between  you  and  us  next  spring,  when  we  will  expect  some  of  you  to  ac- 
company him,  in  order  to  prevent  all  disputes  in  future  touching  the 
same. 

"  'Having  it  in  charge  from  the  State,  we  must  not  omit  to  be  in- 
formed by  you  the  Indian  name  of  Burnet's  Hills,  mentioned  in  our  deed 
of  1768.  And  also  which  of  the  two  streams,  Lycoming  or  Pine  Creek 
(both  of  which  empty  into  the  west  branch  of  Susquehanna),  is  known 
among  you  by  the  name  of  TIADAGHTON.'  (To  which  they  answered  :) 
As  to  Burnet's  Hills,  they  call  them  the  Long  Mountains,  and  knew 
them  by  no  other  name,  and  that  TIADAGHTON  was  Pine  Creek  or  the 
uppermost  and  largest  of  the  two,  but  of  this  they  would  consider  and 
return  a  more  positive  answer. 

"  The  conference  was  then  closed. 

"October  23,  1784,  IN  CONFERENCE. 

' '  PRESENT  as  before. 

"The  commissioners  again  produced  the  map  of  the  State,  pointing 
out  the  purchased  and  unpurchased  lands  within  the  same,  particularly 
describing  and  explaining  to  them  the  forty-second  degree  or  line  of  lati- 
tude (being  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State),  and  also  mentioned  the 
place  where  it  was  supposed  it  would  pass.  All  which  Captain  Aaron 
Hill,  a  Mohock  chief,  who  spoke  English  very  well,  perfectly  understood 
and  explained  in  a  satisfactory  manner  to  the  other  chiefs. 

"  Captain  O'Bale  then  spoke,  and  informed  the  commissioners  '  that 
it  is  not  the  wish  of  the  Six  Nations  at  present  to  part  with  so  much  of 
their  hunting-grounds,'  and  pointed  out  a  line  on  the  map  which  he 
hoped  would  be  agreeable  to  them. 

"This  being  far  short  of  the  boundary  of  the  State,  was,  therefore, 
deemed  by  the  commissioners  totally  inadmissible. 

"  The  commissioners  then  spoke  to  them  as  follows : 

"  'BROTHERS, — Though  the  lands  that  we  are  about  to  purchase  are 
already  ceded  by  the  line  of  cession  described  in  the  Articles  of  Peace 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  yet  we  mean  not  to  take 
advantage  of  you,  but  are  desirous  of  paying  you  a  valuable  consideration 
for  them,  after  the  manner  of  our  ancestors,  your  brothers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. This  consideration  we  have  with  us,  and  consists  of  an  excellent 
assortment  of  goods,  amounting  in  value  to  four  thousand  dollars,  and 

63 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

which  you  will  find  to  be  of  the  first  quality,  which  will  certainly  con- 
vince you  that  many  advantages  will  flow  to  you  from  a  trade  and  corre- 
spondence with  your  brothers  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  '  We  now  desire  you  would  make  up  your  minds  on  these  important 
matters,  that  our  business  may  be  in  such  forwardness  on  the  conclusion 
of  the  Continental  treaty  as  to  be  ready  to  receive  a  public  and  final 
sanction,  on  the  completion  of  which  we  will  deliver  you  a  belt. 

"  'We  wish  once  more  to  impress  our  brothers  with  an  idea  that  our 
intention  is  to  pursue  the  same  method  of  obtaining  lands  from  you  that 
our  forefathers  did,  with  whose  conduct  we  conceive  you  must  be  per- 
fectly satisfied,  as  they  never  wronged  you,  but  have  fulfilled  all  their 
engagements  and  paid  you  faithfully  for  all  the  lands  they  have  from 
time  to  time  purchased  of  you. 

"  '  Least  any  doubts  should  arise  respecting  the  quality  of  the  goods, 
if  such  chiefs  as  are  desirous  of  seeing  them  will  attend  at  the  stores,  the 
several  packages  shall  be  opened  and  shown  to  them. 

"  '  It  has  been  intimated  by  some  of  you  that  you  are  desirous  of  having 
a  privilege  of  hunting  on  these  lands.  To  this  we  have  no  objections,  more 
especially  as  the  Continental  commissioners  have  granted  you  the  same 
indulgence.  This,  in  our  opinions,  will  tend  to  our  mutual  advantage. 

"  'Brothers,  to-morrow  being  Sunday,  on  which  we  can  transact  no 
public  business,  being  a  great  way  from  our  respective  families  and  winter 
approaching  fast  upon  us,  we  must,  therefore,  again  request  you  to  come 
to  a  conclusion  on  these  matters,  and  let  us  know  your  minds  as  soon  as 
possible.' 

"  The  commissioners  then  withdrew,  the  chiefs  still  remaining  in  con- 
sultation. After  some  time  the  Indians  requested  their  attendance. 
They  returned  accordingly,  when  the  chiefs  present  spoke  by  Captain 
O'Bale  as  follows  : 

"  '  BROTHERS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, — You  have  communicated  to  us  your 
business,  you  have  pointed  out  the  lands  you  are  directed  to  purchase  of 
us,  and  we  understand  you.  You  have  likewise  shown  your  authority,  of 
which  we  are  satisfied.  And  as  we  wish  to  keep  the  way  between  us 
smooth  and  even,  and  to  brighten  the  chain  of  friendship  and  make  it 
lasting,  we  have  agreed  that  the  lands  you  have  described  be  granted  to 
you  in  the  same  manner  as  you  have  requested.  But  as  lands  afford  a 
lasting  and  rising  profit,  and  as  the  Pennsylvanians  have  always  been 
generous,  we  hope  you  will  give  us  something  next  year  as  a  farther 
consideration.' 

"The  commissioners,  after  consulting  together,  replied, — 

"  'We  thank  you  for  meeting  us  here,  and  are  glad  to  find  you  so 
well  disposed  to  peace  and  friendship.  We  expected  we  had  brought 
you  sufficient  presents  for  the  lands  we  are  commissioned  to  purchase, 
but  have  nevertheless  agreed  to  give  you  goods  to  the  amount  of  one 

64 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

thousand  dollars  more,  which  we  will  deliver  to  you  or  to  any  persons 
you  may  appoint  to  receive  them  at  Tioga,  the  ist  day  of  next  October. 
This  cargo  of  goods  shall  be  assorted  in  the  best  manner  to  serve  you, 
for  the  performance  of  which  we  will  obligate  ourselves,  if  you  think  it 
necessary. ' 

"  Then  the  chiefs,  by  Captain  O'Bale,  spoke  as  follows, — viz.  : 

"  '  We  most  cheerfully  agree  to  this.  We  will  make  an  obligation  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  to  us  the  privilege  of  hunting  on  the  lands,  and 
also  for  delivery  of  the  goods,  which  will  perfectly  satisfy  us.  We  wish 
that  our  brothers  of  Pennsylvania  would  send  us  a  faithful  gun-  and  black- 
smith to  reside  at  or  near  Tioga,  who  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  us 
when  we  come  down  in  hunting-parties ;  and  also  that  the  government 
of  Pennsylvania  would  establish  trading-houses  at  the  same  place,  that  we 
may  be  conveniently  and  honestly  supplied  with  such  articles  as  we  stand 
in  need  of.' 

"The  commissioners  answered,  'We  will  make  true  report  of  these 
requests  to  the  State,  and  make  no  doubt  they  will  be  complied 
with.' 

"Two  of  the  principal  chiefs, — Captain  Aaron  Hill,  of  the  Mohawks, 
and  Captain  O'Bale,  of  the  Senecas, — desirous  of  having  each  a  rifle  of 
the  manufacture  of  Pennsylvania,  being  informed  they  were  very  good, 
requested  the  commissioners  to  give  them  two  of  the  best  quality,  to  be 
delivered  to  them  on  the  ist  day  of  April  next,  at  the  new  store  at  New- 
town,  near  Tioga,  which  the  commissioners  complied  with  and  gave  their 
obligation  for  that  purpose. 

"  The  conference  ended. 

"  The  same  day  In  Council. 
"  PRESENT: 

The  HON.  OLIVER  WOLCOTT, 

-P.  j          /      Commissioners  on  part  of 

RICHARD  BUTLER,  and 

.  ,         „  (  United  States. 

ARTHUR  LEE,  ESQS., 

The  HON.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE, 

,,7  ,,   „  ,         /  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 

WILLIAM  McCLAY,  and 

„  „          (       State  of  Pennsylvania. 

FRANCIS  JOHNSTON,  ESQS.,J 

The  REV.  SAMUEL  KIRKLAND  | 
and  MR.  JAMES  DEAN,  j 

And  a  full  representation  of  the  Six  Indian  Nations. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  Continental  business,  General  Wolcott  addressed 
the  Indians  as  follows : 

"  'SACHEMS  AND  WARRIORS, — We  informed  you  some  time  past  that 
these  gentlemen  commissioners  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  had  some 

65 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

public  business  to  transact  with  you  on  the  part  of  the  said  State.     If 
they  are  ready  to  bring  it  forward,  now  will  be  a  proper  time.' 

"Upon  which  Colonel  Atlee,  in  behalf  of  the  Pennsylvania  commis- 
sioners, delivered  the  following  speech,  prepared  for  the  purpose : 

"  '  BROTHERS  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS, — After  a  long  separation  of  nine 
years,  during  which  period  the  great  Congress  have  been  at  war  with 
and  conquered  their  enemies  from  the  other  side  of  the  great  water,  we, 
the  commissioners  from  your  old  friends  of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  are  well  pleased  to 
meet  you  this  day ;  and  from  our  hearts  rejoice  with  you  that  peace  and 
friendship  are  once  more  established  by  these  honorable  gentlemen,  the 
commissioners  of  Congress.' 

"(Six  STRINGS.) 

"  'BROTHERS, — Listen  with  great  attention  to  what  we  are  going  to 
say  to  you.  We  come  in  the  name  and  from  the  government  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  which  you  have  already  been  informed  ;  our  commission  we 
here  produce,  which  we  will  read  to  you  publicly.' 

"  (The  commission  was  read.) 

"  '  BROTHERS, — From  the  first  coming  of  our  fathers  to  this  country, 
about  one  hundred  years  ago,  to  the  time  of  the  last  treaty  and  purchase 
in  1768  at  this  place,  which  many  of  you  now  present  must  well  remem- 
ber, your  brothers  of  Pennsylvania,  as  they  wanted  lands  for  their  young 
men  to  settle  on,  applied  for  and  purchased  from  the  natives  from  time 
to  time  such  quantities  within  the  bounds  of  their  charter  as  they  judged 
sufficient. 

"  '  The  several  deeds  for  the  different  purchases  we  here  produce,  as 
authentic  proofs  of  the  justice  of  our  conduct  towards  our  brethren  the 
Six  Nations,  and  others  claiming  and  possessing  the  country, — testimonies 
which  cannot  lie.' 

"  (Produced  the  deeds.) 

"  'This  last  deed,  brothers,  with  the  map  annexed,  are  descriptive  of 
the  purchase  made  sixteen  years  ago  at  this  place ;  one  of  the  boundary 
lines  calls  for  a  creek  by  the  name  of  Tyadoghton ;  we  wish  our  brothers 
the  Six  Nations  to  explain  to  us  clearly  which  you  call  the  Tyadoghton, 
as  there  are  two  creeks  issuing  from  the  Burnet's  Hills,  Pine  and  Lyco- 
ming. 

"  '  Brothers,  you  will  observe  by  our  commission  just  now  read  to  you 
that  our  present  business  is  to  satisfy  you,  as  was  our  ancient  custom,  for 
the  lands  lying  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
which  you  have  not  heretofore  received  any  compensation. 

"  '  This  compensation  has  been  mutually  agreed  to  by  you  and  us  in 
conference  this  morning.  It  was  also  agreed  that,  in  addition  to  the 
goods  we  have  now  on  this  ground  for  your  use,  we  should  give  our  obli- 
gation for  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars  in  such  goods  as  will  best 

66 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

suit  yourselves  to  be  delivered  at  or  near  Tioga,  on  the  Susquehanna,  on 
the  first  day  of  October  next.  It  now  remains  for  us  mutually  to  carry 
into  execution  our  respective  agreements,  and  that  in  the  most  solemn 
and  public  manner,  as  it  is  our  fixed  determination  that  they  shall  be 
inviolate  for  ever. 

"  '  Brothers,  before  we  conclude  we  desire  you  to  appoint  some  suit- 
able persons  among  yourselves  to  receive  and  distribute  the  goods  with 
impartiality  and  justice,  and  that  you  will  also  nominate  a  fit  person  to 
attend  running  the  boundary  between  you  and  us,  when  due  notice  shall 
be  given  thereof.' 

"  (A  LARGE  BELT.) 

"  To  which  they  replied  by  Captain  Aaron  Hill, — 

"  'BROTHERS  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA, — We  have  heard  what  you  have 
said,  and  are  well  pleased  with  the  same.  The  consideration  we  have 
fully  agreed  on,  which  we  are  to  receive  for  the  lands,  and  agreeable  to 
your  request  have  appointed  Captain  Aaron  Hill,  Onequiandahonjo,  and 
Honeghariko,  of  the  Mohawk  tribe;  Kayenthogkke,  Thaghneghtanhari, 
and  Teyagonendageghte,  of  the  Seneca ;  Obendirighton  and  Thoneeyade, 
of  the  Cayuga ;  Sagoyahalongo  and  Otoghfelonegh,  Ojestalale,  Oneyanha, 
Gaghsawweda,  and  Odaghfeghte,  of  the  Oneida  ;  and  Onefaghweughte 
and  Tharonda wagon,  of  the  Tuscarora,  as  suitable  persons  to  receive  the 
goods  from  you. 

"  'With  regard  to  the  creek  called  Tyadoghton,  mentioned  in  your 
deed  of  1768,  we  have  already  answered  you,  and  again  repeat  it,  it  is  the 
same  you  call  Pine  Creek,  being  the  largest  emptying  into  the  west  branch 
of  the  Susquehannah. 

"'Agreeable  to  your  wish  we  have  appointed  Thaghneghtanhari  to 
attend  your  surveyor  in  running  the  line  between  you  and  us.' 

"  '  We  do  certify  that  the  foregoing  speech  was  this  day  made  by  Cap- 
tain Aaron  Hill,  on  behalf  of  the  Six  Nations,  to  the  Pennsylvania  com- 
missioners. 

"  '  Witness  our  hands  this  twenty-third  day  of  October,  Anno  Domini 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- four. 

(Signed)  "  '  SAMUEL  KIRKLAND,  Missionary. 

JAMES  DEAN,  Interpreter.' 

"The  deed  was  then  produced  and  publicly  read,  when  the  chiefs  of 
the  respective  nations  sealed  and  delivered  the  same,  saying,  '  We  deliver 
this  as  our  grant  and  deed,  and  give  up  the  land  therein  mentioned, 
according  to  the  description  thereof,  to  their  brothers,  the  Pennsylva- 
nians,  for  their  use  forever.'  After  the  same  being  witnessed,  the  com- 
missioners sealed  and  delivered  the  two  obligations  mentioned  above, 
one  for  the  delivery  of  the  goods  and  the  other  for  securing  to  them  the 
privilege  of  hunting  on  the  lands  now  purchased. 

67 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  council  arose. 

"The  foregoing  is  a  true  state  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Indian  treaty 
at  Fort  Stamvix. 

"  GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 
"October  23,  1784." 

"The  six  Indian  Nations,  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
DEED  for  lands  purchased  October  23,  1784. 

"  To  ALL  PEOPLE  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  WE  Anigwenda- 
honji  and  Teweghnitogon,  Sachems  or  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  nation  called 
the  Mohocks.  Kanonghgwenya,  Atyatonenghtha,  and  Tatahonghteayon, 
Sachems  or  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  nation  called  the  Oneidas.  Obendarigh- 
ton  and  Keatarondyon,  Sachems  or  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  nation  called  the 
Onondagoes.  Oraghgwanentagon,  Sachem  of  the  Indian  nation  called  the 
Cayogaes.  Tayagoneatageghti,  Tehonweeaghreyagi,  Thaghnaghtanhari, 
Sachems  or  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  nation  called  the  Senecas.  And  Onongh- 
sawanghti  and  Tharondawagon,  Sachems  or  Chiefs  of  the  Indian  nation 
called  the  Tuscaroras,  being  met  together  in  a  general  council  of  the  Six 
Nations  convened  at  Fort  Stanwix,  by  the  Honorable  Oliver  Wolcott, 
Richard  Butler  and  Arthur  Lee,  Esquires,  commissioners  of  Indian  affairs, 
duly  appointed  by  the  honorable  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  northern  and  middle  districts,  SEND  GREETING.  KNOW  YE  that  WE 
the  said  Sachems  or  Chiefs,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars,  to  us  in  hand  paid,  before  ensealing  and  delivery  of 
these  presents,  by  the  honorable  Samuel  John  Atlee,  Esquire,  and  Wil- 
liam M'Clay,  and  Francis  Johnson,  Esquires,  commissioners  for  and  in 
behalf  of  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  the  receipt  whereof  WE 
do  hereby  acknowledge  HAVE  granted  bargained,  sold,  released  and  con- 
firmed, and  by  these  presents,  for  us  and  the  said  Six  Nations,  and  their 
confederates  and  dependent  tribes,  all  of  whom  we  represent,  and  by 
whom  we  are  thereunto  authorized  and  impowered,  Do  grant,  bargain, 
sell,  release  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Commonwealth,  all  that  part  of 
the  said  Commonwealth  not  yet  purchased  of  the  Indians  within  the 
acknowledged  limits  of  the  same,  BEGINNING  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  Ohio,  where  the  western  boundary  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania 
crosses  the  said  river,  near  Shingo's  old  Town,  at  the  mouth  of  Beaver 
creek,  and  thence  by  a  due  north  line  to  the  end  of  the  forty  second  and 
beginning  of  the  forty- third  degrees  of  north  latitude,  thence  by  a  due 
east  line  seperating  the  forty  second  and  forty  third  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude, to  the  east  side  of  the  east  branch  of  the  river  Susquehanna,  thence 
by  the  bounds  of  the  late  purchase  made  at  Fort  Stanwix,  the  fifth  day 
of  November,  anno  domini,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty  eight, 
as  follows  :  '  Down  the  said  east  branch  of  Susquehanna,  on  the  east  side 
thereof,  till  it  comes  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  a  creek  called  by  the  In- 

68 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dians,  Awandac,  and  across  the  river,  and  up  the  said  creek  on  the  south 
side  thereof,  and  along  the  range  of  hills,  called  Burnett's  Hills  by  the 
English,  and  by  the  Indians,  ...  on  the  north  side  of  them  to  the 
head  of  a  creek  which  runs  into  the  west  branch  of  Susquehannah,  which 
creek  is  by  the  Indians  called  Tyadaghton,  but  by  the  Pennsylvanians 
Pine  Creek,  and  down  the  said  creek  on  the  south  side  thereof,  to  the 
said  west  branch  of  Susquehanna,  then  crossing  the  said  river,  and  run- 
ning up  the  same  on  the  south  side  thereof,  the  several  courses  thereof, 
to  the  fork  of  the  same  river,  which  lies  nearest  to  a  place  on  the  river 
Ohio  called  Kittaning.  and  from  the  fork  by  a  straight  line  to  Kittaning 
aforesaid,  and  then  down  the  said  river  Ohio  by  the  several  courses 
thereof,  to  where  the  western  bounds  of  the  said  state  of  Pennsylvania 
crosses  the  same  river,'  at  the  place  of  BEGINNING.  Together  with  all 
lakes,  rivers,  creeks,  rivulets,  springs,  waters,  soils,  lands,  fields,  woods, 
underwoods,  mountains,  hills,  valleys,  savannahs,  fens,  swamps,  isles,  in- 
lets, mines,  minerals,  quarries,  rights,  liberties,  privileges,  advantages, 
hereditaments,  and  appurtenances  whatsoever,  to  the  said  tract  of  land 
and  country  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining,  and  all  the  right, 
title,  interest,  claim  and  demand  whatsoever,  of  us  the  said  sachems  or 
chiefs,  and  of  the  said  Six  Nations,  and  their  confederates  and  depend- 
ent tribes,  and  every  of  them,  To  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD  the  said  tract 
of  land  and  country,  with  the  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  unto 
the  said  commonwealth  to  the  only  proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  said 
commonwealth,  FOR  EVER,  so  that  we,  the  said  sachems  or  chiefs,  nor 
any  of  us,  nor  the  said  Six  Nations,  nor  their  confederates  and  dependent 
tribes,  nor  any  of  them,  nor  any  of  our  or  their  heirs,  children  or  de- 
scendents,  shall  claim,  demand  or  chalenge,  any  right,  title,  interest,  or 
property,  of,  in,  or  to  the  said  tract  of  land  or  country,  but  from  the 
same  shall  be  forever  barred  and  excluded ;  and  the  same  tract  of  land 
and  country,  shall  forever  hereafter  be  peaceably  and  quietly  possessed 
by  the  said  commonwealth,  and  all  persons,  who  shall  settle  thereon r 
under  the  authority  of  the  same,  without  the  let,  hindrance,  molestation, 
interruption,  or  denial  of  us  the  said  sachems  or  chiefs,  or  the  said  Six 
Nations,  or  their  confederates,  and  dependent  tribes,  or  any  of  them,  or 
of  our  or  their  heirs,  children,  or  descendents.  IN  WITNESS  Whereof, 
We  the  said  sachems  or  chiefs,  for  ourselves  and  the  rest  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions, and  their  confederates  and  dependent  tribes,  have  hereunto  set  our 
hands  and  seals.  Dated  at  Fort  Stanwix  aforesaid,  this  twenty  third  day 
of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  four. 

"  ORAGHGWANENTAGON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 

TAYAGONEATAGEGHTI,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 

TEHONWEEAGHREYAGI,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 

THAGHNAGTANHARI,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
69 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  ONONGHSAWANGHTI,  his  X  mark.  L.  S. 
THARONDAWAGON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
ANIGWENDAHONJI,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
TEWEGHNITOGON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
KANONGHGWENYA,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
ATYATONENGHTHA,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
TATAHONGHTEAYON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
OBENDARIGHTON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
KEATARONDYON,  his  X  mark,  L.  S. 
"  Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  us, 
"OLIVER  WOLCOTT,  ^ 

ARTHUR  LEE,  >  United  States  Commissioners. 

RICHARD  BUTLER,   ) 
AARON  HILL, 
SAMUEL  KIRKLAND,  Missionary. 

"  JAMES  DEAN,  Interpreter. 
ALEXANDER  CAMPBELL,  Sec.  Com.  U.  S. 
SAMUEL  MONTGOMERY,  Ag.  6^  St.  K.  C.  C. 
G.  EVANS,  Sec.  Penns.  Ind.  Commis. 

"  STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  S.S. 

"  BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  February,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  five,  and  in 
the  ninth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
came  the  honourable  Arthur  Lee,  Esquire,  LL.D.  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  States  of  America  for  holding  treaties  with  the 
Indian  nations,  and  Griffith  Evans,  Esquire,  Secretary  to  the  commission- 
ers of  the  said  State  of  Pennsylvania,  for  treating  and  purchasing,  &c.  of 
said  Indians,  before  the  honourable  Thomas  McKean  Esq.,  doctor  of 
Laws,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  said  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  made  oath  on  the  holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  that 
they  were  present  and  did  see  the  thirteen  Indian  sachems  or  chiefs,  in  the 
above  deed  named  as  grantors,  make  the  signatures  or  marks  to  their 
respective  names  adjoining,  and  seal  and  deliver  the  above  conveyance, 
as  and  for  their  act  and  deed,  that  they  severally  subscribed  their  names 
as  witnesses  thereof,  and  also  seen  the  other  seven  witnesses  subscribe 
their  names  as  witnesses  to  the  same,  and  that  the  names  Arthur  Lee  and 
G.  Evans  above  subscribed,  are  of  their  respective  hand  writing. 

"!N  TESTIMONY,  Whereof  I  have  hereunto  put  my  hand  and  seal  the 
day  and  year  above  said. 

"THOSM'KEAN,  L.   S." 
FORT   McINTOSH. 

After  having  successfully  completed  their  mission  to  Fort  Stanwix, 
the  Pennsylvania  commissioners,  accompanied  by  those  representing  the 

70 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

United  States,  immediately  proceeded  to  Fort  Mclntosh,  on  the  Ohio 
River,  now  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Beaver,  to  treat  with  the 
Wyandott  and  Delaware  Indians,  who  claimed  rights  in  the  same  lands 
ceded  to  the  State  by  the  treaty  at  Fort  Stanwix.  The  following  are  the 

proceedings : 

"  FORT  MclNTOSH,  January,  1785. 

"  In  Council,  January  <p,  1785. 
"PRESENT. 

The  HON.  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARKE,     c 

RICHARD  BUTLER,  and          \  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 

ARTHUR  LEE,  ESQS.,  (. 

THE  HON.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE  and  (  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 

FRANCIS  JOHNSTON,  ESQS.  ,  \      State  of  Pennsylvania. 
GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 
JOHN  MONTOUR,  Interpreter. 

And  the  chiefs,  etc.,   of  the  Wyandott,  Delaware,  Chippewa,  and 
Ottawa  Indian  Nations. 

"  The  commissioners  on  part  of  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of 
the  State  commissioners'  letter  of  yesterday,  addressed  the  Indians  as 
follows : 

'"SACHEMS  AND  WARRIORS, — These  gentlemen,  Colonel  Atlee  and 
Colonel  Johnston,  are  commissioners  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  have  attended  here  by  consent  of  Congress  to  transact  some  public 
business  with  you  on  the  part  of  said  State,  which  they  will  be  ready  to 
introduce  after  the  present  treaty  is  concluded.' 

"  NOTE. — It  appearing  to  the  commissioners  that  the  Wyandott  and 
Delaware  nations  were  the  only  claimants  of  the  unpurchased  lands  in 
Pennsylvania  among  the  western  Indians,  consequently  the  present  nego- 
tiations on  part  of  the  State  are  confined  to  them. 

"In  Conference,  January  14,  1785. 

"PRESENT. 
The  HON.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE  and 


,-   Commissioners. 
FRANCIS  JOHNSTON,  ESQS., 

GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 
JOHN  MONTOUR  and 
JOSEPH  NICHOLSON, 
And    the  chiefs  of    the  Wyandott   and    Delaware   Indian 
nations. 

"  The  commissioners  addressed  them  in  the  following  words  by  Colonel 
Atlee : 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  '  BROTHERS, — We  have  been  long  separated  by  the  wars  that  have 
subsisted  between  us,  which  are  now  terminated  and  over.  We  are  very 
glad  to  meet  you  here,  and  have  great  occasion  to  rejoice  that  we  have 
an  opportunity  of  brightening  the  chain  of  friendship  between  us,  and  we 
hope  soon  to  take  you  by  the  hand  in  a  happy  and  lasting  peace, — when 
established  by  the  commissioners  from  Congress. 

"  '  We  have  called  you  together  this  morning  with  a  view  of  explain- 
ing to  you  the  nature  of  the  business  we  have  to  negotiate  with  you. 

"  '  Brothers,  we  are  commissioned  and  sent  from  your  old  friends  of 
Pennsylvania  to  purchase  of  the  natives  all  the  unpurchased  lands  within 
the  territory  of  Pennsylvania.  For  this  purpose  we  met  your  brothers 
and  uncles,  the  Six  Nations,  last  October  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and,  accord- 
ing to  our  ancient  custom,  purchased  the  said  lands  of  them,  and  this  is 
the  deed  they  gave  us  to  confirm  the  same.' 

"  (Then  produced  the  deed  executed  by  the  Six  Nations  last  October, 
and  also  a  map  of  the  country  explaining  the  same  to  them.) 

"  '  Your  brothers  and  uncles  suggested  to  us  that  they  had  a  right  to 
act  for  you  also  in  disposing  of  this  land ;  but  hearing  you  claimed,  and 
knowing  that  you  hunted  on,  part  of  this  ground,  we  conceived  we  had 
better  meet  you  ourselves  on  the  subject,  that  we  might  also  see  each 
other  and  remove  all  obstructions  out  of  the  way  between  us.  We  have, 
therefore,  reserved  a  proportion  of  the  presents,  and  have  brought  them 
with  us  to  give  you  as  a  compensation  for  your  right  to  this  country. 

"  '  The  amount  of  what  we  have  reserved  is  two  thousand  dollars,  con- 
sisting of  an  excellent  assortment  of  goods  of  the  first  quality,  calculated 
in  the  best  manner  to  supply  your  wants,  which  is  a  greater  proportion 
than  what  we  have  given  to  your  uncles  the  Six  Nations,  and  is  certainly 
a  very  generous  consideration. 

"  'You  are  now  fully  informed  of  our  business  with  you.  We  earn- 
estly desire  that  you  may  think  seriously  of  it,  for  what  we  are  about  to 
do  must  be  as  permanent  as  the  sun.  We  wish  you  to  go  and  consult 
together  upon  our  words,  and  let  us  know  your  minds  as  soon  as  con- 
venient. 

"  '  Brothers,  we  inform  you  that  it  is  not  our  wish  to  settle  our  business 
finally  with  you  previous  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Continental  treaty, 
but  only  that  we  may  fully  understand  each  other  and  have  our  minds 
prepared,  that  when  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
shall  have  completed  their  business  we  may  have  ours  ready  to  bring 
on.' 

"To  which  they  replied  by  Captain  Pipe,  of  the  Delavvares, — viz.  : 

"  'BROTHERS, — We  rejoice  from  our  hearts  to  see  our  brothers  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  are  very  glad  that  we  are  likely  once  more  to  live  in 
peace  and  friendship  with  you.  Your  speech  is  very  pleasing  to  us. 
You  have  told  us  the  business  you  have  meet  us  here  upon,  and  we  think 

72 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

we  fully  understand  you.     We  will  council  together  and  let  you  know 
our  minds  some  time  soon. 

"  '  Brothers,  we  are  glad  to  hear  of  your  having  met  with  our  uncles, 
the  Six  Nations,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  that  they  have  given  up  their 
lands  to  you,  agreeable  to  the  deed  you  just  showed  us.' 

"  In  Conference.     Present  as  before. 

"  Captain  Pipe  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  Wyandott  and  Delaware  nations 
as  follows : 

"'BROTHERS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, — We  met  last  night  and  counselled 
together  upon  the  speech  you  delivered  to  us  yesterday.  We  thank  you 
for  saving  some  of  your  presents  for  us,  for  in  this,  brothers,  you  were 
very  right,  for  our  fathers  always  told  us,  and  we  tell  our  children,  that 
from  Vinango  to  Little  Beaver  Creek,  and  out  to  the  lake  was  our  hunt- 
ing-ground. But  we  have  now  all  agreed  to  let  our  brothers,  the  Penn- 
sylvanians,  have  it,  excepting  a  few  tracts,  which  we  would  wish  to 
reserve,  that  we  might  make  a  present  of  a  piece  of  ground  to  you  and 
your  young  men  for  meeting  us  here  at  this  inclement  season,  and  that 
we  may  have  it  in  our  power  to  fulfil  our  promise  to  some  of  our  friends, 
which  we  made  long  ago.' 

"To  which  the  commissioners  replied, — 

"  '  BROTHERS, — We  thank  you  for  your  kind  offer,  but  we  cannot,  con- 
sistent with  our  instructions  from  the  State,  agree  to  any  reservations. 
Our  purchase  must  be  for  our  whole  claim.  At  the  same  time,  we  have 
no  doubt,  but  that  if  any  individuals  have  just  claims  to  any  part  of  these 
lands,  that  upon  application  being  made  to  the  government  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, they  will  be  properly  attended  to.' 

"  The  chiefs,  after  consulting  together  for  some  time,  answered, — 

"  '  Well,  then,  we  have  agreed  that  this  country  shall  be  yours,  and 
that  our  brothers  of  Pennsylvania  shall  have  it  forever. ' 

"The  commissioners  then  thanked  them,  and  said, — 

"  '  We  shall  expect  a  deed  from  you  for  these  lands,  and  we  request  you 
will  nominate  the  persons  who  are  to  sign  it,  that  it  may  be  ready  for 
execution  at  the  proper  season,  when  we  will  meet  you  in  public  council ; 
and  also  that  you  would  appoint  fit  persons  to  receive  the  goods  from  us, 
when  we  shall  be  ready  to  deliver  them  out. ' 

"  They  replied  that  Montour,  the  interpreter,  should  wait  on  the  com- 
missioners the  next  day  and  give  them  the  names  of  those  persons. 

"  Conference  ended. 

"January  16,  1785. 

"  Montour,  agreeable  to  the  appointment  of  yesterday,  attended  the 
commissioners,  and  returned  the  names  of  the  following  persons,  who 
were  to  sign  the  deed, — viz.,  Deungquat,  or  the  Half  King,  Tauwarah, 
6  73 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

or  the  Sweat  House,  and  Abraham  Kuhn,  of  the  Wyandotts ;  and  Kee- 
skanohen,  or  the  Pipe,  Peechemelind,  or  the  Present,  Wialindeoghin, 
or  the  Council  Door,  Hyngapushes,  or  the  Big  Cat,  Tatabaughsey,  or 
the  Twisting  Vine,  and  Whingohatong,  or  the  Volunteer,  of  the  Dela- 
wares.  And  Abraham  Kuhn,  Wialindeoghin,  and  Wingenum,  to  receive 
the  goods. 

"  In  Council,  January  21,  1783. 
"PRESENT. 

The  Hon.  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARKE,    -\  f 

\  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 
RICHARD  BUTLER,  and  v  rr  .     .  „ 

\  United  States. 

ARTHUR  LEE,  ESQS.,  ) 

ALEXANDER  CAMPBELL,  Secretary. 

The  Hon.  SAMUEL  F.  ATLEE  and          )  Commissioners  on  part  of  the 
FRANCIS  JOHNSON,  ESQS.,      j       State  of  Pennsylvania. 

GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 

JOSEPH  NICHOLSON  and  JOHN  MONTOUR,  Interpreters. 
And  the  deputies  of  the  Wyandott,  Delaware,  Chippevva,  and  Ottawa 
and  Muncy  Indian  nations^ 

"  Upon  the  completion  of  the  Continental  treaty,  the  Pennsylvania 
commissioners  delivered  the  following  speech  by  Colonel  Atlee : 

"'BROTHERS  OF  THE  WYANDOTT  AND  DELAWARE  NATIONS, — Listen 
with  attention  to  what  your  brothers  of  Pennsylvania  are  going  to  say. 
You  have  been  informed  by  the  Continental  commissioners  at  their  first 
meeting  that  we  come  from  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  as  com- 
missioners duly  authorized  to  transact  public  business  with  you,  as  will 
appear  by  our  commission  under  the  seal  of  the  State,  which  we  will  read 
to  you.' 

"("Read  the  commission.) 

"  '  Pursuant  to  this  commission,  we  met  your  brothers  and  uncles,  the 
Six  Nations,  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  October  last,  and  after  a  solemn  peace 
was  established  with  them  by  the  honorable  commissioners  of  the  United 
States,  we,  in  conformity  to  ancient  custom,  purchased  their  right  to  all 
the  lands  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  Pennsylvania  not  already 
purchased  of  them,  for  which  we  gave  a  valuable  consideration  in  goods 
of  the  first  quality. 

"  'That  this  may  be  known  to  all,  we  here  produce  their  deed  exe- 
cuted to  us  in  the  most  public  manner,  and  witnessed  by  the  honorable 
commissioners  of  Congress,  Captain  Aaron  Hill,  a  chief  of  the  Mohawk 
tribe,  and  several  others. 

" '  Now,  brothers,  as  you  have  been  called  together  to  this  place 

74 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

by  the  honorable  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States,  we,  by  consent 
of  Congress,  are  happy  to  meet  you,  and  rejoice  that  peace  and  friend- 
ship are  once  more  established  among  us.  In  testimony  of  our  sin- 
cerity we  present  you  with  these  strings.' 

"(FIVE  STRINGS.) 

"'BROTHERS, — Knowing  that  for  some  time  past  you  have  hunted 
upon  and  claimed  a  portion  of  the  lands  within  Pennsylvania,  and  being 
actuated  by  the  strict  principles  of  peace  and  justice  towards  you  in  the 
same  degree  that  you  have  seen  we  have  manifested  to  your  brothers  and 
uncles,  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  prevent  future  trouble  between  your 
people  and  ours,  we  have  determined,  according  to  the  known  usage  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  give  you  the  consideration  agreed  upon  between  us,  for 
this  purpose  we  have  brought  with  us  a  quantity  of  the  best  goods  such 
as  will  minister  to  your  relief  and  comfort.  These  goods  shall  be  de- 
livered out  to  proper  persons  appointed  by  each  nation  to  receive  them  ; 
and  that  no  misunderstanding  may  arise  in  future,  a  map  of  the  land  we 
wish  to  have  confirmed  to  the  Commonwealth  shall  be  affixed  to  the 
deed  to  be  executed  by  you,  that  your  children  and  ours,  may  hereafter 

have  recourse  to  the  same. ' 

"  (A  BELT.) 

"To  which  they,  by  the  Half  King,  chief  of  the  Wyandotts,  re- 
plied,— 

"  '  BROTHERS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, — Give  attention  to  what  we  shall  say 
to  you.  Your  words  have  pleased  us  very  much,  and  we  all  thank  you 
for  your  kindness  towards  us ;  our  grandfathers  have  always  said  that 
your  conduct  towards  them  was  just  the  same  you  discover  to  us  now. 
Pennsylvania  has  never  deceived  or  wronged  us  out  of  anything,  and  we 
all  thank  you  not  only  from  our  lips,  but  also  from  our  hearts  for  your 

honesty.' 

"(THREE  STRINGS.) 

"  The  commissioners  then  produced  the  deed*  that  was  prepared,  and 
informed  them  it  was  ready  for  them  to  execute,  when  the  persons  who 
had  been  appointed  for  the  purpose  walked  forward  and  sealed  and  de- 
livered the  same,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  in  the  presence  of  many 
witnesses,  as  their  quit-claim  and  deed  for  the  land  therein  described,  for 
the  use  of  Pennsylvania  forever. 

"  The  council  fire  was  raked  up. 

"  The  foregoing  is  a  true  state  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Indian  treaty 
held  at  Fort  Mclntosh. 

"  GRIFFITH  EVANS,  Secretary. 

"January  23,  1785." 

*  The  deed  executed  at  Fort  Mclntosh,  excepting  the  consideration  money  men- 
tioned, which  was  two  thousand  dollars  instead  of  five  thousand  dollars,  is  in  the  same 

75 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

GOODS   TO   BE   DELIVERED   TO    THE   INDIANS   AT   FORT 
STANWIX. 

"  The  Supreme  Executive  Council  met, 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  August  28,  1784,  Saturday. 
"PRESENT. 

His  Excellency  JOHN  DICKINSON,  ESQUIRE,  President. 
The  Honorable  JAMES  IRVINE,  SAMUEL  JOHN  ATLEE, 

JOHN  MCDOWELL,  BERNARD  DOUGHERTY,  I  Esqrs. 
and  STEPHEN  BALLIOTT,  JOHN  BOYD,        ) 

"  Council  having  considered  the  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  twenty  fifth  instant,  it  was 

"  Ordered,  That  the  Commissioners  be  requested  to  procure  immedi- 
ately the  undermentioned  articles,  but  if  the  sum  of  three  thousand  and 
three  hundred  and  seventy  five  pounds  will  not  be  sufficient  to  purchase 
the  whole,  that  then  they  be  desired  to  reduce  the  quantity  or  number  of 
such  of  the  articles  as  they  shall  think  fit. 

words,  and  for  the  same  lands  with  the  same  boundaries  as  the  deed  previously  signed 
by  the  Sachems  and  Chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Fort  Stanwix.  It  is  dated  at  Fort 
Mclntosh,  the  2lst  day  of  January,  1785,  and  signed  by  the  Sachems  and  Chiefs  of  the 
two  tribes  as  follows  ; 

WIALINDEOGHIN,  or  the  COUNCIL  DOOR,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

HYNGAPUSHES,  or  the  BIG  CAT,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

TATABAUGHSEY,  or  the  TWISTING  VINE,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

WHINGOHATONG,  or  the  VOLUNTEER,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

DEUNGQUAT,  or  the  HALF  KING,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

TAUWARAH,  or  the  SWEAT  HOUSE,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

ABRAHAM  KUHN,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

KEESKANOHEN,  or  the  PIPE,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

PEECHEMELIND,  or  the  PRESENT,  X  his  mark,  L.  S. 

[Sealed.] 
Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

G.  R.  CLARK,         ^ 

RICHARD  BUTLER,  \  Commissioners  of  the  United  Stales, 

ARTHUR  LEE,         J 

Jos.  HARMER,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Com., 

ALEXD.  LOWREY, 

JOHN  BOGGS, 

WM.  BUTLER, 

ALEX.  CAMPBELL,  Secretary  Commissioners  United  States, 

W.  BRADFORD, 

DANIEL  ELLIOT, 

JOHN  MONTOUR,  Interpreter, 

G.  EVANS,  Secretary  Pennsylvania  Commissioners, 

EDW.  BUTLER. 

76 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


20^/2  casks  of  gun  powder. 

1  ton  of  bar  lead. 

2  groce  of  thimbles. 
2  do  jews  harps. 

50  dozen  white  ruffled  shirts. 

5  do  laced  hats. 

50  do  knives. 

10  do  hatchets. 

10  do  pipe  tomahawks. 

12  do  looking  glasses. 

2  M  awl  blades. 

5  M  needles. 

i  C.  Vermillion. 

50  rifles. 

60  M  wampum — 30  white,  30  black. 

12  dozen  silver  arm  bands. 

12  do  wrist  bands. 

20  dozen  pipes,  Moravian. 

20  do  callicoe  shirts. 

1  hogshead  of  tobacco. 

500   Ib   of  brass   kettles   in  nests, 

complete. 
100  Ib  of  small  white  beads. 

2  gross  of  morrice  bells. 

5  dozen  of  pieces  of  yellow,  green 
and  purple  ribbon. 


5  pieces  of  embossed  flannel. 
60  dozen  broaches. 

2  do  gorgets. 
1 2  do  nosebobs. 
12  do  hair  pipes. 
12  do  rings. 

6  pieces  scarlet  broad  cloth. 
100  Ib  of  brass  wire. 

20  dozen  silk  handkerchiefs. 

2  do  pieces  of  callicoe. 

4  dozen  of  saddles  and  bridles. 

1,000  flints,  or  i  keg. 

i  gross  sheers. 

i  do  scissars. 

i  do  horn  combs. 

i  do  ivory  do. 

50  Ib  of  thread  sorted. 

1 2  gross  scarlet  and  star  gartering. 

1 2  do  green  and  yellow  bedlace. 

3  hogsheads  of  rum. 

30  p's  best  London  strbud. 
30  do  French  match  coats. 
10  do  blankets. 

20  do  half  thicks,  purple  and  white 
nap. 


"  Ordered,  That  a  warrant  be  issued  to  the  Treasurer  for  the  sum  of 
three  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy  five  pounds  specie,  in  favor  of 
the  Commissioners  appointed  to  negotiate  a  purchase  from  the  Indians 
claiming  the  unpurchased  territory  within  the  limits  of  this  State,  to  be 
applied  to  the  purchase  of  the  article  above  enumerated,  in  pursuance  of 
the  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  twenty  fifth  inst." — Colo- 
nial Records,  vol.  xiv.  p.  1 86. 

COMMISSIONERS   ON   INDIAN   TREATY,  1785. 

"  SIR, — In  pursuance  of  the  Order  of  Council  of  3oth  July  last,  I  have 
made  out  a  List  of  the  Goods  necessary  to  be  furnished  the  Indians  in 
October  next  wh  I  do  myself  the  honor  to  inclose. 

"  I  am  your  Excellency's 

"most  Obedient  Serv't, 

"  F.  JOHNSTON. 
"  Directed, 

"To  His  Excellency  JOHN  DICKINSON,  ESQR. 

77 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  A  list  of  the  goods  to  be  furnished  the  six  nations  of  Indians  on  the 
First  day  of  October  next. 

8  pieces  Blue  Stroud.  2  Dozen  Ivory  ditto. 

20  pairs  3  point  Match  Coats.  25  Ib  Vermillion. 

60  pairs  2^  point  ditto.  50  Gallons  Barbadoes  rum. 

25  yards  Scarlet  Flannel.  56  Ib  Gun  powder, 

i  Piece  Scarlet  Broad  Cloth.  400  Ib  Barr  Lead. 

100  White  Ruffled  Shirts.  300  Ib  Tobacco. 

50  Callico  ditto.  i  Kegg  pipes. 

1 8  French  Castors.  3  Pieces  Gartering. 

6  Dozen  coarse  Combs. 

"  Aug't  10,  1785.' 

— Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  x.  p.  496. 


CHAPTER    V. 

TITLES  AND  SURVEYS — PIONEER   SURVEYS  AND    SURVEYORS — DISTRICT  LINES 
RUN  IN  NORTHUMBERLAND,  NOW  JEFFERSON,  COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

"!N  1670  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  an  officer  in  the  English  navy, 
died.  The  government  owed  this  officer  sixteen  hundred  pounds,  and 
William  Penn,  Jr.,  fell  heir  to  this  claim.  King  Charles  II.  liquidated 
this  debt  by  granting  to  WTilliam  Penn,  Jr.,  'a  tract  of  land  in  Amer- 
ica, lying  north  of  Maryland  and  west  of  the  Deleware  River,  extend- 
ing as  far  west  as  plantable. '  King  Charles  signed  this  deed  March  4, 
1 66 1.  William  Penn,  Jr.,  was  then  proprietor,  with  power  to  form  a 
government.  Penn  named  the  grant  Pennsylvania,  in  honor  of  his  father. 
In  1682  Penn  published  his  form  of  government  and  laws.  After  making 
several  treaties  and  visiting  the  Indians  in  the  interior  as  far  as  Cones- 
toga,  Penn  sailed  for  England,  June  12,  1684,  and  remained  away  till 
December  i,  1699.  On  his  return  he  labored  to  introduce  reforms  in  the 
provincial  government,  but  failed.  He  negotiated  a  new  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  Susquehanna  Indians  and  also  with  the  Five  Nations.  In  the 
spring  of  1701  he  made  a  second  journey  into  the  interior,  going  as  far 
as  the  Susquehanna  and  Swatara.  Business  complications  having  arisen, 
Penn  sailed  for  England  in  the  fall,  and  arrived  there  the  middle  of  De- 
cember, 1701.  Owing  to  straitened  financial  circumstances,  he  entered 
into  an  agreement  with  Queen  Anne,  in  1712,  to  cede  to  her  the  prov- 
ince of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Lower  Counties  for  the  sum  of  twelve  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling;  but  before  the  legal  papers  were  completed  he 
was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and  died  July  30,  1718,  aged  seventy-four. 
While  Penn  accomplished  much,  he  also  suffered  much.  He  was  perse- 

78 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

cuted  for  his  religion,  imprisoned  for  debt,  and  tried  for  treason.  After 
his  death  it  was*  found  that,  owing  to  the  complication  of  his  affairs  and 
the  peculiar  construction  of  his  will,  a  suit  in  chancery  to  establish  his 
legal  heirship  was  necessary.  Several  years  elapsed  before  the  question 
was  decided,  when  the  Proprietaryship  of  the  province  descended  to 
John,  Richard,  and  Thomas  Penn.  John  died  in  1746  and  Richard  in 
1771,  when  John,  Richard's  son,  and  Thomas  became  sole  Proprietaries. 
But  the  Revolution  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  soon  caused  a 
radical  change  in  the  provincial  government." — Meginnis. 

During  the  Revolution  the  Penn  family  were  Tories,  adherents  of 
England,  and  on  the  27th  of  November,  1779,  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania confiscated  all  their  property  except  certain  manors,  etc.,  of 
which  surveys  and  returns  had  been  made  prior  to  the  4th  of  July,  1776. 
The  Penns  were  granted  as  a  compensation  for  these  confiscations  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  This  ended  the  rule  of 
the  Penns  in  America.  The  treaty  of  peace  between  England  and  what 
is  now  the  United  States  was  ratified  by  Congress  in  January,  1784.  All 
foreign  domination  or  rule  in  the  colonies  then  ceased,  but  internal 
troubles  with  the  savages  still  continued  in  this  State  in  the  north  and 
northwest. 

"  The  Indians  were  jealous  of  their  rights,  and  restive  under  any  real 
or  fancied  encroachments  that  might  be  made  upon  them,  and  it  re- 
quired the  exercise  of  great  care,  caution,  and  prudence  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities  to  avert  trouble  on  the  northern  and  western  boundaries 
of  the  State ;  and  this  they  did  not  always  succeed  in  doing,  as  many 
adventurous  spirits,  pushing  far  out  into  the  unsettled  wilderness,  discov- 
ered to  their  sorrow.  Fortunately,  however,  by  the  treaty  of  October, 
1784,  with  the  Six  Nations  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  that  of  January,  1785, 
with  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares  at  Fort  Mclntosh,  the  Indian  title 
was  extinguished  to  all  the  remaining  territory  within  the  then  acknowl- 
edged limits  of  the  State  which  had  been  previously  purchased.  The 
boundaries  of  that  great  northwestern  section  of  the  State  covered  by 
this  purchase  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows :  Beginning  on  the  east 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  where  it  crosses  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  State  in  Bradford  County ;  thence  down  the  east  branch  to  the 
mouth  of  Towanda  Creek ;  thence  up  Towanda  Creek  to  its  head- 
waters ;  thence  by  a  straight  line  west  to  the  head  waters  of  Pine  Creek ; 
thence  down  Pine  Creek  to  the  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna ;  thence 
up  the  west  branch  to  Cherry  Tree  in  Clearfield  County ;  thence  by  a 
straight  line  to  Kittanning,  on  the  Allegheny  River,  in  Armstrong  County; 
thence  down  the  Allegheny  River  to  the  Ohio  River ;  thence  down  the 
Ohio  River  to  where  it  crosses  the  western  boundary  to  Lake  Erie ;  and 
thence  east  along  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State  to  the  beginning. 
And  within  this  territory  at  the  present  day  we  find  the  counties  of 

79 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Tioga,  Potter,  McKean,  Warren,  Crawford,  Venango,  Forest,  Clarion, 
Elk,  Jefferson,  Cameron,  Butler,  Lawrence,  and  Mercer,  and  parts  of  the 
counties  of  Bradford,  Clinton,  Clearfield,  Indiana,  Armstrong,  Allegheny, 
Beaver,  and  Erie." — Annual  Report  of  Internal  Affairs. 

The  Indians  received  for  this  territory  ten  thousand  dollars  in  cash. 
Our  wilderness  was  then  in  Northumberland  County.  "  All  land  within 
the  late  (1784)  purchase  from  the  Indians,  not  heretofore  assigned  to  any 
other  particular  county,  shall  be  taken  and  deemed  to  be  within  the 
limits  of  Northumberland  County  and  Westmoreland  County.  And  that 
from  Kittanning  up  the  Allegheny  to  the  mouth  of  Conewango  Creek, 
and  from  thence  up  said  creek  to  the  northern  line  of  this  State,  shall  be 
the  line  between  Northumberland  County." — Smith's  Laws,  vol.  ii. 

P-  325- 

"Under  the  Proprietary  government  which  ended  2yth  November, 

1779,  land  was  disposed  to  whom,  on  what  terms,  in  such  quantities,  and 
such  locations  as  the  proprietor  or  his  agents  saw  proper.  The  unoccu- 
pied lands  were  never  put  in  the  market,  nor  their  sale  regulated  by  law. 
Every  effort  made  by  the  Assembly  to  secure  uniformity  in  the  sale  and 
price  of  land  was  resisted  by  the  proprietor  as  an  infringement  upon  his 
manorial  rights.  After  the  Commonwealth  became  vested  with  the  pro- 
prietary interests,  a  law  was  passed  April  9,  1781,  for  establishing  the 
land-office,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  those  persons  to  whom  grants 
had  been  made  to  perfect  their  titles.  July  i,  1784,  an  act  was  passed 
opening  the  land-office  for  the  sale  of  vacant  lands  in  the  purchase  of 
1768.  The  price  was  fixed  at  ^10  per  100  acres,  or  33}^  cents  per  acre, 
in  addition  to  the  warrant  survey  and  patent  fees,  and  the  quantity  in 
each  warrant  limited  to  400  acres  and  the  6  per  cent,  allowance.  The 
purchase  of  1 784  having  been  completed  and  confirmed  by  the  treaty  at 
Fort  Mclntosh,  January,  1785,  the  land-office  was  opened  for  the  sale  of 
lands  in  the  new  purchase  December  21,  1785,  at  which  the  price  was 
fixed  at  ^30  per  100  acres,  and  warrants  were  allowed  to  contain  1000 
acres,  with  10  per  cent,  overplus,  besides  the  usual  allowance."  This 
is  the  reason  why  so  many  old  warrants  contained  1100  acres,  with  6 
per  cent.,  or  60  more  acres.  "Nevertheless,  the  price  of  the  land  was 
placed  so  high  that  but  few  speculators  ventured  to  invest  in  the  hilly 
and  heavily  timbered  lands  of  Northern  Pennsylvania.  Under  the  pressure 
of  certain  land-jobbers,  who  were  holding  important  offices  (?)  in  the 
Commonwealth,  like  John  Nicholson,  Robert  Morris,  and  William  Bing- 
ham,  an  act  was  passed  April  3,  1792,  in  which  the  price  of  vacant  lands 
was  reduced  to  50  shillings  per  100  acres,  or  623  cents  per  acre.  Specu- 
lation ran  wild.  Applications  for  warrants  poured  into  the  office  by  tens 
of  thousands.  The  law,  while  it  appeared  to  favor  persons  of  small  means, 
and  prevent  the  wealthy  from  acquiring  large  portions  of  the  public  domain, 
was  so  drawn  that  by  means  of  fictitious  applications  and  poll  deeds — 

So 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

that  is,  mere  assignments  of  the  application  without  the  formalities  of  ac- 
knowledgment— any  party  could  possess  himself  of  an  unlimited  quan- 
tity of  the  unappropriated  lands.  Within  a  year  or  two  nearly  all  the 
lands  in  the  county  (then  Northumberland)  had  been  applied  for,  Nich- 
olson, Morris,  Bingham,  James  D.  Le  Roy,  Henry  Drinker,  John 
Vaughan,  Pickering,  and  Hodgdon  being  the  principal  holders." — 
Craft's  History  of  Bradford  County,  pp.  40,  41. 

"  When,  in  the  pursuance  of  this  policy  which  had  been  adopted  by 
William  Penn,  by  treaties  with  and  by  purchases  of  the  Indians,  they 
finally  became  divested  of  their  original  title  to  all  the  lands  in  Pennsyl- 
vania :  then,  under  what  was  called  '  The  Late  Purchase,'  which  covered 
all  of  this  section  of  country  and  included  it  in  Northumberland  County, 
in  the  year  1785  certain  warrants,  called  '  Lottery  Warrants,'  were  issued 
by  governmental  authority  to  persons  who  would  pay  twenty  pounds  per 
hundred  acres,  authorizing  them  to  enter  upon  the  lands  and  make  selec- 
tions where  they  pleased.  This  was  done  to  some  extent,  and  on  those 
warrants  surveys  were  made ;  but,  as  there  was  no  road  by  which  emi- 
grants could  come  into  the  country,  no  settlements  could  be  made  in  any 
place  except  where  the  sturdy  pioneer  could  push  his  canoe,  ignoring,  or 
overcoming  all  the  privations  and  difficulties  incident  to  a  pioneer  life  in 
such  a  wilderness." 

With  a  desire  to  give  a  complete  history  of  the  pioneer  surveys  of  the 
county,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Hon.  I.  B.  Brown,  Deputy  Secretary  of 
Internal  Affairs,  asking  for  all  the  information  known  by  the  State.  I 
herewith  submit  his  reply, — viz.  : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS, 
"  HARBISBURG,  PA.,  March  7,  1895. 

"  MR.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  5th  instant,  we  beg  to 
say  that  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  land  office  in  May,  1785,  for  the  sale 
of  lands  within  the  purchase  of  1784,  that  part  of  the  purchase  lying  east 
of  the  Allegheny  River  and  Conewango  Creek  was  divided  into  eighteen 
districts,  and  a  deputy  surveyor  appointed  for  each.  These  districts  were 
numbered  consecutively,  beginning  with  No.  i,  on  the  Allegheny  River, 
and  running  eastward.  The  southern  line  of  district  No.  i  began  on  the 
old  purchase  line  of  1 768  at  Kittanning,  and  following  that  line  in  suc- 
cessive order  were  districts  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  6,  the  latter  terminating 
at  the  marked  cherry-tree  on  the  bank  of  the  west  branch  of  the  Susque- 
hanna  River  at  Canoe  Place.  From  that  point  the  district  line  between 
the  sixth  and  seventh  districts,  as  then  constituted,  is  supposed  to  be  the 
line  that  divides  the  present  counties  of  Indiana  and  Jefferson  from  the 
county  of  Clearfield  as  far  north  as  Sandy  Lick  Creek. 

"An  old  draft  and  report,  found  among  the  records  of  this  depart- 

81 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ment,  show  that  Robert  Galbraith,  one  of  the  early  surveyors  of  Bedford 
County,  ran  the  purchase  line  of  1768  from  the  cherry-tree  to  Kittanning 
for  the  purpose  of  marking  it  and  ascertaining  also  the  extent  of  the  sev- 
eral survey  districts  north  of  the  line  and  between  the  two  points.  This 
draft  and  accompanying  report  are  without  date,  but  the  survey  was  pre- 
sumably made  during  the  summer  of  1786.  A  reference  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Galbraith  by  the  surveyor-general  to  perform  this  work,  and 
the  confirmation  of  the  appointment  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
on  the  8th  of  April,  1786,  appear  in  the  '  Colonial  Records,'  vol.  xv.  pp. 
3  and  4.  In  the  same  volume,  p.  85,  is  found  the  record  of  an  order  in 
favor  of  Galbraith  for  forty-five  pounds,  twelve  shillings,  to  be  in  full  for 
his  services  in  running  and  marking  the  line  and  Maying  off'  the  dis- 
tricts of  the  deputy-surveyors.  He  says  in  his  report,  '  I  began  at  the 
marked  cherry-tree  and  measured  along  the  purchase  line  seven  miles  and 
forty  perches  for  James  Potter's  district,  thence  fifty-four  perches  to  the 
line  run  by  James  Johnston  for  the  east  line  of  his  district ;  from  the  post 
marked  for  James  Potter's  district  seven  miles  and  forty  perches  to  a  post 
marked  for  James  Johnston's  district,  thence  fifty-two  perches  to  the  line 
run  by  James  Hamilton  for  the  east  line  of  his  district;  from  Johnston's 
post  seven  miles  and  forty  perches  to  the  post  marked  for  James  Hamil- 
ton's district,  thence  fifty-two  perches  to  the  line  run  by  George  Wood, 
Jr.,  for  the  east  line  of  his  district ;  from  the  post  marked  for  Hamilton's 
district  six  miles  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  perches  to  the  line  run 
by  Thomas  B.  McClean  for  the  east  line  of  his  district,  thence  two  hun- 
dred and  eight  perches  to  the  post  marked  for  George  Wood,  Jr.  's,  dis- 
trict, thence  six  miles  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  perches  to  the  line  run 
by  John  Buchanan  for  the  east  line  of  his  district,  thence  two  hundred 
and  ten  perches  to  the  post  marked  for  Thomas  Brown  McClean's  dis- 
trict, thence  two  miles  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  perches  to  the  Alle- 
gheny River  for  John  Buchanan's  district.' 

"  With  the  exception  of  the  first,  these  districts  each  extended  seven 
miles  and  forty  perches  along  the  purchase  line,  with  the  division  lines 
between  them  running  north  to  the  line  of  New  York.  Undoubtedly  the 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  districts,  of  which  James  Hamilton,  James  John- 
ston, and  General  James  Potter  were  respectively  the  deputy- surveyors, 
must  have  embraced,  if  not  all,  at  least  much  the  larger  part  of  the  terri- 
tory that  subsequently  became  the  county  of  Jefferson,  while  the  earliest 
surveys  were  made  within  that  territory  during  the  summer  of  1785  by 
the  surveyors  named.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  part  of  the  third  dis- 
trict, of  which  George  Wood,  Jr.,  was  the  deputy-surveyor,  may  have 
been  within  these  limits,  and  if  so,  surveys  were  no  doubt  also  made 
by  him.  These  first  surveys  were  principally  made  and  returned  on 
the  first  warrants  granted  within  the  purchase,  commonly  known  as  the 
lottery  warrants,  and  many  of  them  in  the  name  of  Timothy  Pickering 

82 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and   Company  were  located  on   lands   that  are   now  within   Jefferson 
County. 

"  General  James  Potter  died  in  the  year  1789,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son,  James  Potter,  who  was  appointed  in  1790.  One  of  the  reasons 
given  for  the  appointment  of  James  Potter,  second,  was  that  he  had  filled 
the  position  of  an  assistant  to  his  father,  and  had  done  so  much  of  the 
actual  work  in  the  field,  and  was  therefore  so  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  lines  of  surveys  already  run,  that  he  would  avoid  the  interferences 
another  person  might  fall  into,  thus  preventing  future  trouble  arising  from 
conflicting  locations.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  the  second  James 
Potter  ever  did  any  work  in  the  district,  as  the  deputies'  lists  of  surveys 
on  file  in  the  land-office  show  no  returns  from  him. 

"Soon  after  the  year  1790  a  change  was  made  by  the  surveyor-gen- 
eral in  the  arrangement  of  the  districts  within  the  purchase  of  1784,  by 
which  the  number  was  reduced  to  six,  counting  west  from  the  mouth  of 
Lycoming  Creek  to  the  Allegheny  River.  In  this  arrangement  the  two 
western  districts,  Nos.  5  and  6,  were  assigned  respectively  to  William  P. 
Brady  and  Enion  Williams.  Williams  was  succeeded  in  1794  by  John 
Broadhead.  Brady's  district  is  described  as  '  beginning  at  a  cherry-tree  of 
late  General  Potter's  district,  and  from  thence  extending  by  district  No. 
4  due  north  to  the  northern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  thence  by  the 
same  west  fourteen  miles,  thence  south  to  the  line  of  purchase  of  1768, 
late  the  southern  boundary  of  James  Johnston's  and  General  Potter's  dis- 
tricts, and  by  the  same  to  the  place  of  beginning. ' 

"  The  sixth  district  comprised  all  the  territory  west  of  Brady's  dis- 
trict to  the  Allegheny  River  and  Conewango  Creek  All  of  the  present 
county  of  Jefferson  must  have  been  within  these  districts.  The  surveys 
made  and  returned  by  Brady,  Williams,  and  Broadhead,  for  the  Holland 
Company,  John  Nicholson,  Robert  Morris,  and  other  large  purchasers  of 
lands,  are  so  numerous  as  to  practically  cover  all  the  lands  left  unsurveyed 
by  their  predecessors  within  that  particular  section  of  the  State.  A  small 
part  of  the  county,  in  the  vicinity  of  Brockwayville,  was  in  Richard 
Shearer's  district,  No.  7,  east  of  General  Potter's  line,  and  a  number  of 
lottery  warrants  was  surveyed  by  Shearer  in  that  locality  in  1785.  That 
part  of  the  county  subsequently  fell  within  district  No.  4,  of  which  James 
Hunter  was  the  surveyor,  who  also  returned  a  few  surveys. 

"  In  what  manner  these  pioneer  surveyors  in  the  wilderness  were 
equipped,  and  what  the  outfit  for  their  arduous  and  difficult  labors  may 
have  been,  we  do  not  know  and  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  Doubt- 
less they  had  many  severe  trials  and  endured  many  hardships  in  preparing 
the  way  for  future  settlements  and  advancing  civilization,  for  which  they 
receive  little  credit  or  remembrance  at  this  day.  Possibly  their  only 
equipment  was  the  ordinary  surveyor's  compass  and  the  old  link  chain  of 
those  days,  but  they  nevertheless  accomplished  much  work  that  remains 

83 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

valuable  down  to  the  present  time.  For  their  labor  they  were  paid  by 
fees  fixed  by  law.  The  law  of  that  day  also  provided  a  per  diem  wage 
of  three  shillings  for  chain-carriers,  to  be  paid  by  the  purchaser  of  the 
land. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  ISAAC  B.  BROWN, 

"  Secretary.'" 

You  will  see  from  the  above  that  in  1785,  Richard  Shearer,  with  his 
chain-carriers  and  his  axe-men,  traversed  what  is  now  Brockwayville  and 
the  forest  east  of  it ;  that  James  Potter,  with  his  chain- carriers  and  axe- 
men, traversed  the  forests  near  Temples,  now  Warsaw ;  that  James  John- 
ston, with  his  chain-carriers  and  axe- men,  traversed  the  forest  where 
Brookville  now  is,  and  that  James  Hamilton,  with  his  chain-carriers  and 
axe  men,  traversed  the  forest  near  or  where  Corsica  now  is.  Each  of  these 
lines  ran  directly  north  to  the  New  York  line.  Where  these  lines  ran  was 
then  all  in  Northumberland  County.  In  1794,  James  Hunter,  with  his 
chain-carriers  and  axe- men,  was  in  what  is  now  Brockwayville  region, 
William  P.  Brady,  with  his  chain -carriers  and  axe-men,  was  in  what  is 
now  the  Temple  region,  and  Enion  Williams  and  John  Broadhead,  with 
chain-carriers  and  axe-men,  were  between  where  Brookville  now  is  and 
the  Clarion  region.  This  wilderness  was  then  in  Pine  Creek  township, 
Northumberland  County. 

Elijah  M.  Graham  was  born  in  Dauphin  County,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
tober 19,  1772.  His  father's  name  was  John  Graham,  who  served  five 
years  in  the  Continental  army. 

Elijah  M.  Graham  was  one  of  the  original  explorers  of  what  is  now  Jef- 
ferson County,  Pennsylvania.  He  explored  this  region  in  1794  under 
Deputy- Surveyor  John  Broadhead.  In  that  year  Broadhead  surveyed  the 
district  line  which  now  forms  the  western  boundary  of  Brookville  borough. 
Broadhead  and  his  party  of  nine  men  were  in  this  wilderness  surveying 
from  May  until  the  middle  of  October,  1794.  The  party  consisted  of 
Department- Surveyor  Broadhead,  two  chain-carriers  (Elijah  M.  Graham 
and  Elisha  Graham,  brothers),  two  axe-men  (unknown),  one  cook  (un- 
known), one  driver  with  two  horses  (unknown),  and  two  other  men  (un- 
known), one  of  whom  was  a  hunter.  These  parties  crossed  streams  on  log 
floats,  encamped  in  log  huts,  and  carried  their  outfit  and  their  provisions 
on  pack  horses  from  what  is  now  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  and  from  some 
point  then  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania.  Graham  was  six 
months  on  this  survey  without  seeing  a  paleface  other  than  those  that 
comprised  the  party. 

In  1797,  Elijah  M.  Graham  located  on  French  Creek,  now  Crawford 
County,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  with  his  father  until  1804,  when 
he  returned  to  this  wilderness  and  worked  on  Joseph  Barnett's  mill  for  three 

84 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

years,  when  and  where  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Barnett  and  located 
on  the  State  Road  near  and  afterwards  in  what  is  no\v  Eldred  township. 
He  was  the  first  court  crier,  and  served  in  various  township  offices. 

In  1804  there  were  but  seven  or  eight  families  here, — viz.,  the  Bar- 
netts,  Longs,  Joneses,  Vasbinders,  and  Dixons,  and  one  colored  family. 

Mr.  Graham  reared  a  family  of  ten  children,  only  three  or  four  of 
whom,  including  J.  B.,  are  now  living.  Elijah  M.  Graham  died  in 
1854,  aged  eighty-two  years. 

John  Graham,  Elijah  M.  Graham's  father,  moved  to  Jefferson  County 
from  Crawford  County  about  1812,  locating  about  three  miles  northeast 
of  Brookville,  where  he  died  in  1813,  and  this  Revolutionary  soldier  was 
buried  in  the  first  graveyard,  now  in  East  Brookville,  the  land  owned 
and  occupied  by  W.  C.  Evans. 

"By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  April  i,  1794,  the  sale  of  these 
lands  was  authorized.  The  second  section  of  this  law  provides  that  all 
lands  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  shall  not  be  more  than  three 
pounds  ten  shillings  for  every  one  hundred  acres. 

"  Section  four  provides  that  the  quantity  of  land  granted  to  one  per- 
son shall  not  exceed  four  hundred  acres.  Section  six  provides  for  the 
survey  and  laying  out  of  these  lands  by  the  surveyor-general  or  his  depu- 
ties into  tracts  of  not  more  than  five  hundred  acres  and  not  less  than  two 
hundred  acres,  to  be  sold  at  public  auction  at  such  times  as  the  '  Supreme 
Executive  Council  may  direct.' 

"When  all  claims  had  been  paid,  '  in  specie  or  money  of  the  State,' 
for  patenting,  surveying,  etc. ,  a  title  was  granted  to  the  purchaser.  In 
case  he  was  not  ready  or  able  to  make  full  payment  at  the  time  of  pur- 
chase, by  paying  all  the  fees  appertaining  thereto,  he  was  allowed  two 
years  to  complete  the  payment  by  paying  lawful  interest,  and  when  the 
last  payment  was  made  a  completed  title  was  given. 

"By  the  act  of  April  8,  1785,  the  lands  were  sold  by  lottery,  in  por- 
tions not  to  exceed  one  thousand  acres  to  each  applicant.  Tickets,  com- 
mencing with  number  one,  were  put  in  a  wheel,  and  the  warrants,  which 
were  called  'Lottery  Warrants,'  issued  on  the  said  applications,  were  sev- 
erally numbered  according  to  the  decision  of  the  said  lottery,  and  bore 
date  from  the  day  on  which  the  drawing  was  finished. 

"Section  seven  of  this  act  allowed  persons  holding  these  warrants  to 
locate  them  upon  any  piece  or  portion  of  unappropriated  lands.  The 
land  upon  each  warrant  to  be  embraced  in  one  tract,  if  possible. 

"  On  the  3d  of  April,  1792,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  for  the  sale 
of  these  lands,  which,  in  some  respects,  differed  from  the  laws  of  1784 
and  1785.  It  offers  land  only  to  such  persons  as  shall  settle  on  them, 
and  designates  the  kind  and  duration  of  settlement.  . 

"By  section  two  of  this  act  all  lands  lying  north  and  west  of  the 
Ohio  and  Allegheny  Rivers  and  Conewango  Creek,  except  such  portions 

85 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

as  had  been  or  should  be  appropriated  to  public  or  charitable  uses,  were 
offered  to  such  as  would  'cultivate,  improve,  and  settle  upon  them,  or 
cause  it  to  be  done,  for  the  price  of  seven  pounds  ten  shillings  for  every 
hundred  acres,  with  an  allowance  of  six  per  centum  for  roads  and  high- 
ways, to  be  located,  surveyed,  and  secured  to  such  purchasers,  in  the 
manner  hereinafter  mentioned.' 

'•Section  three  provided  for  the  surveying  and  granting  of  warrants 
by  the  surveyor-general  for  any  quantity  of  land  within  the  said  limits, 
to  not  exceed  four  hundred  acres,  to  any  person  who  settled  upon  and 
improved  said  land. 

"The  act  provided  for  the  surveying  and  division  of  these  lands. 
The  warrants  were,  if  possible,  to  contain  all  in  one  entire  tract,  and 
the  form  of  the  tract  was  to  be  as  near,  as  circumstances  would  admit, 
to  an  oblong,  whose  length  should  not  be  greater  than  twice  the  breadth 
thereof.  No  warrants  were  to  be  issued  in  pursuance  of  this  act  until  the 
purchase-money  should  have  been  paid  to  the  receiver- general  of  the 
land  office. 

"The  surveyor- general  was  obliged  to  make  clear  and  fair  entries  of 
all  warrants  in  a  book  to  be  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  any  applicant 
should  be  furnished  with  a  certified  copy  of  any  warrant  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  one-quarter  of  a  dollar. 

"  In  this  law  the  rights  of  the  citizen  were  so  well  fenced  about  and 
so  equitably  defined  that  risk  and  hazard  came  only  at  his  own.  But 
controversies  having  arisen  concerning  this  law  between  the  judges  of 
the  State  courts  and  those  of  the  United  States,  which  the  Legislature, 
for  a  long  time,  tried  in  vain  to  settle,  impeded  for  a  time  the  settlement 
of  the  district.  These  controversies  were  not  settled  until  1805,  by  a  deci- 
sion of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  several  wealthy  Hollanders, — 
Wilhelm  Willink,  Jan  Linklaen,  and  others, — to  whom  the  United  States 
was  indebted  for  money  loaned  in  carrying  on  the  war,  preferring  to  in- 
vest the  money  in  this  country,  purchased  of  Robert  Morris,  the  great 
financier  of  the  country  at  that  time,  an  immense  tract  of  land  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  at  the  same  time  took  up  by  warrant  (under  the 
law  above  cited)  large  tracts  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  east  of  the 
Allegheny  River.  Judge  Yeates,  on  one  occasion,  said,  '  The  Holland 
Land  Company  has  paid  to  the  State  the  consideration  money  of  eleven 
hundred  and  sixty-two  warrants  and  the  surveying  fees  on  one  thousand 
and  forty  eight  tracts  of  land  (generally  four  hundred  acres  each),  besides 
making  very  considerable  expenditures  by  their  exertions,  honorable  to 
themselves  and  useful  to  the  community,  in  order  to  effect  settlements. 
Computing  the  sums  advanced,  the  lost  tracts,  by  prior  improvements 
and  interferences,  and  the  quantity  of  one  hundred  acres  granted  to  each 
individual  for  making  an  actual  settlement  on  their  lands,  it  is  said  that, 

86 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

averaging  the  whole,  between  two  hundred  and  thirty  and  two  hundred 
and  forty  dollars  have  been  expended  by  the  company  on  each  tract.' 

"An  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  March  31,  1823,  authorizing 
Wilhelm  Willink,  and  others  of  Holland  to  '  sell  and  convey  any  lands 
belonging  to  them  in  the  Commonwealth.' 

"  Large  tracts  of  lands  in  Jefferson  County  were  owned  by  the  Hol- 
land Company,  and  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  of  Punxsutawney,  was  the  agent 
of  the  company  for  their  sale.  He  was  appointed  by  John  J.  Vander- 
camp,  the  general  agent.  He  finally  sold  out  to  Alexander  Caldwell,  and 
Lee,  and  Gilpin.  Mr.  Gaskill  conveyed  much  of  these  lands  to  actual 
settlers  in  this  county.  Mr.  Gaskill  was  very  lenient  to  settlers.  A  day 
was  generally  set  for  those  parties  who  had  payments  to  make  to  meet  the 
owners  or  their  agents,  from  whom  they  had  purchased  lands,  at  a  certain 
place ;  but  money  was  scarce,  and  it  was  hard  for  the  early  settlers  to 
meet  their  obligations,  small  as  was  the  price  paid  in  those  days.  In 
order  to  stir  his  delinquent  debtors  up  to  a  sense  of  their  indebtedness 
Mr.  Gaskill  inserted  the  following  notice  in  a  paper  published  at  Kit- 
tanning  : 

"  '  NOTICE. — Having  been  very  indulgent  towards  those  persons  in- 
debted for  "HOLLAND  LAND"  in  Indiana,  Jefferson,  and  Armstrong 
Counties  for  some  time  past,  I  am  now  under  the  necessity  of  informing 
them  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  them  to  exert  themselves  and  make  as 
considerable  payments,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  on  their  respective 
bonds,  etc. 

"  '  CHARLES  C.  GASKILL. 

"  '  PUNXSUTAWNEY,  November  20,  1819.'  " 

— Kate  Scott's  History  of  Jefferson  County. 

"  Legally,  there  never  was  any  such  thing  as  the  Holland  Land  Com- 
pany, or  the  Holland  Company,  as  they  were  usually  called. 

"  The  company,  consisting  of  Wilhelm  Willink  and  eleven  associates, 
merchants  and  capitalists  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  placed  funds  in  the 
hands  of  friends  who  were  citizens  of  America  to  purchase  several  tracts 
of  land  in  the  United  States,  which,  being  aliens,  the  Hollanders  could 
not  hold  in  their  names  at  that  time ;  and  in  pursuance  of  the  trust 
created,  there  were  purchased,  both  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
immense  tracts  of  land,  all  managed  by  the  same  general  agent  at 
Philadelphia. 

"The  names  of  the  several  persons  interested  in  these  purchases,  and 
who  composed  the  Holland  Land  Company,  so  called,  were  as  follows : 
Wilhelm  Willink,  Nicholas  Van  Staphorst,  Pieter  Van  Eeghen,  Hendrick 
Vollenhoven,  and  Ruter  Jan  Schimmelpenninck.  Two  years  later  the 
five  proprietors  transferred  a  tract  of  about  one  million  acres,  so  that  the 

87 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

title  vested  in  the  original  five,  and  also  in  Wilhelm  Willink,  Jr.,  Jan 
Willink,  Jr.,  Jan  Gabriel  Van  Staphorst,  Roelif  Van  Staphorst,  Jr., 
Cornelius  Vollenhoven,  and  Hendrick  Seye." 

Charles  C.  Gaskill  came  to  Punxsutawney  about  1820  from  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania.  He  resided  there  until  1849,  during  which  time  he 
visited  regularly  the  courts  of  this  and  adjoining  counties,  making  sales 
and  receiving  payments  for  land.  In  this  year  he  disposed  of  all  the 
Holland  land  to  Reynolds,  Smith,  Gilpin  &  Co.,  when  he  returned  to 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Gaskill  was  a  kind,  courteous  Quaker 
gentleman.  He  died  at  Cooper's  Point,  New  Jersey,  in  1872. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

PIONEER     ANIMALS BEAVER,     BUFFALO,     ELK,     PANTHERS,     WOLVES,     WILD- 
CATS,   BEARS,    AND    OTHER    ANIMALS PENS    AND    TRAPS — BIRDS — WILD 

BEES. 

THE  mountainous  character  of  this  county  and  the  dense  forests  that 
covered  almost  its  whole  area  made  the  region  a  favorite  haunt  of  wild 
beasts.  "Many  of  them  have  disappeared,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  animals  now  extinct  on  the  continent  at  large  were  once  numerous 
within  the  boundaries  of  this  county." 

The  beaver,  the  buffalo,  the  elk,  and  the  deer  were  probably  the  most 
numerous  of  the  animals.  "  Beaver  will  not  live  near  man,  and  at  an 


* 


Beaver. 


early  period  after  the  settlement  of  this  State  these  animals  withdrew  into 
the  secluded  regions  and  ultimately  entirely  disappeared."  The  last  of 
them  known  in  this  State  made  their  homes  in  the  great  "  Flag  Swamp," 
or  Beaver  Meadow,  of  what  was  then  Jefferson  County.  This  swamp  was 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  Jenks  township,  and  is  now  situated  in  Jenks  township,  Forest  County. 
The  beavers  were  still  in  this  swamp  in  the  thirties.  Late  in  the  thirties 
a  trapper  named  George  W.  Pelton  would  occasionally  bring  a  "beaver 
pelt"  from  this  swamp  on  Salmon  Creek  to  Brookville  and  "barter"  it 
for  merchandise.  Centuries  ago  herds  of  wild  buffaloes  fed  in  our  valleys 
and  on  our  hills.  Yes,  more,  the  "buffalo,  or  American  bison,  roamed 
in  great  droves  over  the  meadows  and  uplands  from  the  Susquehanna  to 

Lake  Erie  " 

HOW   THE   BEAVER   BUILT   HIS   DAM. 

If  the  place  chosen  was  stagnant  water  or  a  swamp,  he  at  once  com- 
menced building  on  the  bank  with  low  entrances  from  the  water,  but  if 
the  stream  was  a  running  one,  a  large  company  of  beavers  would  co-op- 
erate in  order  to  keep  the  water  at  its  level.  Then  they  would  go  up  the 
stream,  gnaw  down  trees  from  two  feet  in  diameter  down,  trim  them,  float 
them  down  to  the  "site,"  lay  them  crosswise,  and  fill  in  with  mud  and 
stone,  which  they  carried  between  their  forepaws  and  chin.  When  the 
water  was  high  enough  in  a  dam  to  prevent  freezing  to  the  bottom  of  it 
in  winter,  they  separated  into  families  and  built  their  houses  against  the 
bank  or  dam.  The  entrance  to  the  house  was  beneath  the  water,  and 
the  roof  of  the  house  was  well  covered  with  mud  to  protect  against 
wolves.  Beavers  laid  up  food  for  winter  by  sinking  bark  and  logs  in  the 
dam  near  their  house,  and  in  summer  fed  on  grass,  roots,  etc.  Every 
stream  in  the  county,  big  or  little,  had  beaver  meadows,  but  they  were 
mostly  located  on  the  smaller  streams. 

The  American  elk  was  widely  distributed  in  this  great  forest  in  1794. 
The  habitat  of  this  noble  game  was  the  forest  extending  across  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State.  These  animals  were  quite  numerous  in  Jefferson 
County  in  the  thirties. 

In  1834,  Mike,  William,  and  John  Long  and  Andrew  Vasbinder  cap- 
tured a  full-grown,  live  elk.  Their  dogs  chased  the  animal  onto  a 
high  rock,  and  while  there  the  hunters  lassoed  it.  The  elk  only  lived 
three  weeks  in  captivity.  The  last  elk  in  the  State  was  killed  in  our 
forests.  A  noted  hunter  thus  describes  a  battle  between  wolves  and  a 
drove  of  elk:  "I  heard  a  rush  of  feet  from  the  opposite  direction,  and 
the  next  moment  a  band  of  elks  swept  into  sight.  Magnificent  fellows 
they  were,  eight  males  and  three  does,  with  a  couple  of  calves.  They 
had  evidently  been  stampeded  by  something,  and  swept  past  me  without 
seeing  me,  but  stopped  short  on  catching  sight  of  the  wolves.  The  does 
turned  back  and  started  to  gallop  away  in  the  direction  from  which  they 
came,  but  one  of  the  bucks  gave  a  cry,  and  they  stopped  short  and  hud- 
dled together  with  the  fawns  between  them,  while  the  bucks  surrounded 
them.  Each  buck  lowered  his  horns  and  awaited  the  attack.  The 
wolves,  seeing  the  cordon  of  bristling  bone,  paused,  disconcerted  for  a 
moment ;  then  the  foremost,  a  gaunt  old  wolf,  gave  a  howl  and  threw 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

himself  upon  the  lowered  antlers.  He  was  flung  fully  ten  feet  with  a 
broken  back,  but  his  fate  did  not  deter  the  others.  They  threw  them- 
selves upon  the  elks  only  to  be  pierced  by  the  prongs.  It  was  not  until 
fully  twenty  had  in  this  way  been  maimed  and  killed  that  they  seemed 
to  realize  the  hopelessness  of  the  thing." 

The  largest  carnivorous  beast  was  the  panther.  After  the  advent  of 
white  men  into  this  wilderness  panthers  were  not  common.  In  the  early 
days,  however,  there  were  enough  of  them  in  the  forests  to  keep  the  set- 
tler or  the  hunter  ever  on  his  guard.  They  haunted  the  wildest  glens  and 
made  their  presence  known  by  occasional  raids  on  the  flocks  and  herds. 
It  is  probable  that  here  in  our  northwestern  counties  there  are  still  a  few 
of  these  savage  beasts. 

The  puma,  popularly  called  by  our  pioneers  panther,  was  and  is  a 
large  animal  with  a  cat  head.  The  average  length  of  a  panther  from 
nose  to  tip  of  tail  is  about  six  to  twelve  feet,  the  tail  being  over  two  feet 
long,  and  the  tip  of  which  is  black.  The  color  of  the  puma  is  tawny,  dun, 


Panther. 


or  reddish  along  the  back  and  side,  and  sometimes  grayish-white  under- 
neath or  over  the  abdomen  and  chest,  with  a  little  black  patch  behind 
each  ear.  The  panther  is  a  powerful  animal,  as  well  as  dangerous,  but 
when  captured  as  a  cub  can  be  easily  domesticated.  These  animals  are 
occasionally  to  be  found  in  this  wilderness.  The  pioneers  shot  them 
and  captured  many  in  panther-  and  bear-traps.  The  pelts  sold  for  from 
one  to  two  dollars. 

The  Longs,  Vasbinders,  and  other  noted  hunters  in  our  county  killed 
many  a  panther.  A  law  was  enacted  in  1806  giving  a  bounty  of  eight 
dollars  for  the  "head"  of  each  grown  wolf  or  panther  killed,  and  the 
"  pelts"  bringing  a  good  price  for  fur,  stimulated  these  hunters  greatly  to 
do  their  best  in  trapping,  hunting,  and  watching  the  dens  of  these  dan- 

90 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

gerous  animals.  The  bounty  on  the  head  of  a  wolf  pup  was  three  dollars. 
The  bounty  on  the  head  of  a  panther  whelp  was  four  dollars.  The 
county  commissioners  would  cut  the  ears  off  these  heads  and  give  an 
order  on  the  county  treasurer  for  the  bounty  money.  A  panther's  pelt 
sold  for  about  four  dollars.  On  one  occasion  a  son  of  Bill  Long,  Jack- 
son by  name,  boldly  entered  a  panther's  den  and  shot  the  animal  by  the 
light  of  his  glowing  eyes.  Jackson  Long's  history  would  fill  this  volume. 
In  1833,  Jacob  and  Peter  Vasbinder  found  a  panther's  den  on  Boone's 
Mountain.  They  killed  one,  the  dogs  killed  two,  and  these  hunters 
caught  a  cub,  which  they  kept  a  year  and  then  sold  it  to  a  showman.  In 
1819  the  Legislature  enacted  a  law  giving  twelve  dollars  for  a  full-grown 
panther's  head  and  five  dollars  for  the  head  of  a  cub. 

"One   hundred   years  ago  wolves  were  common   in  Northern  and 
Western  Pennsylvania.     In  the  middle  of  the  last  century  large  packs  of 


Wolf. 

them  roamed  over  a  great  portion  of  the  State.  To  the  farmer  they  were 
an  unmitigated  nuisance,  preying  on  his  sheep,  and  even  waylaying  be- 
lated travellers  in  the  forest.  After  the  State  was  pretty  well  settled 
these  beasts  disappeared  very  suddenly.  Many  people  have  wondered  as 
to  the  cause  of  their  quick  extinction.  Rev.  Joseph  Doddridge  in  his 
'  Notes'  ascribes  it  to  hydrophobia,  and  he  relates  several  instances  where 
settlers  who  were  bitten  by  wolves  perished  miserably  from  that  terrible 
disease. ' ' 

I  have  listened  in  my  bed  to  the  dismal  howl  of  the  wolf,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  never  heard  a  wolf's  musical  soiree  I  will  state  here 
that  one  wolf  leads  off  in  a  long  tenor,  and  then  the  whole  pack  joins  in 
the  chorus. 

Wolves  were  so  numerous  that,  in  the  memory  of  persons  still  living 
in  Brookville,  it  was  unsafe  or  dangerous  to  permit  a  girl  of  ten  or  twelve 
years  to  go  a  mile  in  the  country  unaccompanied.  In  those  days  the 
Longs  have  shot  as  many  as  five  and  six  without  moving  in  their  tracks, 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  with  a  single-barrelled,  muzzle-loading  rifle,  too.  The  sure  aim 
and  steady  and  courageous  hearts  of  noted  hunters  made  it  barely  possi- 
ble for  the  early  settlers  to  live  in  these  woods,  and  even  then  they  had  to 
exercise  "eternal  vigilance."  In  1835,  Bill  Long,  John  and  Jack  Kahle 
captured  eight  wolves  in  a  "den"  near  the  present  town  of  Sigel.  Wolf- 
pelts  sold  for  three  dollars.  Wild-cats  were  numerous ;  occasionally  a  cat 
is  killed  in  the  county  yet,  even  within  the  borough  limits. 

One  of  the  modes  of  Mike  Long  and  other  pioneer  hunters  on  the 
Clarion  River  was  to  ride  a  horse  with  a  cow-bell  on  through  the  woods 
over  the  deer-paths.  The  deer  were  used  to  cow-bells  and  would  allow 
the  horse  to  come  in  full  view.  When  the  deer  were  looking  at  the  horse, 
the  hunter  usually  shot  one  or  two. 


Buffalo. 

Every  pioneer  had  one  or  more  cow-bells  ;  they  were  made  of  copper 
and  iron.  They  were  not  cast,  but  were  cut,  hammered,  and  riveted 
into  shape,  and  were  of  different  sizes. 

The  black  bear  was  always  common  in  Pennsylvania,  and  especially 
was  this  so  in  our  wild  portion  of  the  State.  The  early  settlers  in  our 
county  killed  every  year  in  the  aggregate  hundreds  of  these  bears.  Bear- 
skins were  worth  from  three  to  five  dollars  a-piece.  Reuben  Hickox,  of 
Perry  township,  as  late  as  1822,  killed  over  fifty  bears  in  three  months. 
Captain  Hunt,  a  Muncy  Indian,  living  in  what  is  now  Brookville,  killed 
sixty-eight  in  one  winter.  In  i83r,  Mrs.  McGhee,  living  in  what  is  now 

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PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 

Washington  township,  heard  her  pigs  squealing,  and  exclaimed,  "The 
bears  are  at  the  hogs  !"  A  hired  man,  Phillip  McCafferty,  and  herself 
each  picked  up  an  axe  and  drove  the  bears  away.  One  pig  had  been 
killed.  Every  fall  and  winter  bears  are  still  killed  in  our  forests. 

Peter  Vasbinder  when  a  boy  shot  a  big  bear  through  the  window  of 
his  father's  house,  and  this,  too,  by  moonlight.  This  bear  had  a  scap  of 
bees  in  his  arms,  and  was  walking  away  with  them.  The  flesh  of  the 
bear  was  prized  by  the  pioneer.  He  was  fond  of  bear  meat.  Bears 
weighing  four  or  five  hundred  pounds  rendered  a  large  amount  of  oil, 
which  the  pioneer  housewife  used  in  cooking. 

Trapping  and  pens  were  resorted  to  by  the  pioneer  hunters  to  catch 
the  panther,  the  bear,  the  wolf,  and  other  game. 

The  bear-pen  was  built  in  a  triangular  shape  of  heavy  logs.  It  was 
in  shape  and  build  to  work  just  like  a  wooden  box  rabbit-trap.  The 
bear  steel-trap  weighed  about  twenty-five  pounds.  It  had  double  springs 
and  spikes  sharpened  in  the  jaws.  A  chain  was  also  attached.  This 
was  used  as  a  panther-trap,  too.  "  The  bear  was  always  hard  to  trap. 
The  cautious  brute  would  never  put  his  paw  into  visible  danger,  even 
when  allured  by  the  most  tempting  bait.  If  the  animal  was  caught,  it 
had  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  the  most  cunning  stratagem.  One 
successful  method  of  catching  this  cautious  beast  was  to  conceal  a  strong 
trap  in  the  ground  covered  with  leaves  or  earth,  and  suspend  a  quarter  of 
a  sheep  or  deer  from  a  tree  above  the  hidden  steel.  The  bait  being  just 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  bear,  would  cause  the  animal  to  stand  on  his 
hind  feet  and  try  to  get  the  meat.  While  thus  rampant,  the  unsuspecting 
brute  would  sometimes  step  into  the  trap  and  throw  the  spring.  The 
trap  was  not  fastened  to  a  stake  or  tree,  but  attached  to  a  long  chain, 
furnished  with  two  or  three  grab-hooks,  which  would  catch  to  brush  and 
logs,  and  thus  prevent  the  game  from  getting  away." 

An  old  settler  informs  me  that  in  the  fall  of  the  year  bears  became 
very  fat  from  the  daily  feasts  they  had  on  beechnuts  and  chestnuts,  and 
the  occasional  raids  they  made  on  the  old  straw  beehives  and  ripe  corn- 
fields. In  pioneer  times  the  bear  committed  considerable  destruction  to 
the  corn.  He  would  seat  himself  on  his  haunches  in  a  corner  of  the  field 
next  the  woods,  and  then,  collecting  a  sheaf  of  the  cornstalks  at  a  time, 
would  there  and  then  enjoy  a  sumptuous  repast. 

Wolves  usually  hunt  in  the  night,  so  they,  too,  were  trapped  and 
penned.  The  wolf-pen  was  built  of  small  round  logs  about  eight  or  ten 
feet  high,  and  narrowed  at  the  top.  Into  this  pen  the  hunter  threw  his 
bait,  and  the  wolf  could  easily  jump  in,  but  he  was  unable  to  jump  out. 
The  wolf- trap  was  on  the  principle  of  the  rat-trap,  only  larger,  the  jaws 
being  a  foot  or  two  long. 

Trappers  rated  the  fox  the  hardest  animal  to  trap,  the  wolf  next,  and 
the  otter  third.  To  catch  a  fox  they  often  made  a  bed  of  chaff  and  got 

93 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

him  to  lie  in  it  or  fool  around  it,  the  trap  being  set  under  the  chaff.  Or 
a  trap  was  set  at  a  place  where  several  foxes  seemed  to  stop  for  a  cer- 
tain purpose.  Or  a  fox  could  be  caught  sometimes  by  putting  a  bait  a 


Fox. 

little  way  out  in  the  water,  and  then  putting  a  pad  of  moss  between  the 
bait  and  the  shore,  with  the  trap  hid  under  the  moss.  The  fox,  not 
liking  to  wet  his  feet,  would  step  on  the  moss  and  be  caught. 

THE  AMERICAN  ELK— DEER  AND  DEER  COMBATS— HUNTERS,  PRO- 
FESSIONAL AND  NON-PROFESSIONAL—STALKING  AND  BELLING 
DEER— OTHER  ANIMALS,  ETC. 

The  American  elk  is  the  largest  of  all  the  deer  kind.  Bill  Long  and 
other  noted  hunters  killed  elk  in  these  woods  seven  feet  high.  The  early 
hunters  found  their  range  to  be  from  Elk  Licks  on  Spring  Creek,  that 
empties  into  the  Clarion  River  at  what  is  now  called  "Hallton,"  up 
to  and  around  Beech  Bottom.  In  winter  these  heavy  footed-animals 
always  "yarded"  themselves  on  the  "  Beech  Bottom"  for  protection  from 
their  enemies, — the  light  footed  wolves.  The  elk's  trot  was  heavy, 
clumsy,  and  swinging,  and  would  break  through  an  ordinary  crust  on  the 
snow,  but  in  the  summer-time  he  would  throw  his  great  antlers  back  on 
his  shoulders  and  trot  through  the  thickets  at  a  Nancy  Hanks  gait,  even 
over  fallen  timber  five  feet  high.  One  of  his  reasons  for  locating  on  the 
Clarion  River  was  that  he  was  personally  a  great  bather  and  enjoyed 
spending  his  summers  on  the  banks  and  the  sultry  days  in  bathing  in  that 
river.  Bill  Long  presented  a  pair  of  enormous  elk-horns,  in  1838,  to 
John  Smith,  of  Brookville,  who  used  them  as  a  sign  for  the  Jefferson  Inn. 

"  The  common  Virginia  white-tailed  deer,  once  exceedingly  numerous 

94 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  our  county,  is  still  to  be  found  in  limited  numbers.  This  deer  when 
loping  or  running  elevates  its  tail,  showing  the  long  white  hair  of  the 
lower  surface.  If  the  animal  is  struck  by  a  bullet  the  tail  is  almost  in- 
variably tucked  close  to  the  hams,  concealing  the  white. 


Elk. 

"  The  American  deer,  common  deer,  or  just  deer,  is  peculiar  to  Penn- 
sylvania. It  differs  from  the  three  well-known  European  species, — the  red 
deer,  the  fallow  deer,  and  the  pretty  little  roe.  Of  these  three,  the  red 
deer  is  the  only  one  which  can  stand  comparison  with  the  American. 

"The  bucks  have  antlers  peculiar  in  many  cases,  double  sharp,  erect 
spikes  or  tines.  The  doe  lacks  these  antlers.  The  antlers  on  the  bucks 
are  shed  and  removed  annually.  Soon  after  the  old  antlers  fall,  swellings, 
like  tumors  covered  with  plush,  appear ;  these  increase  in  size  and  assume 
the  shape  of  the  antlers  with  astonishing  rapidity,  until  the  new  antlers 
have  attained  their  full  size,  when  they  present  the  appearance  of  an 
ordinary  pair  of  antlers  covered  with  fine  velvet.  The  covering,  or 
'  velvet,'  is  filled  with  blood-vessels,  which  supply  material  for  the  new 
growth.  The  furrows  in  the  complete  antler  show  the  course  of  the  cir- 
culation during  its  formation,  and  no  sooner  is  the  building  process  com- 
pleted than  the  '  velvet'  begins  to  wither  and  dry  up.  Now  the  buck 
realizes  that  he  is  fully  armed  and  equipped  for  the  fierce  joustings  which 
must  decide  the  possession  of  the  does  of  his  favorite  range,  and  he  busies 
himself  in  testing  his  new  weapons  and  in  putting  a  proper  polish  upon 

95 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

every  inch  of  them.  He  bangs  and  rattles  his  horn  daggers  against  con- 
venient trees  and  thrusts  and  swings  them  into  dense,  strong  shrubs, 
and  if  observed  during  this  honing-up  process  he  frequently  seems  a  dis- 
reputable-looking beast,  with  long  streamers  of  blood-stained  '  velvet' 
hanging  to  what  will  shortly  be  finely  polished  antlers  with  points  as 
sharp  as  knives.  When  the  last  rub  has  been  given  and  every  beam 
and  tine  is  furbished  thoroughly,  our  bravo  goes  a-wooing  with  the  best 
of  them.  He  trails  the  coy  does  through  lone  covers  and  along  favorite 
runways  unceasingly ;  he  is  fiery  and  impetuous  and  full  of  fight,  and 
asks  no  fairer  chance  than  to  meet  a  rival  as  big  and  short-tempered  as 
himself.  He  meets  one  before  long,  for  every  grown  buck  is  on  the  war- 
path, and  when  the  pair  fall  foul  of  each  other  there  is  frequently  a  long 
and  desperate  combat,  in  which  one  gladiator  must  be  thoroughly  whipped 
or  killed.  All  deer  fight  savagely,  and  occasionally  two  battling  rivals 
find  a  miserable  doom  by  managing  to  get  their  antlers  securely  inter- 
locked, when  both  must  perish.  Two  dead  bucks  thus  locked  head  to 
head  have  been  found  lying  as  they  fell  in  an  open  glade,  where  the 
scarred  surface  of  the  ground  and  the  crushed  and  riven  shrubs  about 
told  an  eloquent  tale  of  a  wild  tourney  long  sustained,  and  of  miserable 
failing  efforts  of  the  wearied  conqueror  to  free  himself  of  his  dead  foe." 
—  Outing.  The  Vasbinders,  Longs,  and  all  the  early  hunters  found  just 
such  skulls  in  these  woods. 

Artificial  deer-licks  were  numerous,  and  made  in  this  way  :  A  hunter 
would  take  a  coffee-sack  and  put  in  it  about  half  a  bushel  of  common 
salt,  and  then  suspend  the  sack  high  on  the  branch  of  a  tree.  When  the 
rain  descended  the  salt  water  would  drip  from  the  sack  to  the  ground, 
making  the  earth  saline  and  damp,  and  to  this  spot  the  deer  would  come, 
paw  and  lick  the  earth.  The  hunter  usually  made  his  blind  in  this  way : 
A  piece  of  board  had  two  augur-holes  bored  in  each  end,  and  with  ropes 
through  these  holes  was  fastened  to  a  limb  on  a  tree.  On  this  board 
the  hunter  seated  himself  to  await  his  game.  Deer  usually  visit  licks 
from  about  2  A.M.  until  daylight.  As  a  rule,  deer  feed  in  the  morning 
and  evening  and  ramble  around  all  night  seeking  a  thicket  for  rest  and 
seclusion  in  the  daytime. 

"For  ways  that  were  dark  and  for  tricks  that  were  -vain"  the  old 
pioneer  was  always  in  it.  When  real  hungry  for  a  venison  steak  he  would 
often  use  a  tame  deer  as  a  decoy,  in  this  way  :  Fawns  were  captured  when 
small,  tamed,  reared,  and  permitted  to  run  at  large  with  the  cattle.  A 
life  insurance  was  "  written"  on  this  tame  deer  by  means  of  a  bell  or  a 
piece  of  red  flannel  fastened  around  the  neck.  Tame  deer  could  be 
trained  to  follow  masters,  and  when  taken  to  the  woods  usually  fed  around 
and  attracted  to  their  society  wild  deer,  which  could  then  be  shot  by  the 
secreted  hunter.  At  the  discharge  of  a  gun  the  tame  deer  invariably  ran 
up  to  her  master.  Some  of  these  does  were  kept  for  five  or  six  years. 

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PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Deer  generally  have  two  fawns  at  a  time,  in  May,  and  sometimes  three. 
The  horns  of  a  deer  drop  off  about  New- Year's. 

Love  of  home  is  highly  developed  in  the  deer.  You  cannot  chase  him 
away  from  it.  He  will  circle  round  and  round,  and  every  evening  come 
to  where  he  was  born.  He  lives  in  about  eight  or  ten  miles  square  of  his 
birthplace.  In  the  wilds  of  swamps  and  mountains  and  laurel-brakes  he 
has  his  "roads,"  beaten  paths,  and  "crossings,"  like  the  civilized  and 
cross  roads  of  man.  When  hounded  by  dogs  he  invariably  strikes  for  a 
creek  or  river,  and  it  is  his  practice  to  take  one  of  these  "travelled 
paths,"  which  he  never  leaves  nor  forgets,  no  matter  how  circuitous  the 
path  may  be.  Certain  crossings  on  these  paths  where  the  deer  will  pass 
are  called  in  sporting  parlance  "  stands."  These  "  stands"  never  change, 
unless  through  the  clearing  of  timber  or  by  settlement  the  old  landmarks 
are  destroyed. 

"  The  deer  loves  for  a  habitation  to  wander  over  hills,  through  thick 
swamps  or  open  woods,  and  all  around  is  silence  save  what  noise  is  made 
by  the  chirping  birds  and  wild  creatures  like  himself.  He  loves  to  feed 
a  little  on  the  lowlands  and  then  browse  on  the  high  ground.  It  takes 
him  a  long  time  to  make  a  meal,  and  no  matter  how  much  of  good  food 
there  may  be  in  any  particular  place,  he  will  not  remain  there  to  thor- 
oughly satisfy  his  appetite.  He  must  roam  about  and  eat  over  a  great 
deal  of  territory.  When  he  has  browsed  and  fed  till  he  is  content,  he 
loves  to  pose  behind  a  clump  of  bushes  and  watch  and  listen.  At  such 
times  he  stands  with  head  up  as  stanch  as  a  setter  on  point,  and  if  one 
watches  him  closely  not  a  movement  of  his  muscles  will  be  detected.  He 
sweeps  the  country  before  him  with  his  keen  eyes,  and  his  sharp  ears  will 
be  disturbed  by  the  breaking  of  a  twig  anywhere  within  gunshot. 

"  When  the  day  is  still  the  deer  is  confident  he  can  outwit  the  enemy 
who  tries  to  creep  up  on  him  with  shot-gun  or  rifle.  But  when  the  wind 
blows,  he  fears  to  trust  himself  in  those  places  where  he  may  easily  be 
approached  by  man,  so  he  hides  in  the  thickets  and  remains  very  quiet 
until  night.  To  kill  a  deer  on  a  still  day,  when  he  is  not  difficult  to  find, 
the  hunter  must  match  the  deer  in  cunning  and  must  possess  a  marked 
degree  of  patience.  The  deer,  conscious  of  his  own  craftiness,  wanders 
slowly  through  the  woods ;  but  he  does  not  go  far  before  he  stops,  and 
like  a  statue  he  stands,  and  can  only  be  made  out  by  the  hunter  with  a 
knowledge  of  his  ways  and  a  trained  eye. 

"The  deer  listens  for  a  footfall.  Should  the  hunter  be  anywhere 
within  the  range  of  his  ear  and  step  on  a  twig,  the  deer  is  off  with  a 
bound.  He  does  not  stop  until  he  has  reached  what  he  regards  as  a  safe 
locality  in  which  to  look  and  listen  again.  A  man  moving  cautiously 
behind  a  clump  of  bushes  anywhere  within  the  sweep  of  his  vision  will 
start  him  off  on  the  run,  for  he  is  seldom  willing  to  take  even  a  small 
chance  against  man.  Should  the  coast  be  clear,  the  deer  will  break  his 

97 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

pose,  browse  and  wander  about  again,  and  finally  make  his  bed  under  the 
top  of  a  fallen  tree  or  in  some  little  thicket. 

"To  capture  the  deer  by  the  still-hunting  method,  the  hunter  must 
know  his  ways  and  outwit  him  at  his  own  game.  First  of  all,  the  still- 
hunter  wears  soft  shoes,  and  when  he  puts  his  foot  on  the  ground  he  is 
careful  not  to  set  it  on  a  twig  which  will  snap  and  frighten  any  deer  that 
may  be  in  the  vicinity.  The  still-hunter  proceeds  at  once  to  put  into 
practice  the  very  system  which  the  deer  has  taught  him.  He  strikes  a 
pose.  He  listens  and  looks.  A  deer  standing  like  a  statue  two  hundred 
yards  away  is  not  likely  to  be  detected  by  an  inexperienced  hunter,  but 
the  expert  is  not  deceived.  He  has  learned  to  look  closely  into  the  de- 
tail of  the  picture  before  him,  and  he  will  note  the  difference  between  a 
set  of  antlers  and  a  bush. 

"  The  brown  sides  of  a  deer  are  very  indistinct  when  they  have  for  a 
background  a  clump  of  brown  bushes.  But  the  expert  still-hunter  sits 
quietly  on  a  log  and  peers  into  the  distance  steadily,  examining  all  de- 
tails before  him.  Occasionally  his  fancy  will  help  him  to  make  a  deer's 
haunch  out  of  a  hump  on  a  tree,  or  he  will  fancy  he  sees  an  antler  mixed 
with  the  small  branches  of  a  bush,  but  his  trained  eye  finally  removes  all 
doubt.  But  he  is  in  no  hurry.  He  is  like  the  deer,  patient,  keen  of 
sight,  and  quick  of  hearing.  He  knows  that  if  there  are  any  deer  on 
their  feet  in  his  vicinity  he  will  get  his  eyes  on  them  if  he  takes  the  time, 
or  if  he  .waits  long  enough  he  is  likely  to  see  them  on  the  move.  At  all 
events  he  must  see  the  deer  first.  Then  he  must  get  near  enough  to  him 
to  bring  him  down  with  his  rifle." — Outing. 

Deer  will  not  run  in  a  straight  line.  They  keep  their  road,  and  it  is 
this  habit  they  have  of  crossing  hills,  paths,  woods,  and  streams,  almost 
invariably  within  a  few  yards  of  the  same  spot,  that  causes  their  destruc- 
tion by  the  hounding  and  belling  methods  of  farmers,  lumbermen,  and 
other  non-professionals.  Deer-licks  were  numerous  all  over  this  county. 
A  "deer-lick"  is  a  place  where  salt  exists  near  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
The  deer  find  these  spots  and  work  them  during  the  night,  generally  in 
the  early  morning.  One  of  the  methods  of  our  early  settlers  was  to  sit 
all  night  on  or  near  a  tree,  "  within  easy  range  of  a  spring  or  a  '  salt-lick,' 
and  potting  the  unsuspecting  deer  which  may  happen  to  come  to  the  lick 
in  search  of  salt  or  water.  This  requires  no  more  skill  than  an  ability  to 
tell  from  which  quarter  the  breeze  is  blowing  and  to  post  one's  self  ac- 
cordingly, and  the  power  to  hit  a  deer  when  the  gun  is  fired  from  a  dead 
rest." 

"  Belling  deer"  was  somewhat  common.  I  have  tried  my  hand  at  it. 
The  mode  was  this :  Three  men  were  located  at  proper  distances  apart 
along  a  trail  or  runway  near  a  crossing.  The  poorest  marksman  was 
placed  so  as  to  have  the  first  shot,  and  the  two  good  ones  held  in  reserve 
for  any  accidental  attack  of  "buck  fever"  to  the  persons  on  the  first  and 

98 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

second  stands.  An  experienced  woodsman  was  then  sent  into  a  laurel 
thicket,  carrying  with  him  a  cow-bell ;  and  when  this  woodsman  found 
and  started  a  deer,  he  followed  it,  ringing  the  bell.  The  sound  of  this 
bell  was  notice  to  those  on  the  "  stand"  of  the  approach  of  a  deer.  When 
the  animal  came  on  the  jump  within  shooting  distance  of  the  first  stand, 
the  hunter  there  posted  would  bleat  like  a  sheep ;  the  deer  would  then 
come  to  a  stand-still,  when  the  hunter  could  take  good  aim  at  it ;  the 
others  had  to  shoot  at  the  animal  running.  The  buck  or  doe  rarely 
escaped  this  gauntlet. 

"  The  deer  was  always  a  coveted  prize  among  hunters.  No  finer  dish 
than  venison  ever  graced  the  table  of  king  or  peasant.  No  more  beauti- 
ful trophy  has  ever  adorned  the  halls  of  the  royal  sportsman  or  the  humble 
cabin  of  the  lowly  hunter  on  the  wild  frontier  than  the  antlers  of  the  fallen 
buck.  The  sight  of  this  noble  animal  in  his  native  state  thrills  with  ad- 
miration alike  the  heart  of  the  proudest  aristocrat  and  the  rudest  back- 
woodsman. In  the  days  when  guns  were  rare  and  ammunition  very  costly, 
hunters  set  stakes  for  deer,  where  the  animal  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
jumping  into  or  out  of  fields.  A  piece  of  hard  timber,  two  or  three 
inches  thick  and  about  four  feet  long,  was  sharpened  into  a  spear  shape, 
and  then  driven  firmly  into  the  ground  at  the  place  where  the  deer  were 
accustomed  to  leap  over  the  log  fence.  The  stake  was  slanted  towards 
the  fence,  so  as  to  strike  the  animal  in  the  breast  as  it  leaped  into  or  out 
of  the  fields.  Several  of  these  deadly  wooden  spears  were  often  set  at  the 
same  crossing,  so  as  to  increase  the  peril  of  the  game.  If  the  deer  were 
seen  in  the  field,  a  scare  would  cause  them  to  jump  over  the  fence  with 
less  caution,  and  thus  often  a  buck  would  impale  himself  on  one  of  the 
fatal  stakes,  when  but  for  the  sight  of  the  hunter  the  animal  might  have 
escaped  unhurt.  Thousands  of  deer  were  killed  or  crippled  in  this  way 
generations  ago." — Outing. 

A  deer-skin  sold  in  those  days  for  seventy-five  to  ninety  cents.  Of 
the  original  wild  animals  still  remaining  in  our  county,  there  are  the  fox, 
raccoon,  porcupine,  musk-rat,  martin,  otter,  mink,  skunk,  opossum, 
woodchuck,  rabbit,  squirrel,  mole,  and  mouse.  Fifty  years  ago  the 
woods  were  full  of  porcupines.  On  the  defensive  is  the  only  way  he 
ever  fights.  When  the  enemy  approaches  he  rolls  up  into  a  little  wad, 
sharp  quills  out,  and  he  is  not  worried  about  how  many  are  in  the  be- 
sieging party.  One  prick  of  his  quills  will  satisfy  any  assailant.  When 
he  sings  his  blood-curdling  song,  it  is  interpreted  as  a  sign  of  rain. 

The  wholesale  price  of  furs  in  1804  were :  Otter,  one  dollar  and  a 
half  to  four  dollars ;  bear,  one  to  three  dollars  and  a  half ;  beaver,  one 
to  two  dollars  and  a  half;  martin,  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar  and  a  half; 
red  fox,  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  ten  cents ;  mink,  twenty  to  forty 
cents ;  muskrat,  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents ;  raccoon,  twenty  to  fifty 
cents ;  deer-pelts,  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar. 

99 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  hunter  carried  his  furs  and  pelts  to  the  Pittsburg  market 
in  canoes,  where  he  sold  them  to  what  were  called  Indian  traders  from 
the  East.  In  later  years  traders  visited  the  cabins  of  our  hunters  in  the 
county,  and  bartered  for  and  bought  the  furs  and  pelts  from  the  hunters 
or  from  our  merchants. 


Porcupine. 


Old  William  Vasbinder,  a  noted  hunter  and  trapper  in  this  wilder- 
ness, and  pioneer  in  what  is  now  Warsaw  township,  was  quite  successful 
in  trapping  wolves  one  season  on  Hunt's  Run,  about  the  year  1819  or 
1820;  but  for  some  unknown  reason  his  success  suddenly  stopped,  and' 
he  could  not  catch  a  single  wolf.  He  then  suspected  the  Indians  of 
robbing  his  traps.  So  one  morning  bright  and  early  he  visited  his  traps 
and  found  no  wolf,  but  did  find  an  Indian  track.  He  followed  the 
Indian  trail  and  lost  it.  On  looking  around  he  heard  a  voice  from 
above,  and  looking  up  he  saw  an  Indian  sitting  in  the  fork  of  a  tree,  and 
the  Indian  said,  "  Now,  you  old  rascal,  you  go  home,  Old  Bill,  or  Indian 
shoot."  With  the  Indian's  flint-lock  pointed  at  him,  Vasbinder  imme- 
diately became  quite  hungry  and  started  home  for  an  early  breakfast. 

Bill  Long  often  sold  to  pedlers  fifty  deer-pelts  at  a  single  sale.  He 
had  hunting  shanties  in  all  sections  and  quarters  of  this  wilderness. 

In  1840  the  late  John  Du  Bois,  founder  of  Du  Bois  City,  desired  to 
locate  some  lands  near  Boone's  Mountain.  So  he  took  Bill  Long  with 
him,  and  the  two  took  up  a  residence  in  a  shanty  of  Long's  near  the 
head-waters  of  Rattlesnake  Run,  in  what  is  now  Snyder  township.  After 
four  or  five  days'  rusticating,  the  provisions  gave  out,  and  Du  Bois  got 
hungry.  Long  told  him  there  was  nothing  to  eat  here  and  for  him  to 
leave  for  Bundy's.  On  his  way  from  the  shanty  to  Bundy's  Mr.  Du  Bois 
killed  five  deer. 

George  Smith,  a  Washington  township  early  hunter,  who  is  still 
living  in  the  wilds  of  Elk  County,  has  killed  in  this  wilderness  fourteen 
panthers,  five  hundred  bears,  thirty  elks,  three  thousand  deer,  five  hun- 
dred catamounts,  five  hundred  wolves,  and  six  hundred  wild-cats.  He 

100 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


has  killed  seven  deer  in  a  day  and  as  many  as  five  bears  in  a  day.  All 
these  animals  were  killed  in  what  was  originally  Jefferson  County.  Mr. 
Smith  has  followed  hunting  as  a  profession  for  sixty  years. 

NATURAL   LIFE   OF   SOME   OF   OUR   WILD   AND    DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 


Elk    

Years. 
SO 

Hog  

Years. 
2O 

Beaver                       .    . 

SO 

Wolf  

It 

Panther                 .    .    . 

2S 

Cat     

1C 

Catamount                 .    . 

2< 

Fox    

1C 

Buffalo  

......        2O 

Dog  . 

IO 

2O 

Sheep    

IO 

Horse    ... 

2O 

Squirrel     .    .    .    .    . 

7 

Bear              

2O 

Rabbit   

7 

Deer 

20 

BIRDS. 

"  If  a  bird's  nest  chance  to  be  before  thee  in  the  way  in  any  tree,  or 
on  the  ground,  whether  they  be  young  ones,  or  eggs,  and  the  dam  sitting 
upon  the  young,  or  upon 
the  eggs,  thou  shalt  not 
take  the  dam  with  the 
young :  but  thou  shalt  in 
anywise  let  the  dam  go, 
and  take  the  young  to 
thee  ;  that  it  may  be  well 
with  thee,  and  that  thou 
mayest  prolong  thy  days. ' ' 
— Deut.  xxii.  6,  7. 

With  the  exception  of 
the  wild  turkey  and  raven, 
which  are  now  about  ex- 
tinct, we  have  almost  the 
same  variety  of  birds  here 
that  lived  and  sung  in  this 
wilderness  when  the  Bar- 
netts  settled  on  Mill  Creek. 
Some  of  these  original 
birds  are  quite  scarce.  We 
have  one  new  bird, — viz.,  Wild  turkey. 

the  English  sparrow. 

Before  enumerating  our  birds  it  might  be  proper  to  give  a  few  sketches 
of  some  of  the  principal  ones. 

THE   RAVEN. 

A  very  handsome  bird,  numerous  here  in  pioneer  time,  now  extinct. 
He  belonged  to  the  crow  family.     He  had  a  wonderful  intellect.     He 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

could  learn  to  talk  correctly,  and  was  a  very  apt  scholar.  He  lived  to 
an  extreme  old  age,  probably  one  hundred  years.  He  was  blue-black, 
like  the  common  crow.  He  made  his  home  in  the  solitude  of  the  forest, 
preferring  the  wildest  and  most  hilly  sections.  In  such  regions,  owing 
to  his  intellect  and  strength,  his  supremacy  was  never  questioned,  unless 
by  the  eagle.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  he  would  feast  on  the  saddles  of 
venison  the  hunters  would  hang  on  a  tree,  and  the  Longs  adopted  this 
method  to  save  their  meat :  Take  a  small  piece  of  muslin,  wet  it,  and 
rub  it  all  over  with  gunpowder ;  sharpen  a  stick  and  pin  this  cloth  to 
the  venison.  The  raven  and  crow  would  smell  this  powder  and  keep 
away  from  the  venison. 

THE  "BALD"  EAGLE  OUR  NATIONAL  EMBLEM. 

The  name  "Bald"  which  is  given  to  this  species  is  not  applied  be- 
cause the  head  is  bare,  but  because  the  feathers  of  the  neck  and  head  of 
adults  are  pure  white.  In  Jefferson  County,  as  well  as  throughout  the 
United  States,  we  had  but  two  species  of  eagles,  the  bald  and  the  golden. 
The  "  Black,"  "  Gray,"  and  "  Washington"  eagles  are  but  the  young  of 
the  bald  eagle.  Three  years,  it  is  stated,  are  required  before  this  species 
assumes  the  adult  plumage.  The  bald  eagle  is  still  found  in  Pennsyl- 
vania at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  I  have  seen  some  that  measured  eight 
feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  wing. 

"  The  nest,  a  bulky  affair,  built  usually  on  a  large  tree,  mostly  near 
the  water,  is  about  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  made  up  chiefly  of 
large  sticks,  lined  inside  with  grass,  leaves,  etc.  The  eggs,  commonly  two, 
rarely  three,  are  white,  and  they  measure  about  three  by  two  and  a  half 
inches.  A  favorite  article  of  food  with  this  bird  is  fish,  which  he  obtains 
mainly  by  strategy  and  rapine.  Occasionally,  however,  according  to  dif- 
ferent observers,  the  bald  eagle  will  do  his  own  fishing.  Geese  and  brant 
form  their  favorite  food,  and  the  address  displayed  in  their  capture  is  very 
remarkable.  The  poor  victim  has  apparently  not  the  slightest  chance  for 
escape.  The  eagle's  flight,  ordinarily  slow  and  somewhat  heavy,  becomes, 
in  the  excitement  of  pursuit,  exceedingly  swift  and  graceful,  and  the  fugi- 
tive is  quickly  overtaken.  When  close  upon  its  quarry  the  eagle  sud- 
denly sweeps  beneath  it,  and  turning  back  downward,  thrusts  its  powerful 
talons  up  into  its  breast.  A  brant  or  duck  is  carried  off  bodily  to  the 
nearest  marsh  or  sand-bar.  But  a  Canada  goose  is  too  heavy  to  be  thus 
easily  disposed  of;  the  two  great  birds  fall  together  to  the  water  beneath, 
while  the  eagle  literally  tows  his  prize  along  the  surface  until  the  shore  is 
reached.  In  this  way  one  has  been  known  to  drag  a  large  goose  for 
nearly  half  a  mile. 

"  The  bald  eagle  occasionally  devours  young  pigs,  lambs,  and  fawns. 
Domestic  fowls,  wild  turkeys,  hares,  etc.,  are  also  destroyed  by  this  species. 
I  have  knowledge  of  at  least  two  of  these  birds  which  have  killed  poultry 

102 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

(tame  ducks  and  turkeys)  along  the  Susquehanna  River.  Sometimes,  like 
the  golden  eagle,  this  species  will  attack  raccoons  and  skunks.  I  once 
found  two  or  three  spines  of  a  porcupine  in  the  body  of  an  immature 
bald  eagle.  The  golden  eagle  occurs  in  this  State  as  a  winter  visitor. 
The  only  species  with  which  it  is  sometimes  compared  is  the  bald  eagle 
in  immature  dress.  The  two  birds,  however,  can  be  distinguished  at  a 
glance,  if  you  remember  that  the  golden  eagle  has  the  tarsus  (shin) 
densely  feathered  to  the  toes,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  bald  eagle 
has  a  bare  shin.  The  golden  eagle  breeds  in  high  mountainous  regions 
and  the  Arctic  countries. 

"  Golden  eagles  are  rather  rare  in  this  region,  hence  their  depreda- 
tions to  poultry,  game,  and  live-stock  occasion  comparatively  little  loss. 
Domestic  fowls,  ducks,  and  turkeys  especially,  are  often  devoured ;  dif- 
ferent species  of  water-birds,  grouse,  and  wild  turkeys  suffer  chiefly  among 
the  game  birds.  Fawns  are  sometimes  attacked  and  killed  ;  occasionally 
it  destroys  young  pigs,  and  frequently  many  lambs  are  carried  off  by  this 
powerful  bird.  Rabbits  are  preyed  upon  to  a  considerable  extent." 

Of  our  birds,  the  eagle  is  the  largest,  swiftest  in  flight,  and  keenest- 
eyed,  the  humming-bird  the  smallest,  the  coot  the  slowest,  and  the  owl 
the  dullest. 

The  spring  birds,  such  as  the  bluebird,  the  robin,  the  sparrow,  and 
the  martin,  were  early  to  come  and  late  to  leave. 

I  reproduce  from  Olive  Thome  Miller's  Lectures  the  following, — viz.  : 

"There  are  matrimonial  quarrels  also  among  birds.  As  a  rule,  the 
female  is  queen  of  the  nest,  but  once  I  saw  a  male  sparrow  assert  his 
power.  He  was  awfully  angry,  and  tried  to  oust  his  spouse  from  a  hole 
in  a  maple-tree  in  which  they  had  made  their  home.  He  did  drive  her 
out  at  last,  and  absolutely  divorced  her,  for  he  was  back  before  long  with 
a  bride  whom,  with  some  trouble  and  a  good  many  antics,  he  coaxed  to 
accept  the  nest. 

"  The  female  bird  is  the  queen  of  the  home,  and  usually  selects  the 
place  for  the  nest,  the  male  bird  sometimes  lending  a  beak  in  building  it, 
but  most  of  the  time  singing  his  sweet  song  to  encourage  his  mate. 

"  That  the  female  is  queen  is  shown  by  a  little  story  related  of  a  spar- 
row. She  was  hatching  her  eggs,  and  was  relieved  now  and  then  by  her 
mate  while  she  went  off  for  exercise  and  food.  One  day  the  male  bird 
was  late  and  the  female  called  loudly  for  him.  He  came  at  last,  and 
she  gave  him  an  unmerciful  drubbing,  which  he  took  without  a  murmur. 
Thoroughly  ashamed  of  himself,  he  sat  down  meekly  on  the  eggs. 

"  The  robin  is  the  most  familiar  of  our  birds.  Running  over  the  lawns, 
with  head  down,  it  suddenly  grabs  a  worm,  which  it  shakes  as  a  cat  does 
a  mouse.  Having  swallowed  it,  the  robin  looks  up  with  infinite  pride. 
They  are  great  insect-destroyers,  though  they  insist  on  having  the  earliest 
spring  peas  and  the  first  mulberries,  raspberries,  and  grapes.  The  robin 

103 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

is  the  great  enemy  of  the  bird  observer,  giving  warning  of  his  approach 
to  every  bird  in  the  neighboring  thickets.  They  are  brave,  and  will  help 
any  bird  in  distress.  A  sparrow-hawk  had  seized  an  English  sparrow, 
one  of  the  robin's  worst  enemies,  but  the  robin  attacked  the  hawk  so 
viciously  that  it  released  the  sparrow.  In  another  instance  a  cat  had  cap- 
tured a  young  robin,  but  was  so  fearlessly  attacked  by  an  older  bird  that 
she  parted  with  her  tender  meal  and  sought  shelter  under  the  barn. 

"The  robins  make  charming  but  most  mischievous  pets.  I  heard 
of  a  case  where  a  child  helped  bring  up  a  brood  of  these  birds.  When 
they  were  fledged  they  would  follow  her  about  the  yard  like  a  flock  of 
chickens. 

"  The  wood-thrush  or  wood-robin  is  of  a  shy  and  retiring  nature,  fre- 
quenting thick  woods  and  tangled  undergrowth,  and  at  daybreak  and  sun- 
down this  bird  carols  forth  its  thankfulness  for  a  day  begun  and  a  day 
ended.  The  nest  is  made  in  some  low  tree,  with  little  or  no  mud  in  its 
composition,  and  contains  from  four  to  six  eggs.  The  veery,  or  tawny 
thrush,  is  a  wonderful  songster,  but  a  most  retiring  bird. 

"The  American  cuckoo,  unlike  her  English  cousin,  builds  her  own 
nest,  and  is  a  most  devoted  parent.  These  birds,  with  white  breast,  are 
numerous  here  in  the  summer,  and  the  male  bird's  courting  is  most 
grotesque.  After  each  note  he  makes  a  profound  bow  to  the  mate,  and 
then  opens  his  mouth  as  wide  as  possible,  as  if  about  to  emit  a  loud  cry, 
but  only  the  feeblest  of  '  coos'  can  be  heard. 

"  The  blue-jay,  though  one  of  our  best-known  birds,  is  greatly  mis- 
understood. It  is  said  he  is  always  quarrelling  and  fighting,  whereas 
really  he  is  only  full  of  frolic  and  mischief  and  is  a  most  affectionate 
bird,  and  instead  of  tyrannizing  over  other  birds  is  most  kind  to  them. 
These  birds  have  shared  a  room  with  a  dozen  others  much  smaller  than 
themselves  and  were  never  known  to  molest  them.  They  will  defend 
their  young  against  all  comers,  and  James  Russell  Lowell  tells  a  story  of 
discovering  three  young  birds  who  were  .held  to  their  nest  by  a  string,  in 
which  they  had  got  entangled.  He  determined  to  cut  them  loose.  The 
old  birds  flew  at  him  at  first,  but  on  learning  what  his  object  was,  sat 
quietly  within  reach  of  him,  watching  the  operation,  and  when  the  birds 
were  released  noisily  thanked  him. 

"A  story  is  told  of  the  frolicsomeness  of  this  bird.  One  was  seated 
on  a  fence-rail,  and  two  kittens,  having  espied  him,  essayed  to  stalk  him. 
They  got  up  near  him  ;  then  he  began  playing  leap-frog  over  those  two 
kittens  until  they  returned  full  of  offended  dignity  to  the  house.  The 
bird  tried  to  coax  them  out  to  a  game  several  times  afterwards,  but  the 
kittens  had  had  enough  of  it. 

"  The  kingbird  is  said  to  fight  and  drive  away  every  bird  that  comes 
near  it,  but  this  is  a  libel.  He  attends  to  his  own  business  almost  wholly, 
and  though  not  particularly  social,  is  no  more  belligerent  in  the  bird 

104 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

world  than  most  birds  are  when  they  have  nests  to  protect.     He  is  a 
character,  and  interesting  to  watch. 

"The  shrike,  or  butcher-bird,  has  imputed  to  him  the  worst  charac- 
ter of  any  of  our  birds.  He  is  not  only  accused  of  killing  birds,  but  of 
impaling  them  afterwards  on  thorns.  That  he  does  kill  birds  is  un- 
doubted, but  only  when  other  food  is  scarce,  for  he  much  prefers  field- 
mice,  grasshoppers,  and  other  noxious  insects.  That  he  impales  his  prey 
is  certain,  and  the  reason  for  this  is,  I  think,  that  he  has  such  small,  deli- 
cate feet  that  they  are  not  strong  enough  to  hold  down  a  mouse  or  insect 
while  he  tears  it  to  pieces. 

"Blackbirds  are  gregarious,  forming  blackbird  cities  in  the  tops  of 
trees.  He  and  the  fishhawk  have  a  strange  friendship  for  one  another, 
often  three  or  four  pairs  building  their  nests  in  the  straggling  outskirts  of 
the  hawk's  large  nest,  and  they  unite  in  protecting  one  another. 

"The  red-winged  blackbirds  are  the  most  independent  of  birds,  as 
far  as  the  two  sexes  are  concerned.  The  dull  brown-streaked  females 
come  up  in  flocks  some  time  after  the  males  have  arrived,  and  as  soon  as 
the  breeding  season  is  over  they  separate  again,  the  males  keeping  to  the 
marshes,  while  the  females  seek  shelter  in  the  uplands,  but  always  near 
water.  They  nest  in  marshy  places,  and  insist  on  plenty  of  water. 

"The  cowbird  is  undoubtedly  the  most  unpopular  of  this  class  of 
birds,  simply  from  the  fact  that  no  nest  is  built,  the  egg  always  being 
placed  in  the  nest  of  some  vireo,  warbler,  or  sparrow,  and  the  rearing  of 
one  of  these  birds  means  the  loss  of  at  least  two  song-birds,  for  they 
always  smother  the  rightful  owners.  The  popular  idea  that  the  foster- 
parents  are  unaware  of  this  strange  egg  is  doubtful.  I  believe  it  to  be 
another  instance  of  the  great  good  nature  of  the  birds  to  the  young  of  any 
sort.  The  cowbirds  nearly  kill  with  overwork  whatever  birds  they  have 
been  foisted  on. 

"  The  bobolink,  who  later  in  the  year  becomes  the  reed-  or  rice-bird, 
is  a  handsome  bird  in  his  plumage  of  black  and  white  and  buff.  The 
female  is  a  quieter- colored  bird.  While  breeding  they  are  voracious  in- 
sect-eaters, but  when  they  get  down  to  the  rice  marshes  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  drive  them  away.  A  hawk  seems  to  be  the  only  thing  they 
are  afraid  of. 

"  The  Baltimore  oriole  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best- known 
birds.  Its  long,  pendant,  woven  nest  is  known  to  every  one,  and  it  is 
wonderful  how  the  bird,  with  only  its  beak,  can  build  such  a  splendid 
structure.  They  have  been  known  to  use  wire  in  the  structure  of  their 
nests. 

"The  meadow-lark,  one  of  the  largest  of  this  family,  is  a  wonderful 
singer,  sitting  on  a  fence-rail,  carolling  forth  its  quivering  silvery  song. 
All  these  birds,  except  the  oriole,  walk  while  hunting  for  food,  and  do 
not  hop  as  most  other  birds  do. 

105 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


"The  crow  does  not  belong  to  the  blackbird  family,  but  owing  to 
his  uniform  I  will  speak  about  him.  Much  has  been  said  against  him, 
but  the  truth  is  that  he  is  a  most  useful  bird  in  killing  mice,  snakes, 
lizards,  and  frogs,  and  is  a  splendid  scavenger.  He  has  been  persecuted 
for  so  many  generations  that  perhaps  he  is  the  most  knowing  and  wary 
of  birds.  He  will  always  flee  from  a  man  with  a  gun,  though  paying  little 
attention  to  the  ordinary  pedestrian.  These  birds  are  gregarious  in  their 
habits,  and  make  their  large,  untidy  nests  at  the  tops  of  trees. 

"  They  have  regular  roosting- places,  and,  curious  to  say,  it  is  not  first 
come  first  served.  As  each  flock  reaches  the  sleeping-grove  they  sit 
around  on  the  ground,  and  it  is  only  when  the  last  wanderer  returns  that 
they  all  rise  simultaneously  and  scramble  for  nests.  Crows  as  pets  are 
intensely  funny. 

"In  July,  when  nesting  is  over,  there  are  no  more  frolicsome  birds 
than  the  highholes,  or  woodpeckers.  They  are  like  boys  out  of  school, 

and  actually  seem  to  play 
games  with  each  other,  one 
that  looks  very  much  like 
'  tag'  being  a  favorite. 

"The  young  of  these 
birds  never  cease  in  their 
clamor  for  food,  and  even 
when  they  have  left  their 
hole-nest  they  are  fed  by 
the  parent  birds. 

"The  feeding  process 
is  a  strange  one.  The  old 
one  half  loses  its  long  bill 
down  the  throat  of  the 
youngster,  and  from  its 
crop  gives  up  a  sufficient 
supply  of  half-digested  food 
for  a  full  meal. 

"  The  courtship  of  these 
birds  is  exquisitely  quaint, 
and  a  correspondent  has 
given  an  account  of  a 
game,  or  dance,  in  which 
they  began  with  a  waltz  of  an  odd  sort  and  went  through  various  evolu- 
tions, ending  with  crossing  their  beaks,  and  standing  so  for  a  moment 
before  they  drew  back  and  did  the  whole  thing  over. 

"The  downy  woodpecker  is  particularly  fond  of  apple-trees,  and 
though  popularly  supposed  to  be  an  enemy  of  the  orchard,  is  in  reality 
one  of  its  greatest  friends.  They  tunnel  for  the  worms,  and  it  has  been 

1 06 


Woodpeckers. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

conclusively  proved  that  trees  drilled  with  their  holes  have  long  outlived 
in  usefulness  the  trees  unvisited  by  these  birds. 

"The  clown  of  the  family  is  the  red-headed  woodpecker,  which,  as 
well  as  the  others  shown,  is  a  Pennsylvanian,  and  a  most  original  and 
quaint  character.  He  has  been  studied  for  many  years  in  Ohio  and  many 
of  his  tricks  described  by  Mr.  Keyser,  of  that  State.  He  lays  up  food 
for  the  winter,  and  in  places  where  he  has  been  accustomed  to  depend 
on  the  sweet  beechnut  for  provisions  he  refuses  to  stay  when  the  nut 
crop  fails,  but  at  once  betakes  himself  to  a  more  inviting  region. 

"  The  sapsucker,  or  yellow-breasted  woodpecker,  was  shown  with  his 
mate  and  a  young  one,  and  his  characteristics  defended  against  the  charge 
of  sap  sucking,  which  has  been  made  against  him.  Sufficient  evidence 
from  several  scientific  ornithologists  was  produced  to  show  that  the  bird 
is  insectivorous  in  a  great  degree,  and  the  small  amount  of  sap  he  may 
drink  is  well  paid  for  by  the  insects  he  consumes. 

"The  junco,  or  snowbird,  is  often  found  in  flocks,  except  in  the 
nesting  season.  Their  favorite  nesting-place  is  in  the  roots  of  trees  that 
have  been  blown  over.  That  birds  are  considerate  of  one  another  is 
certain.  I  know  of  a  case  where  a  family  had  fed  a  flock  of  juncos  during 
a  long  spell  of  cold  weather.  They  got  so  tame  that  they  would  come 
up  to  the  stoop  to  be  fed ;  but  it  was  noticed  that  one  bird  always  re- 
mained on  the  fence  and  the  other  ones  fed  it.  On  examination,  it  was 
found  that  the  bird  had  an  injured  wing,  and  in  case  of  sudden  danger 
would  not  have  been  able  to  leave  with  the  flock  in  the  rush,  so  it  was 
left  in  a  place  of  safety  and  fed. 

"The  snow-bunting  is  to  be  seen  in  our  part  of  the  world  only  in 
blizzard  times,  or  when  there  are  snow-scurries  around." — Miller. 

OF   HAWKS. 

The  red-shouldered  hawk,  called  by  farmers  and  hunters  the  hen-hawk, 
nests  in  trees  in  April  or  May.  The  eggs  are  two  to  four,  white  and 
blotched,  with  shades  of  brown.  The  nest  is  built  of  sticks,  bark,  etc. 

The  goshawk  was  a  regular  breeder  in  our  woods  and  mountains. 
He  is  a  fierce  and  powerful  bird.  The  hawk  feeds  upon  wild  turkeys, 
pheasants,  ducks,  chickens,  robins,  rabbits,  and  squirrels.  The  cooper- 
hawk,  known  as  the  long-tailed  chicken-hawk,  is  an  audacious  poultry 
thief,  capturing  full-grown  chickens.  This  hawk  also  feeds  upon  pigeons, 
pheasants,  turkeys,  and  squirrels.  This  bird  nests  about  May  in  thick 
woods ;  the  nest  containing  four  or  five  eggs.  In  about  twelve  weeks  the 
young  are  able  to  care  for  themselves.  The  sharp  shinned  hawk  bears  a 
close  resemblance  to  the  cooper,  but  feeds  by  choice  upon  young  chickens 
and  pullets,  young  turkeys,  young  rabbits,  and  squirrels.  If  a  pair  of 
these  birds  should  nest  near  a  cabin  where  chickens  were  being  raised, 
in  a  very  few  days  they  would  steal  every  one. 

107 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


H^ 
Wild  pigeon. 


When  I  was  a  boy  large  nestings  of  wild  pigeons  in  what  was  then 
Jenks,  Tionesta,  and  Ridgway  townships  occurred  every  spring.  These 

big  roosts  were  occupied 
annually  early  in  April  each 
year.  Millions  of  pigeons 
occupied  these  roosts,  and 
they  were  usually  four  or 
five  miles  long  and  one  or 
two  miles  wide.  In  this 
territory  every  tree  would 
be  occupied,  some  with 
fifty  nests.  These  pigeons 
swept  over  Brookville  on 
their  migration  to  these 
roosts,  and  would  be  for 
days  passing,  making  the 
day  dark  at  times.  The 
croakings  of  the  pigeons  in  these  roosts  could  be  heard  for  miles. 

The  coopers  and  the  bloody  goshawk,  the  great-horned  and  barred 
owls,  like  other  night  wanderers,  such  as  the  wild  bear,  panther,  wolf, 
wild  cat,  lynx,  fox,  the  mink,  and  agile  weasel,  all  haunted  these  roosts 
and  feasted  upon  these  pigeons.  The  weasel  would  climb  the  tree  for 
the  pigeons'  eggs  and  the  young,  or  to  capture  the  old  birds  when  at 
rest.  The  fox,  lynx,  and  mink  depended  on  catching  the  squabs  that  fell 
from  the  nests. 

Like  the  buffaloes  of  this  region,  the  wild  pigeon  is  doomed.  These 
once  common  birds  are  only  to  be  seen  occasionally.  Isolated  and  scat- 
tered pairs  still  find  a  breeding-place  in  our  wilds,  but  the  immense 
breeding  colonies  that  once  visited  our  county  will  never  be  seen  again. 
The  extermination  of  the  passenger  pigeon  has  gone  on  so  rapidly  that 
in  another  decade  the  birds  may  become  a  rarity.  The  only  thing  that 
will  save  the  birds  from  this  fate  is  the  fact  that  they  no  longer  resort  to 
the  more  thickly  populated  States  as  breeding-places,  but  fly  far  into  the 
woods  along  our  northern  border.  Thirty  years  ago  wild  pigeons  were 
found  in  New  York  State,  and  in  Elk,  Forest,  Warren,  McKean,  Pike, 
and  Cameron  Counties,  Pennsylvania,  but  now  they  only  figure  as 
migrants,  with  a  few  pair  breeding  in  the  beech-woods. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  immensity  of  these  pigeon-roosts,  I  quote  from 
the  Elk  Advocate  as  late  as  May,  1 85 1  : 

"The  American  Express  Company  carried  in  one  day,  over  the  New 
York  and  Erie  Railroad,  over  seven  tons  of  pigeons  to  the  New  York 
market,  and  all  of  these  were  from  the  west  of  Corning.  This  company 
alone  have  carried  over  this  road  from  the  counties  of  Chemung,  Steuben, 
and  Allegheny  fifty- six  tons  of  pigeons." 

108 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


The  wild  pigeon  lays  usually  one  or  two  eggs,  and  both  birds  do  their 
share  of  the  incubating.  The  females  occupy  the  nest  from  2  P.M.  until 
the  next  morning,  and  the  males  from  9  or  10  A.M.  until  2  P.M.  The 
males  usually  feed  twice  each  day,  while  the  females  feed  only  during 
the  forenoon.  The  old  pigeons  never  feed  near  the  nesting- places,  always 
allowing  the  beechmast,  buds,  etc.,  there  for  use  in  feeding  their  young 
when  they  come  forth.  The  birds  go  many  miles  to  feed, — often  a 
hundred  or  more. 

Our  birds  migrate  every  fall  to  Tennessee,  the  Carolinas,  and  as  far 
south  as  Florida.  Want  of  winter  food  is  and  was  the  cause  of  that  migra- 
tion, for  those  that  remained  surely  picked  up  a  poor  living.  Migrating 
birds  return  year  after  year  to  the  same  locality.  In  migrating  northward 
in  the  spring,  the  males  usually  precede  the  females  several  days,  but  on 
leaving  their  summer  scenes  of  love  and  joy  for  the  south,  the  sexes  act 
in  unison. 

Of  the  other  pioneer  birds,  there  was  the  orchard-oriole,  pine-gros- 
beak, rose-breasted  grosbeak,  swallow,  barn-swallow,  ruff  winged  swallow, 
bank  swallow,  black  and  white  warbler,  chesnut-sided  warbler,  barn-owl, 
American  long-eared  owl,  short-eared  owl,  screech-owl,  great-horned  owl, 
yellow-billed  cuckoo,  black-billed  cuckoo,  kingbird,  crested  flycatcher, 
phoebe-bird,  wood-pewee,  least  flycatcher,  ruffed  grouse  (pheasant,  or 
partridge),  quail,  also  known  as  the  bob-white,  marsh-hawk,  sparrow- 
hawk,  pigeon-hawk,  fish- 
hawk,  red-tailed  hawk, 
American  ruff-legged  hawk, 
horned  grebe,  loon,  hooded 
merganser,  wood-duck, 
buff-headed  duck,  red- 
headed duck,  American 
bittern,  least  bittern,  blue 
heron,  green  heron,  black - 
crowned  night-heron,  Vir- 
ginia rail,  Carolina  rail, 
American  coot,  American 
woodcock,  Wilson's  snipe, 
least  sandpiper,  killdeer 
plover,  belted  kingfisher,  turtle-dove,  turkey-buzzard,  whippoorwill, 
nighthawk,  ruby-throated  humming-bird,  blue-jay,  bobolink,  or  reed- 
bird,  or  rice-bird,  purple  grackle,  cowbird  (cow-bunting),  red-winged 
blackbird,  American  grosbeak,  red-poll,  American  goldfinch,  or  yellow- 
bird,  towhee-bunting,  cardinal-  or  redbird,  indigo  bunting,  scarlet  tana- 
ger,  cedar-  or  cherry-bird,  butcher-bird,  or  great  northern  scarlet  tanager, 
red-eyed  vireo,  American  redstart,  cootbird,  brown  thrush,  bluebird, 

109 


Grouse,  or  pheasant. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

house-wren,  wood-wren,   white-breasted   nuthatch,    chickadee,    golden- 
crowned  knight. 


-    •^^xs^Aa't/  / 


Humming-birds. 


NATURAL   LIFE    OF   SOME    OF   OUR   BIRDS. 


Raven 

Years. 
.     .      IOO 

Pheasant   

Years. 
|C 

Eaele 

...      IOO 

Partridge  

1C 

Crow          

IOO 

Blackbird 

IO 

Goose    

.     .     .        5°   1    Common  fowl   .     .     . 

IO 

Sparrowhawk   
Crane         

...        40 

•    •       24 

Robin    

IO 

Thrush  . 

.     .                .         IO 

Peacock    

...       24 

Wren     

c 

Lark 

16 

WILD  BEES— BEE-HUNTING,   BEE-TREES,  BEE-FOOD,  ETC. 

In  pioneer  times  these  woods  were  alive  with  bee-trees,  and  even  yet 
that  condition  prevails  in  the  forest  part  of  this  region,  as  the  following 
article  on  bees,  from  the  pen  of  E.  C.  Niver,  clearly  describes : 

"  Although  the  natural  range  of  bee-pasturage  in  this  section  is  prac- 
tically unlimited,  singular  to  relate,  apiculture  is  not  pursued  to  any  great 
extent.  With  all  the  apparently  favorable  conditions,  the  occupation  is 
too  uncertain  and  precarious  to  hazard  much  capital  or  time  on  it.  At 
the  best,  apiculture  is  an  arduous  occupation,  and  in  the  most  thickly 
populated  farming  communities  it  requires  constant  vigilance  to  keep 
track  of  runaway  swarms.  But  in  this  rugged  mountain  country,  with 
its  thousands  of  acres  of  hemlock  slashings  and  hard-wood  ridges,  it  is 
virtually  impossible  to  keep  an  extensive  apiary  within  bounds.  The  rich 
pasturage  of  the  forests  and  mountain  barrens  affords  too  great  a  tempta- 
tion, and  although  the  honey-bee  has  been  the  purveyor  of  sweets  for  the 
ancients  as  far  back  as  history  reaches,  she  has  never  yet  become  thor- 
oughly domesticated.  At  swarming  time  the  nomadic  instinct  asserts 
itself.  Nature  lures  and  beckons,  and  the  first  opportunity  is  embraced 

no 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  regain  her  fastness  and  subsist  upon  her  bounty.  Never  a  season  goes 
by  but  what  some  swarms  escape  to  the  woods.  These  take  up  their  hab- 
itation in  hollow  trees  or  some  other  favorable  retreat,  and  in  time  throw 
off  other  swarms.  Thus  it  is  that  our  mountains  and  forests  contain  an 
untold  wealth  of  sweetness,  but  little  of  which  is  ever  utilized  by  man. 

"  Here  is  the  opportunity  of  the  bee-hunter.  In  the  backwoods  coun- 
ties of  Western  Pennsylvania  bee-hunting  is  as  popular  a  sport  with  some 
as  deer-hunting  or  trout-fishing.  It  does  not  have  nearly  so  many  devo- 
tees, perhaps,  as  these  latter  sports,  for  the  reason  that  a  greater  degree 
of  woodcraft,  skill,  and  patience  is  required  to  become  a  proficient  bee- 
hunter.  Any  backwoodsman  can  search  out  and  stand  guard  at  a  deer 
runway,  watch  a  lick,  or  follow  a  trail ;  and  his  skill  with  a  rifle,  in  the 
use  of  which  he  is  familiar  from  his  early  boyhood,  insures  him  an  equal 
chance  in  the  pursuit  of  game.  It  does  not  require  any  nice  display  of 
woodcraft  to  tramp  over  the  mountains  to  the  head  of  the  trout  stream, 
with  a  tin  spice-box  full  of  worms, 
cut  an  ash  sapling,  equip  it  with  the 
hook  and  line,  and  fish  the  stream 
down  to  its  mouth.  But  to  search 
out  a  small  insect  as  it  sips  the  nec- 
tar from  the  blossoms,  trace  it  to  its 
home,  and  successfully  despoil  it  of 
its  hoarded  stores,  requires  a  degree 
of  skill  and  patience  that  compara- 
tively few  care  to  attain.  Yet  in 
every  community  of  this  section  are  Straw  bee  scap. 

some  old  fellows  who  do  not  consider 

life  complete  without  a  crock ful  of  strained  honey  in  the  cellar  when 
winter  sets  in.  Then,  as  they  sit  with  their  legs  under  the  kitchen-table 
while  their  wives  bake  smoking-hot  buckwheat  cakes,  the  pungent  flavor 
of  decayed  wood  which  the  honey  imparts  to  their  palates  brings  back 
the  glory  of  the  chase.  Whenever  a  man  takes  to  bee  hunting  he  is  an 
enthusiastic  devotee,  and  with  him  all  other  sport  is  relegated  to  the 
background. 

"There  are  many  methods  employed  in  hunting  the  wild  honey-bee. 
The  first  essential  is  a  knowledge  of  bees  and  their  habits.  This  can 
only  be  acquired  by  experience  and  intelligent  observation.  The  man 
who  can  successfully  '  line'  bees  can  also  successfully  '  keep'  them  in  a 
domestic  state,  but  a  successful  apiarist  is  not  necessarily  a  good  bee- 
hunter. 

"  September  and  October  are  the  best  months  for  securing  wild  honey, 
as  the  bees  have  then  in  the  main  completed  their  stores.  At  that  season 
they  can  also  be  most  readily  lined,  for  the  scarcity  of  sweets  makes  them 
more  susceptible  to  artificial  bait.  But  the  professional  bee-hunter  does 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

not,  as  a  rule,  wait  until  fall  to  do  all  his  lining.  He  wants  to  know 
what  is  in  prospect,  and  by  the  time  the  honey-bee  suspends  operations 
for  the  winter  the  hunter  has  perhaps  a  dozen  bee-trees  located  which  he 
has  been  watching  all  summer  in  order  to  judge  as  near  as  possible  as  to 
the  amount  of  stored  honey  they  contain.  If  the  hunter  wants  to  save 
the  bees  he  cuts  the  tree  in  June  and  hives  the  inmates  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  when  they  swarm  in  a  domestic  state.  Many  swarms  are  thus  ob- 
tained, and  the  hunter  scorns  to  expend  any  money  for  a  swarm  of  bees 
which  he  can  get  for  the  taking.  As  a  matter  of  course,  when  the  honey 
is  taken  in  the  fall  the  bees,  being  despoiled  of  their  subsistence,  inevi- 
tably perish. 

" '  I'll  gather  the  honey-comb  bright  as  gold, 
And  chase  the  elk  to  his  secret  fold.' 

"  The  first  warm  days  of  April,  when  the  snows  have  melted  from  the 
south  side  of  the  hills,  and  the  spring  runs  are  clear  of  ice,  find  the  bee- 
hunter  on  the  alert.  There  is  nothing  yet  for  the  bees  to  feed  upon,  but 
a  few  of  the  advance-guard  are  emerging  from  their  long  winter's  hiber- 
nations in  search  of  pollen  and  water,  and  they  instinctively  seek  the 
water's  edge  where  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  beat  down.  Where  the 
stream  has  receded  from  the  bank,  leaving  a  miniature  muddy  beach, 
there  the  bees  congregate,  dabbling  in  the  mud,  sipping  water  and  carry- 
ing it  away.  The  first  material  sought  for  by  the  bees  is  pollen,  and  the 
earliest  pasturage  for  securing  this  is  the  pussy -willow  and  skunk- cabbage, 
which  grow  in  the  swamps.  After  these  comes  the  soft  maple,  which  also 
affords  a  large  supply  of  pollen.  Sugar-maple  is  among  the  first  wild 
growth  which  furnishes  any  honey.  Then  comes  the  wild  cherry,  the 
locust,  and  the  red  raspberries  and  blackberries.  Of  course,  the  first  blos- 
soms and  the  cultivated  plants  play  an  important  part,  but  the  profusion 
of  wild  flowers  which  are  honey- bearing  would  probably  supply  as  much 
honey  to  the  acre  as  the  cultivated  sections. 

"The  wild  honeysuckle,  which  covers  thousands  of  acres  of  the 
mountain  ranges  with  a  scarlet  flame  in  May,  is  a  particular  favorite  with 
bees,  as  is  also  the  tulip- tree,  which  is  quite  abundant  in  this  section. 
Basswood  honey  has  a  national  reputation,  and  before  the  paper- wood 
cutters  despoiled  the  ridges  and  forests  the  basswood-tree  furnished  an 
almost  unlimited  feeding-ground.  This  tree  blooms  for  a  period  of  two 
or  three  weeks,  and  a  single  swarm  has  been  known  to  collect  ten  pounds 
of  honey  in  a  day  when  this  flower  was  in  blossom.  Devil's-club  fur- 
nishes another  strong  feed  for  bees,  as  well  as  the  despised  sumach.  Last, 
but  not  least,  is  the  golden-rod,  which  in  this  latitude  lasts  from  August 
until  killed  by  the  autumn  frosts.  While  these  are  the  chief  wild-honey 
producing  trees  and  plants,  they  are  but  a  fractional  part  of  the  honey 
resources  of  the  country. 

112 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Having  discovered  the  feeding-ground  and  haunts  of  the  wild 
honey-bee,  the  hunter  proceeds  to  capture  a  bee  and  trace  it  to  its  habi- 
tation. This  is  done  by  '  lining,' — that  is,  following  the  bee's  flight  to  its 
home.  The  bee  always  flies  in  a  direct  line  to  its  place  of  abode,  and 
this  wonderful  instinct  gives  rise  to  the  expression,  '  a  bee-line.' 

"  To  assist  in  the  chase  the  hunter  provides  himself  with  a  '  bee- box,' 
which  is  any  small  box  possessing  a  lid,  with  some  honey  inside  for  bait. 
Arrived  at  any  favorable  feeding-ground,  the  hunter  eagerly  scans  the 
blossoms  until  he  finds  a  bee  at  work.  This  he  scoops  into  his  box  and 
closes  the  lid.  If  he  can  capture  two  or  more  bees  at  once,  so  much  the 
better.  After  buzzing  angrily  for  a  few  moments  in  the  darkened  box 
the  bee  scents  the  honey  inside  and  immediately  quiets  down  and  begins 
to  work.  Then  the  box  is  set  down  and  the  lid  opened.  When  the  bee 
gets  all  the  honey  she  can  carry  she  mounts  upward  with  a  rapid  spiral 
motion  until  she  gets  her  bearings,  and  then  she  is  off  like  a  shot  in 
a  direct  line  to  her  habitation.  Presently  she  is  back  again,  and  this  time 
when  she  departs  her  bearings  are  located  and  she  goes  direct.  After 
several  trips  more  bees  appear,  and  when  they  get  to  working  the  bait 
and  the  line  of  their  flight  is  noted,  the  box  is  closed  when  the  bees  are 
inside  and  moved  forward  along  the  direction  in  which  they  have  been 
coming  and  going.  The  hunter  carefully  marks  his  trail  and  opens  the 
box  again.  The  bees  are  apparently  unconscious  that  they  have  been 
moved,  and  work  as  before.  This  manoeuvre  is  repeated  until  the  spot 
where  the  swarm  is  located  is  near  at  hand,  and  then  comes  the  most  try- 
ing part  of  the  quest  to  discover  the  exact  location  of  the  hive.  Some- 
times it  is  in  the  hollow  of  a  dead  tree  away  to  the  top  ;  sometimes  it  is 
near  the  bottom.  Again,  it  may  be  in  a  hollow  branch  of  a  living  tree 
of  gigantic  proportions,  closely  hidden  in  the  foliage,  or  it  may  be  in  an 
old  stump  or  log.  To  search  it  out  requires  the  exercise  of  much  patience, 
as  well  as  a  quick  eye  and  an  acute  ear. 

"To  determine  the  distance  of  the  improvised  hive  after  a  line  has  been 
established  from  the  bee-box  the  hunter  resorts  to  '  cross-lining.'  This 
is  done  by  moving  the  box  when  the  bees  are  at  work  in  it  some  distance 
to  one  side.  The  bees  as  usual  fly  direct  to  their  home,  the  second  line 
of  flight  converging  with  the  first,  forming  the  apex  of  a  triangle,  the 
distance  between  the  first  and  second  locations  of  the  box  being  the  base 
and  the  two  lines  of  flight  the  sides.  Where  the  lines  meet  the  habita- 
tion is  to  be  found. 

"Different  kinds  of  bait  are  frequently  used  in  order  to  induce  the 
bees  to  work  the  box.  In  the  flowering  season  a  little  anise  or  other  pun- 
gent oil  is  rubbed  on  the  box  to  attract  the  bees  and  keep  them  from 
being  turned  aside  by  the  wealth  of  blossoms  along  their  flight.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  mix  the  oil  with  the  bait,  as  it  spoils  the  honey  the  bees  make 
and  poisons  the  whole  swarm.  Sometimes  in  the  early  spring  corn-cobs 

113 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

soaked  in  stagnant  brine  proves  an  attractive  bait,  while  late  in  the  fall 
beeswax  burned  on  a  heated  stone  will  bring  the  belated  straggler  to  the 
bee -box. 

"Cutting  a  bee-tree  is  the  adventuresome  part  of  the  sport.  An 
angry  swarm  is  a  formidable  enemy.  Then,  too,  the  treasure  for  which 
the  hunter  is  in  search  is  about  to  be  revealed,  and  the  possibilities  bring 
a  thrill  of  anticipation  and  excitement.  So  far  as  the  danger  goes  the 
experienced  hunter  is  prepared  for  that,  and  protects  his  head  and  face 
by  a  bag  of  mosquito-netting  drawn  over  a  broad-brimmed  hat.  With 
gloves  on  his  hands  he  is  tolerably  protected,  but  sometimes  a  heavy 
swarm  breaks  through  the  netting,  and  instances  are  on  record  where 
bee-hunters  have  been  so  severely  stung  in  despoiling  wild  swarms  as  to 
endanger  their  lives.  In  felling  a  tree  great  care  must  be  exercised  in 
order  that  the  tree  may  not  break  up  and  destroy  the  honey.  Sometimes 
trees  are  felled  after  night,  as  bees  do  not  swarm  about  in  the  darkness, 
and  the  danger  of  getting  stung  is  not  so  great. 

"The  amount  of  honey  secured  depends  upon  the  age  of  the  swarm. 
Frequently  much  time  and  labor  have  been  expended  in  lining  and  cut- 
ting a  tree  which  yielded  nothing,  while  again  the  returns  have  been 
large.  There  are  instances  in  this  community  where  a  single  tree 
yielded  over  two  hundred  pounds  of  good  honey.  Not  long  since  a 
hunter  cut  a  tree  in  which  a  hollow  space  about  eighteen  inches  in  diam- 
eter was  filled  with  fine  honey  for  a  length  of  fifteen  feet.  Often  a 
tree  is  cut  which  has  been  worked  so  long  that  part  of  the  honey  is  spoiled 
with  age.  Often  the  comb  is  broken  and  the  honey  mingled  with  the 
decayed  wood  of  the  tree.  The  bee- hunter,  however,  carefully  gathers 
up  the  honey,  wood  and  all,  in  a  tin  pail,  and  strains  it,  and  the  pungent 
flavor  of  the  wood  does  not  in  the  least  detract  from  the  quality  in  his 
estimation. 

"  Bee-hunting  as  a  sport  could  be  pursued  in  nearly  every  section  of 
Western  Pennsylvania,  particularly  in  the  lumbering  and  tannery  districts. 
In  these  sections  thousands  of  acres  are  annually  stripped  of  timber,  ex- 
tending many  miles  back  from  the  settled  districts.  Fire  runs  through 
these  old  slashings  every  year  or  so,  and  a  dense  growth  of  blackberry 
and  raspberry  briers  spring  up.  These,  with  the  innumerable  varieties  of 
wild  flowers,  afford  a  rich  and  vast  pasturage  for  the  honey-bee  which  has 
thrown  off  the  restraints  of  civilization.  Swarm  upon  swarm  is  propa- 
gated, the  surplus  product  of  which  is  never  utilized.  With  a  little  en- 
couragement bee- hunting  might  become  as  popular  a  form  of  sport  with 
the  dweller  of  the  town  as  with  the  skilled  woodsman." 


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PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

RUNWAYS,    PATHS,    TRAILS,    DEER    RUNS    AND    CROSSINGS,    INDIAN    TRAILS 

THE    WHITE    MAN'S    PATH — DAVID    AND   JOHN    MEADE — MEADE's    PACK- 
HORSE     TRAIL PIONEER     SETTLEMENT     IN     THE     NORTHWEST WHITE 

BOYS    CAPTURED    AND    REARED    BY    INDIANS — PIONEER    EXPLORERS   AND 
SETTLERS. 

PREVIOUS  to  the  white  man's  advent  here  this  wilderness  had  public 
highways,  but  they  were  for  the  wild  deer  and  savage  Indians.  These 
thoroughfares  were  called  "deer  paths"  and  "Indian  trails."  These 
paths  were  usually  well  beaten  and  crossed  each  other  as  civilized  roads 
now  do.  The  first  trail  discovered  and  traversed  by  the  white  man  was 
the  Indian  Chinklacamoose  path,  which  extended  from  what  is  now  Clear- 
field  town  to  what  is  now  Kittanning.  This  Indian  trail  passed  through 
what  is  now  Punxsutawney,  and  over  this  path  and  through  this  Indian  town 
Allegheny  Indians  carried  their  white  prisoners  from  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State  to  what  was  then  called  Kittany,  on  the  Allegheny  River.  From  a 
most  careful  and  thorough  search  to  ascertain  when  the  first  path  or  trail  of 
the  white  man  was  made  through  or  in  what  is  now  our  county,  I  find  it  to 
be  in  the  year  1 787.  In  this  year  of  grace  two  hardy  and  courageous  men, 
David  and  John  Meade,  were  living  in  what  is  now  Sunbury,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  John  was  keeping  an  inn  or  tavern.  These  two  brothers 
having  read  General  George  Washington's  report  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
of  Virginia,  of  the  rich  lands  and  valleys  that  were  unoccupied  in  what  is 
now  called  Venango  and  Crawford  Counties,  Pennsylvania,  determined 
to  explore  that  region  for  themselves.  To  reach  this  uninhabited  section 
they  were  compelled  to  open  a  path  from  east  to  west,  through  what  is 
now  called  Jefferson  County,  then  Northumberland  County,  and  which 
path  is  now  called  in  history  "  Meade's  Trail."  This  trail  passed  through 
what  are  now  West  Reynoldsville,  Port  Barnett,  and  Brookville. 

Fired  with  the  zeal  and  energy  of  youth,  David  and  John  Meade 
blazed  their  way  through  this  wilderness,  over  or  through  streams  and 
across  hills  until  they  reached  a  broad  valley  upon  whose  bosom  now 
reposes  the  city  of  Meadville.  Being  pleased  with  the  valleys  and  hills, 
these  two  brothers  returned  to  Sunbury  over  their  trail  in  the  spring  of 
1788,  only  to  invite  and  bring  with  them  in  the  same  year,  over  the  same 
trail,  to  the  rich  valleys  they  had  found,  the  following-named  friends  and 
neighbors  : 

Thomas  Martin,  John  Watson,  James  F.  Randolph,  Thomas  Grant, 
Cornelius  Van  Horn,  and  Christopher  Snyder. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

These  men,  with  their  goods  packed  on  four  horses,  passed  through 
where  Brookville  now  is  in  1788,  and  settled  in  and  around  what  is  now 
Meadville,  then  Allegheny  County.  Meade's  trail  commenced  at  the 
mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek,  near  Curwinsville,  Clearfield  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  over  this  trail  until  1802  all  transportation  had  to  be  car- 
ried into  or  through  this  wilderness  on  pack-saddles  by  pack-horses.  A 
pack-horse  load  was  from  two  to  three  hundred  pounds.  In  1802-3  the 
first  wagon-road,  or  the  old  Milesburg  and  Waterford  State  Road,  was 
opened  for  travel.  The  Meade  settlers  in  Crawford  County  in  1 788  com- 
prised the  pioneer  permanent  settlement  in  Northwestern  Pennsylvania. 

Soon  after  David  Meade  and  his  neighbors  reached  their  new  home 
the  great  chief  of  the  Six  Nations,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  his  tribe, 
made  these  pioneers  a  social  visit.  This  chief  was  Cornplanter,  and  he 
was  then  chief  over  our  Indians  who  belonged  to  this  confederation.  In 
one  of  these  friendly  visits  Meade  discovered  that  five  white  men  who 
had  been  captured  when  boys  were  reared  by  the  Indians  and  were  then 
living  under  Cornplanter;  that  these  boys  had  all  attained  manhood 
and  three  of  them  had  married  Indian  women.  The  five  white  men 
were  Lashley  Malone,  of  Bald  Eagle  Valley,  Pennsylvania,  Peter  Krause, 
of  Monongahela,  Elijah  Matthews,  of  Ohio,  Nicholas  Rosencrants  and 
Nicholas  Tanewood,  of  Mohawk  Valley,  New  York  State. 

In  1789,  Darius  Meade,  father  of  David  and  John,  Robert  F.  Ran- 
dolph, and  Frederick  Baum  passed  over  this  "  trail"  on  their  way  to  what 
is  now  Meadville.  Many  of  the  pioneers  who  travelled  over  this  trail  to 
the  northwest  were  captured  and  murdered  by  the  Indians  in  the  raids  of 
1791-92  and  1793.  In  1791,  Darius  Meade  was  captured  by  two  Indians 
while  ploughing  in  a  field.  His  captors  were  Captain  Bull,  a  Delaware 
chief,  and  Conewyando,  a  Seneca  chief.  Meade  in  an  effort  to  escape 
got  possession  of  Bull's  knife  and  killed  Bull  with  it,  and  after  a  fierce 
struggle  with  Conewyando  was  killed,  but  Conewyando  died  in  a  few 
days  from  the  wounds  Meade  gave  him.  Two  of  our  soldiers  buried 
Meade  and  Bull  side  by  side  where  they  fell. 

"Indian  trails  were  'bee  lines,'  over  hill  and  dale,  from  point  to 
point.  Here  and  there  were  open  spots  on  the  summits,  where  runners 
signalled  their  coming  by  fires  when  on  urgent  business,  and  were 
promptly  met  at  stated  places  by  fresh  men." 

Of  the  pioneer  settlers  who  came  over  this  trail  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Jefferson  and  Clarion  Counties,  Judge  Peter  Clover,  of  Clarion 
County,  in  1877,  wrote  as  follows : 

"As  stated  in  the  outset,  I  will  give  a  brief  account  of  the  pioneer 
settlement  of  Jefferson  County.  In  1800,  Joseph  Barnett  and  Samuel 
Scott  settled  forty  miles  west  of  Curwinsville,  Clearfield  County.  They 
were  men  of  great  energy  and  industry,  and  soon  made  valuable  improve- 
ments. They  built  a  saw-mill,  which  was  a  great  help  to  the  people, 

116 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

providing  them  with  boards,  etc.  They  settled  among  the  Indians  of 
the  Seneca  tribe,  who  were,  however,  civil.  Joseph  Barnett  was  a  very 
eccentric,  high-minded  man,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  all  the  business 
transactions  of  the  day ;  a  man  long  to  be  remembered  by  those  who  knew 
him.  Shortly  after  their  mill  was  made,  perhaps  as  early  as  1802,  Henry 
Fir,  a  German,  and  a  number  of  other  families  settled  on  the  west  of  Mill 
Creek. — Jacob  Mason,  L.  Long,  John  Dickson,  Freedom  Stiles,  and  a 
very  large  negro  by  the  name  of  Fudge  Vancamp,  whose  wool  was  as 
white  as  the  wool  of  a  sheep  and  whose  face  was  as  black  as  charcoal,  and 
yet  he  was  married  to  a  white  woman  (?). 

"  In  about  1802,  John  Scott  came  to  the  county  and  settled  on  the 
farm  where  Corsica  now  stands,  and  about  1805,  Peter  Jones,  John  Roll, 
Sr.,  the  Vasbinder  families,  and  Elijah  Graham,  and,  in  1806,  John 
Matson  and  some  others,  settled  near  where  Brookville  now  stands.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  county,  near  Mahoning,  John  Bell  settled  at 
an  early  day.  He  was  a  man  of  iron  will  and  great  perseverance,  afraid 
of  neither  man  nor  beast,  and  was  a  mighty  hunter.  Moses  Knapp  was 
also  an  early  settler.  'Port  Barnett,'  as  the  settlement  of  Barnett  and 
Scott  was  called,  was  the  only  stopping-place  from  Curwinsville  for  all 
those  who  came  in  1801-2  through  or  for  the  wilderness  over  the 
'  trail. '  We  imagine  that  these  buildings  would  have  a  very  welcome 
look  to  those  footsore  and  weary  travellers, — an  oasis  in  the  desert,  as  it 
were. 

"  In  the  year  1801,  with  a  courage  nothing  could  daunt,  ten  men  left 
their  old  homes  and  all  the  comforts  of  the  more  thickly  settled  and  older 
portions  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  for  the  unsettled  wilderness  of 
the  more  western  part,  leaving  behind  them  the  many  associations  which 
render  the  old  home  so  dear,  and  going  forth,  strong  in  might  and  firm 
in  the  faith  of  the  God  of  their  fathers,  to  plant  homes  and  erect  new 
altars,  around  which  to  rear  their  young  families.  Brave  hearts  beat  in 
the  bosoms  of  those  men  and  women  who  made  so  many  and  great  sacri- 
fices in  order  to  develop  the  resources  of  a  portion  of  country  almost  un- 
known at  that  time.  When  we  look  abroad  to-day  and  see  what  rapid 
strides  have  been  made  in  the  march  of  civilization,  we  say  all  honor  to 
our  forefathers  who  did  so  great  a  part  of  the  work.  It  would  be  difficult 
for  those  of  the  present  day  to  imagine  how  families  could  move  upon 
horseback  through  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  with  no  road  save  an 
'  Indian  trail,'  the  women  and  children  mounted  upon  horses,  the  cook- 
ing utensils,  farming  implements,  such  as  hoes,  axes,  ploughs,  and  shovels, 
together  with  bedding  and  provision,  placed  on  what  were  called  pack- 
saddles,  while  following  upon  foot  were  the  men  with  guns  upon  their 
shoulders,  ready  to  take  down  any  small  game  that  might  cross  their  path, 
which  would  go  towards  making  up  their  next  meal.  After  a  long  and 
toilsome  journey  these  pioneers  halted  on  their  course  in  what  was  then 

117 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

called  Armstrong  County  (now  Clarion  County),  and  they  immediately 
began  the  clearing  of  their  lands,  which  they  had  purchased  from  General 
James  Potter,  of  the  far-famed  '  Potter  Fort,'  in  Penn's  Valley,  in  Centre 
County,  familiar  to  every  one  who  has  ever  read  of  the  terrible  depreda- 
tions committed  by  the  Indians  in  that  part  of  the  country  at  an  early 
period  of  its  history. 

"  The  names  of  the  men  were  as  follows  :  William  Young,  Sr.,  Philip 
Clover,  Sr.,  John  Love,  James  Potter,  John  Roll,  Sr.,  James  McFadden, 


Bear. 


John  C.  Corbett,  Samuel  Wilson,  Sr.,  William  Smith,  and  Philip  Clover,  Jr. 
Samuel  Wilson  returned  to  Centre  County  to  spend  the  winter,  but  death 
removed  him.  In  the  following  spring  of  1802  his  widow  and  her  five  sons 
returned, — namely,  Robert,  John,  William,  Samuel,  and  David.  Those 
who  did  not  take  their  families  along  in  1801,  built  their  cabins,  cleared 
some  land,  put  in  some  wheat,  raised  potatoes  and  turnips,  put  them  in 
their  cabins  and  covered  them  with  earth  for  safe-keeping  for  the  next 
summer's  use,  and  when  they  got  all  their  work  done,  in  the  fall  they 

118 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

returned  to  their  families  in  Centre  and  Mifflin  Counties,  in  the  spring 
of  1802.  Those,  with  some  others,  who  also  came  at  an  early  date, 
James  Laughlin  and  Frederick  Miles,  built  a  saw-mill  in  1804,  at  or  near 
the  mouth  of  Pine  Creek,  and  they  were  the  first  to  run  timber  to 
Pittsburg  from  what  is  now  Clarion  County. 

"  The  food  and  raiment  of  the  first  settlers  made  a  near  approach  to 
that  of  John  the  Baptist  in  the  wilderness.  Instead  of  locusts  they  had 
wild  turkey,  deer,  and  bear  meat,  and  their  raiment  consisted  of  home- 
spun woollen,  linen,  or  tow  cloth,  the  wool  and  flax  being  all  prepared 
for  weaving  by  hand,  there  being  no  carding-machines  in  the  county  for 
many  years  after  its  first  settlement ;  then .  women  carded  by  hand. 
When  woollen  cloth  was  wanted  for  men's  wear,  the  process  of  fulling 
was  as  follows  :  The  required  quantity  of  flannel  was  laid  upon  the  bare 
floor,  and  a  quantity  of  soap  and  water  thrown  over  it ;  then  a  number 
of  men  seated  upon  stools  would  take  hold  of  a  rope  tied  in  a  circle  and 
begin  to  kick  the  flannel  with  their  bare  feet.  When  it  was  supposed  to 
be  fulled  sufficiently,  the  men  were  released  from  their  task,  which  was  a 
tiresome  one,  yet  a  mirth  provoking  one,  too,  for,  if  it  were  possible,  one 
or  so  must  come  from  his  seat,  to  be  landed  in  the  midst  of  the  heap  of 
flannel  and  soapsuds,  much  to  the  merriment  of  the  more  fortunate  ones. 
Flax  was  prepared  by  drying  over  a  fire,  then  breaking,  scutching,  and 
hackling  before  being  ready  to  spin.  The  linen  and  tow  cloth  supplied 
the  place  of  muslin  and  calico  of  the  present  day.  That  which  was  for 
dress  goods  was  made  striped,  either  by  color  or  blue  through  the  white, 
which  was  considered  a  nice  summer  suit,  when  made  into  what  was 
called  a  short  gown  and  petticoat,  which  matched  very  well  with  the 
calfskin  slippers  of  that  day.  The  nearest  store  was  at  Kittanning,  thirty- 
five  miles  distant,  and  calico  was  fifty  cents  per  yard,  and  the  road  but  a 
pathway  through  the  woods. 

"In  those  days  men  appeared  at  church  in  linen  shirts  with  collars 
four  inches  wide  turned  down  over  the  shoulders,  linen  vest ;  no  coat  in 
summer.  Some  wore  cowhide  shoes,  others  moccasins  of  buckskin,  others 
again  with  their  feet  bare.  In  winter,  men  wore  deerskin  pantaloons 
and  a  long  loose  robe  called  a  hunting  shirt,  bound  round  the  body  with 
a  leathern  girdle,  and  some  a  flannel  warmus,  which  was  a  short  kind  of 
a  coat,  the  women  wearing  flannel  almost  exclusively  in  the  winter. 

"  During  the  first  two  years  after  the  first  settlement  the  people  had 
to  pack  their  flour  upon  horseback  from  Centre,  Westmoreland,  and  In- 
diana Counties ;  also  their  iron  and  salt,  which  was  at  ten  dollars  per 
barrel ;  iron  fifteen  cents  per  pound.  Coffee  and  tea  were  but  little  used, 
tea  being  four  dollars  per  pound,  coffee  seventy-five  cents.  Those  arti- 
cles were  considered  great  luxuries,  both  from  the  high  price  at  which 
they  came,  and  the  difficulties  attending  their  transportation  through  the 
woods,  following  the  Indian  trail.  As  to  vegetables  and  animal  food, 

119 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

there  was  no  scarcity,  as  every  one  had  gardens  and  the  forest  abounded 
with  wild  game,  and  then  there  were  some  expert  huntsmen  that  kept  the 
settlement  supplied  with  meat.  Those  who  were  not  a  sure  shot  them- 
selves would  go  and  work  for  the  hunter  while  he  would  go  out  and  sup- 
ply his  less  fortunate  neighbor.  Many,  however,  got  along  badly,  some 
having  nothing  but  potatoes  and  salt  for  substantials.  I  knew  one  hunter 
who  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  deer  and  twenty  bears  in  the  first  two 
years  of  the  settlement,  besides  any  amount  of  small  game.  When  people 
began  to  need  barns  and  larger  houses,  one  would  start  out  and  invite  the 
whole  country  for  miles  around,  often  going  ten  or  twelve  miles,  and 
then  it  often  took  two  or  three  days  to  raise  a  log  barn,  using  horses  to 
help  to  get  up  the  logs." 

THE  PIONEER  EXPLORERS,  ANDREW  BARNETT  AND  SAMUEL  SCOTT 
—THE  PIONEER  SETTLERS,  JOSEPH  HUTCHISON  AND  WIFE— THE 
PATRIARCH  OF  THE  COUNTY,  JOSEPH  BARNETT— OTHER  EARLY 
SETTLERS. 

In  regard  to  the  first  settlement  and  early  history  of  the  county  I 
have  made  diligent  research,  and  find,  what  is  not  unusual,  some  con- 
flicting accounts  and  statements.  These  I  have  endeavored  to  compile, 
arrange,  and  harmonize  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

From  the  best  information  I  am  enabled  to  gather  and  obtain,  Andrew 
Barnett  and  Samuel  Scott  were  sent  in  1795  by  Joseph  Barnett,  who  was 
then  living  in  either  Northumberland,  Lycoming,  or  Dauphin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  to  explore  the  famous  region  then  about  French  Creek, 
now  Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania.  But  when  these  two  "explorers" 
reached  Mill  Creek,  now  Port  Barnett,  they  were  forcibly  impressed  with 
the  great  natural  advantages  of  the  place  for  a  saw -mill.  They  stopped 
over  two  or  three  days  to  examine  the  creek.  They  explored  as  far  down 
as  to  where  Summerville  now  is,  arid,  after  this  careful  inspection,  con- 
cluded that  this  spot,  where  "  the  lofty  pine  leaned  gloomily  over  every 
hill-side,"  was  just  the  ideal  home  for  a  lumberman. 

They  went  no  farther  west,  but  returned  east,  and  informed  Joseph 
Barnett  of  the  "Eureka"  they  had  found.  In  the  spring  of  1797, 
Joseph  and  Andrew  Barnett,  Samuel  Scott,  and  Moses  Knapp  came  from 
their  home  at  the  mouth  of  Pine  Creek,  then  in  Lycoming  County,  to 
the  ideal  mill-site  of  Andrew,  and  so  well  pleased  were  they  all  that  they 
commenced  the  erection  of  the  pioneer  cabin  and  mill  in  the  wilderness, 
in  what  was  then  Pine  Creek  township,  Lycoming  County.  The  cabin 
and  mill  were  on  the  present  site  of  Humphrey's  mill  and  grounds  at  Port 
Barnett.  The  Indians  assisted,  about  nine  in  number,  to  raise  these 
buildings,  and  not  a  stroke  of  work  would  these  savages  do  until  they 
had  eaten  up  all  the  provisions  Mr.  Barnett  had.  This  took  three  days. 
Then  the  rascals  exclaimed,  "Me  eat,  me  sleep;  now  me  strong,  now 

120 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

me  work."  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Joseph  Barnett  returned  to  his 
family,  leaving  his  brother  Andrew  and  Scott  to  finish  some  work.  In  a 
short  time  thereafter  Andrew  Barnett  became  ill  and  died,  and  was  buried 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  creek,  at  the  junction  of  Sandy  Lick  and  Mill 
Creek,  Scott  and  two  Indians  being  the  only  attendants  at  the  funeral. 
Joseph  Barnett  was,  therefore,  soon  followed  by  Scott,  who  was  his 
brother-in-law,  bringing  the  melancholy  tidings  of  this  event,  which  for 
a  time  cast  a  gloom  over  the  future  prospects  of  these  sturdy  pioneers. 

In  1798,  however,  Joseph  Barnett,  Scott,  Knapp,  and  a  married  man 
by  the  name  of  Joseph  Hutchison,  came  out  with  them  and  renewed 
their  work.  Hutchison  brought  his  wife,  household  goods,  also  two 
cows  and  a  calf,  and  commenced  housekeeping,  and  lived  here  two  years 
before  Joseph  Barnett  brought  his  family,  who  were  then  living  in  Dauphin 
County.  Hutchison  is  clearly  the  pioneer  settler  in  what  is  now  Jeffer- 
son County.  He  was  a  sawyer.  In  that  year  the  mill  was  finished  by 
Knapp  and  Scott,  and  in  1 799  there  was  some  lumber  sawed.  In  the  fall 
of  1800,  Joseph  Barnett  brought  his  wife  and  family  to  the  home  prepared 
for  them  in  the  wilderness.  Barnett  brought  'with  him  two  cows  and 
seven  horses,  five  loaded  with  goods  as  pack-horses  and  two  as  riding  or 
family  horses.  His  route  of  travel  into  this  wilderness  was  over  Meade's 
trail. 

The  first  boards  were  run  in  1801  to  what  is  now  Pittsburg.  About 
four  thousand  feet  were  put  in  a  raft,  or  what  would  be  a  two-platform 
piece.  Moses  Knapp  was  the  pioneer  pilot. 

In  a  paper  contributed  to  the  Jefferson  County  Graphic  by  Mrs.  Sarah 
Graham,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Barnett,  this  portion  of  the  county  is  there 
described  as  "  the  home  of  the  Indian,  the  panther,  the  bear,  and  deer; 
and  wolves  were  as  plenty  as  dogs  in  Brookville. ' ' 

Farther  on  this  interesting  account  continues  :  "  The  first  white  child 
born  in  the  county  was  J.  P.  Barnett.  The  next  person  that  came  here 
was  Peter  Jones.  He  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  McCul- 
lough,  and  the  next  was  a  Mr.  Roll,  who  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  John  S.  Barr.  Then  came  Fudge  Vancamp  (negro),  who  built  his 
cabin  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  Clark  ;  and  then  Adam  Vasbinder, 
who  settled  on  the  farm  at  the  present  time  owned  by  Samuel  Bullers. 
William  Vasbinder  pitched  his  tent  on  the  Kirkman  homestead.  Ludwick 
Long  put  up  his  wigwam  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Mr.  McConnell. 
Here  Long  erected  a  distillery,  and  the  great  dragon  first  opened  his 
mouth  and  cast  out  his  flood  of  water  in  the  wilderness.  John  Dixon 
came  next.  He  was  our  first  school-master.  The  school- house  was  built 
on  the  McConnell  farm ;  built  of  round  logs,  and  oiled  paper  for  glass. 
Everything  had  to  be  carried  from  the  settlements  on  horseback ;  glass 
was  too  easily  broken  to  try  to  bring  so  far.  The  second  school-house 
was  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  pike,  at  the  forks  of  the  Ridgway  road. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Here  the  first  graveyard  was  laid  out,  and  the  first  person  buried  in  it  was 
a  child  of  Samuel  Scott. 

"An  old  Muncy  Indian,  called  Captain  Hunt,  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  Port  Barnett,  and  had  his  camp  for  several  years  on  the  Red  Bank, 
within  the  limits  of  the  southwestern  part  of  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Brookville.  It  is  related  of  him  that  a  cave  near  what  is  now  the  con- 
fluence of  Sandy  Lick  and  North  Fork  was  occupied  by  him  for  several 
years  as  a  hiding-place.  He  was  a  fugitive  from  his  tribe  for  having 
killed  a  fellow  Indian,  and  was  frequently  pursued  by  members  of  his 
race  to  avenge  the  crime.  On  these  occasions  he  always  managed  to 
escape  to  his  cave,  approaching  it  by  running  in  the  water  of  the  stream 
to  avoid  being  followed  by  his  track,  and  in  this  way  he  safely  secreted 
himself  and  successfully  evaded  his  pursuers. 

"  In  this  same  connection,  a  story  is  told  of  the  capture  of  a  child  in 
Westmoreland  County  by  the  Muncy  Indians,  who  carried  him  to  their 
tribe  and  adopted  him.  By  the  law  of  this  tribe,  when  one  of  their 
number  was  a  fugitive  from  them  for  killing  another,  he  was  not  per- 
mitted to  return  until  the  place  of  the  murdered  Indian  was  supplied  by 
the  capture  of  another  male  from  the  whites  or  some  other  tribe.  It  is, 
therefore,  alleged  and  generally  supposed  that  the  little  boy  from  West- 
moreland County,  who  had  been  sent  by  his  mother  on  an  errand  to  his 
father  in  the  field,  was  observed  by  these  Indians,  seized  and  carried  off 
to  their  camp,  and  that  after  this  old  Captain  Hunt  was  at  liberty  to  re- 
turn to  his  tribe.  It  is  also  related  of  the  boy,  that  when  he  grew  to  be 
a  man  he  was  permitted  to  visit  his  parents  and  friends,  but  declined  to 
remain  among  them,  and  returned  to  his  Indian  home. 

"  Old  Captain  Hunt  was  a  noted  and  successful  hunter,  obtaining  his 
living  in  this  way,  and  John  Jones  was  often  his  companion  on  hunting 
excursions.  One  year  he  is  said  to  have  killed  seventy-eight  bears,  and 
having  the  Indian  appetite  for  whiskey,  the  skins  of  these  were  nearly  all 
expended  by  him  in  procuring  this  beverage. 

"  These  dense  forests  were  the  abode  of  wild  animals  and  game  in 
greater  numbers  than  most  any  other  part  of  the  country.  Panthers, 
bears,  and  wolves  roamed  the  woods  undisturbed,  the  deer  travelled  about 
in  droves,  and  flocks  of  wild  turkeys  were  numerous." 

I  may  not  be  able  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  early  settlers  and  the 
date  of  their  arrival,  but  John,  William,  and  Jacob  Vasbinder  reached 
here  about  the  year  1802  or  1803,  John  Matson,  Sr.,  about  1806,  and 
the  Lucases  soon  after. 

In  1803  the  name  Keystone  was  first  applied  to  the  State.  This  was  in 
a  printed  political  address  to  the  people.  Pennsylvania  was  the  central 
State  of  the  original  thirteen. 

John  and  Archibald  Bell  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
about  1809  or  1810,  and  that  locality  was  then  an  unbroken  wilderness 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

for  miles  around.  Archie  Hadden  came  and  settled  a  mile  southeast  of 
him  about  1812,  and  in  1815  Hugh  McKee  settled  half  a  mile  east  of 
Perrysville.  Jacob  Hoover  came  in  1814  and  settled  at  the  present  site 
of  Clayville.  John  Postlethwait,  Sr.,  came  in  1818  from  Westmoreland 
County,  and  located  with  his  family  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  Perrys- 
ville. A  family  by  the  name  of  Young  settled  about  two  miles  west  of 
this  place  about  the  same  time.  People  began  to  settle  in  the  vicinity  of 
Punxsutawney  about  the  year  1 8 1 6,  the  first  being  Abram  Weaver,  and 


Deer  and  fawn. 

Rev.  David  Barclay,  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  and  Nathaniel  Tindle,  with 
their  families,  and  Elijah  Heath  arrived  there  about  1817  or  1818. 
Charles  C.  Gaskill,  Isaac  P.  Carmalt,  John  B.  Henderson,  and  John  Hess 
came  some  time  later.  About  1818,  David,  John,  and  Henry  Milliron 
settled  on  Little  Sandy,  and  Henry  Nolf  located  on  the  same  stream, 
where  Langville  now  stands,  and  erected  a  saw-mill.  In  1820,  Lawrence 
Nolf  came  to  Pine  Run,  two  miles  south  of  Ringgold,  but  made  no  im- 
provement, and  afterwards  sold  to  John  Miller,  who  opened  up  a  farm. 
Hon.  James  Winslow  and  others  were  also  among  the  first  settlers  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Punxsutawney.  James  McClelland  and  Michael  Lantz 

123 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

came  into  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  within  the  limits  of  what 
is  now  Porter  township,  previous  to  the  year  1820.  William  Stewart  and 
Benjamin  McBride  made  a  settlement  in  the  Round  Bottom,  west  of 
Whitesville,  in  1821,  and  in  the  same  year  James  Stewart  came  and 
located  three  miles  northwest  of  Perrysville.  The  year  1822  brought  a 
number  of  families  to  the  county,  among  whom  were  the  following  :  David 
Postlethwait,  who  purchased  Stewart  and  McBride's  right  of  settlement 
in  the  Round  Bottom,  and  settled  with  his  brother  John  on  Pine  Run, 
who  had  preceded  him  there ;  John  McHenry,  James  Bell,  and  some 
others,  who  moved  into  the  Round  Bottom,  near  Whitesville,  and  a  Mr. 
Baker,  who  settled  across  the  creek  east  of  Whitesville  ;  Jesse  Armstrong 
and  Adam  Long,  the  former  locating  near  where  Clayville  now  is,  and 
the  latter  at  a  place  near  Punxsutawney ;  John  Fuller,  who  settled  near 
Reynoldsville ;  and  Samuel  Newcome,  who  settled  on  Pine  Run,  about  a 
mile  above  the  Postlethwaits.  In  1823,  John  Mclntosh  and  Henry  Keys 
settled  in  Beech  Woods,  now  Washington  township,  and  the  year  1824 
brought  Alexander  Osborn.  John  McGee,  Matthew  and  William 
McDonald,  Andrew  Smith,  John  Wilson,  William  Cooper,  and  William 
McCullough  were  also  among  the  first  settlers  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  county.  Other  names  of  early  settlers  will  be  found  in  that  part  of 
this  history  devoted  to  the  different  towns  and  townships. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

PROVISION  FOR  OPENING  A  ROAD — REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS  TO 
THE  GOVERNOR — STREAMS,  ETC. 

"AN  ACT  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  OPENING  A  ROAD  FROM   NEAR  THE  BALD 

EAGLE'S  NEST,  IN  MIFFLIN  COUNTY,  TO  LE  BCEUF,  IN  THE  COUNTY 

OF  ALLEGHENY. 

"WHEREAS,  A  road  has,  under  the  direction  of  the  Legislature,  been 
in  part  laid  out  from  Reading  and  Presque  Isle ;  AND  WHEREAS,  It  is  con- 
sidered that  opening  and  improving  said  road  would  be  greatly  conducive 
to  the  interests  of  the  community  by  opening  a  communication  with  the 
northwest  part  of  the  State,  and  would  much  facilitate  an  intercourse  with 
Lake  Erie ; 

"  SECTION  i.  Therefore  be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly 
met,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  gov- 
ernor be  empowered  to  contract  for  the  opening  and  improving  of  the 
road  between  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  and  the  Allegheny  River  to  Le 
Bceuf. 

124 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  SECTION  2.   And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
when  it  shall  appear  to  the  persons  who  may  contract  for  the  opening  of 


said  road  that  deviations  from  such  parts  of  the  road  as  laid  out  are 
essentially  necessary,  he  or  they  shall  be  authorized  to  make  such  devia- 

125 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tions,  provided  that  such  deviations  do  not  depart  materially  from  the 
survey  already  made. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
in  order  to  carry  this  into  effect  the  governor  is  empowered  to  draw  his 
warrant  on  the  State  Treasurer  for  five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  sale  of  reserved  lands  and  lots  in  the  towns  of  Erie,  Franklin, 
Warren,  and  Waterford." 

Passed  April  10,  1799.     Recorded  in  Law  Book  No.  6,  p.  443. 

The  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  referred  to  above  was  Milesburg.  The  nest 
was  not  that  of  a  bird,  but  that  of  an  Indian  warrior  of  that  name,  who 
built  his  wigwam  there  between  two  large  white  oaks.  The  western  ter- 
minus of  the  road,  then  called  Le  Boeuf,  is  now  known  as  Waterford, 
Erie  County,  Pennsylvania.  On  the  completion  of  the  turnpike  most  of 
this  road  was  abandoned  in  this  county.  It  is  still  in  use  from  Brook- 
ville,  about  seven  or  eight  miles  of  it,  to  the  Olean  road  north  of  Cor- 
sica. It  passed  through  where  Brookville  now  is,  near  or  on  what  is  now 
Coal  Alley.  It  was  a  great  thoroughfare  for  the  pioneers  going  to  the 
West  arid  Northwest. 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS, 
"  HARRISBURG,  PA.,  May  18,  1895. 

"MR   W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  ist  instant,  we  send 
you  this  contract  and  the  accompanying  papers,  which  are  among  the 
records  of  the  department.  As  requested,  we  send  you  a  copy  of  the 
report  of  the  commissioners  who  made  the  survey  of  the  road. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  ISAAC  B.  BROWN, 

' '  Deputy  Secretary. ' ' 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS  TO  THE  GOVERNOR. 
"WHEREAS,  In  and  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  entitled  'An 
Act  for  laying  out  and  opening  sundry  Roads  within  this  Commonwealth 
and  for  other  purposes,'  it  is  among  other  things  provided  and  declared, 
that  your  Excellency  shall  be  empowered  and  required  to  appoint  three 
persons  as  Commissioners,  '  to  view  the  ground  and  estimate  the  expense 
of  opening  and  making  a  good  Waggon  Road  from  the  Bald  Eagle's 
Nest,  or  the  end  of  Nittany  Mountain,  to  the  Town  of  Erie  at  Presque- 
isle,  and  to  cause  the  said  Road  to  be  Surveyed  and  staked  out,  by  the 
most  practicable  Route,  and  also  cause  a  draft  of  the  survey  to  be  made  out 
in  Profile,  and  to  report  to  the  Legislature  the  several  parts  of  the  ex- 
pense that  will  be  incurred  in  each  County  through  which  the  said  Road 
will  pass :  Provided,  That  the  Commissioners  thus  appointed*  shall  not 
stake  out  any  part  of  the  said  Road  when  it  may  be  carried  on  Roads 

126 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

heretofore  laid  out  and  opened,  agreeably  to  the  Provisions  of  former 
laws  of  this  State.' 

"AND  WHEREAS,  In  pursuance  of  the  power  and  authority  given  and 
granted  in  and  by  the  said  recited  Act  of  Assembly,  William  Irvine, 
Andrew  Ellicott,  and  George  Wilson,  Esquires,  were  by  Letters  Patent 
under  your  Excellency's  hand,  and  the  great  Seal  of  the  State,  bearing 
date  the  thirteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-six,  appointed  Commissioners  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid;  but  the  said  Andrew  Ellicott,  Esq.,  hath  since  resigned  the 
said  appointment,  and  his  resignation  hath  been  duly  accepted. 

"  AND  WHEREAS,  In  pursuance  of  the  power  and  authority  given  and 
granted  in  and  by  the  said  recited  Act  of  Assembly,  Joseph  Ellicott  was, 
by  Letters  Patent,  under  your  Excellency's  Hand  and  the  great  Seal  of 
the  State,  bearing  date  the  nineteenth  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-six,  appointed  a  Commis- 
sioner in  the  lieu  and  stead  of  the  said  Andrew  Ellicott,  Esq.,  who  had 
resigned  as  aforesaid,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  said  William  Irvine 
and  George  Wilson,  Esquires,  the  two  other  Commissioners  for  the  pur- 
pose of  viewing  and  laying  out  the  said  Road  in  manner  as  stated  in  and 
by  the  above  recited  Act  of  Assembly. 

"  Now  THEREFORE,  The  said  George  Wilson  and  Joseph  Ellicott,  two 
of  the  Commissioners  appointed  as  aforesaid  for  the  purposes  aforesaid, 
beg  leave  to  report : 

"  I.  That  the  said  William  Irvine,  George  Wilson,  and  Joseph  Elli- 
cott, the  Commissioners  appointed  as  aforesaid,  in  conformity  to  your 
Excellency's  Instructions  in  pursuance  of  the  above  recited  Act  of  Assem- 
bly, with  all  convenient  dispatch,  in  the  execution  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
them,  proceeded  to  examine  the  situation  of  the  Country  at  the  Bald 
Eagle's  Nest  and  to  the  end  of  Nittany  Mountain,  and  having  viewed  the 
respective  safes,  they  unanimously  agreed  to  take  their  departure  from  the 
Bald  Eagle's  Nest.  As  soon  as  this  decision  took  place  the  said  William 
Irvine  left  the  other  Commissioners  and  returned  home. 

"  II.  That  the  said  George  Wilson  and  Joseph  Ellicott  then  pro- 
ceeded to  vfew,  survey,  and  stake  out  by  a  route,  in  their  opinion, 
deemed  the  most  practicable,  a  Road  from  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  towards 
the  town  of  Erie  at  Presque-isle,  and  that  they  have  ascertained  the  various 
courses  and  distances,  the  topographical  situation,  &c.,  of  the  said  Road 
for  the  length  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  miles,  as  represented  in  and  by 
the  Draft  in  profile  hereunto  annexed. 

"III.  That  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  Horses,  the  scarcity  of 
Provisions,  the  advanced  season  of  the  year,  and  various  other  obstacles 
which  retarded  the  prosecution  of  the  business,  they  were  compelled  to 
relinquish  the  object  of  their  mission,  and  have  left  above  thirty-six  miles 
of  the  Road  unfinished. 

127 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  IV.  That  they  have  used  their  utmost  diligence  and  attention  to 
direct  the  course  of  the  said  Road  over  firm  and  level  ground  j  but  that 
frequently  became  totally  impracticable,  and  where  the  ascent  and  descent 
of  hills  and  mountains  became  unavoidable  they  made  use  of  an  altitude 
level,  and  have  so  adjusted  its  course  that  in  its  greatest  elevation  or  de- 
pression it  never  exceeds  an  angle  of  six  degrees  with  the  horizon  :  Hence 
it  may  easily  be  inferred  that  considerable  deviations  from  a  straight  line 
have  necessarily  occurred. 

"  V.  That  the  land  in  that  part  of  Mifflin  County  through  which  the 
Road  passes  is  generally  of  an  indifferent  quality.  For  a  part  of  this 
distance  the  Road  passes  over  the  declivities  of  the  Allegheny  Mountain 
and  the  Mushanon  Hills.  The  country,  however,  for  several  miles  be- 
tween the  summit  of  the  Allegheny  Mountain  and  the  Mushanon  hills, 
and  also  that  part  of  Huntingdon  County  which  the  Road  intersects,  is 
generally  level  and  free  from  stones,  well  timbered  with  Hickory,  White 
and  Black  Oak,  Dogwood,  Ash,  Chestnut,  Poplar,  White  Pine,  &c.,  and 
upon  the  whole  well  calculated  for  settlements.  The  soil  of  that  part  of 
Lycoming  County  which  is  intersected  by  the  Road  is  generally  of  a  lux- 
uriant quality,  abounding  in  many  places  with  Stone  coal,  well  timbered 
with  various  species  of  wood,  and  adapted  to  the  production  of  all  kinds 
of  grain,  &c.,  peculiar  to  the  climate. 

"  VI.  Your  Commissioners  with  pleasure  remark  that  from  the  Sus- 
quehanna  River  at  Anderson's  Creek  to  the  first  navigable  stream  of 
Sandy  Lick  Creek  (a  branch  of  Allegheny  River)  the  portage  along  the 
said  road  is  but  twenty-two  Miles.  The  road  crosses  Sandy  Lick  Creek 
about  fifty  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Allegheny  River,  and  from 
the  Susquehanna  to  the  North-Western  branch  of  Sandy  Lick  Creek  the 
portage  is  thirty- three  miles.  The  North-Western  branch  discharges  its 
waters  into  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  about  sixty  perches  below  the  place  where 
it  is  intersected  by  the  Road  at  the  junction  of  the  North-Western  branch. 
The  Sandy  Lick  Creek  is  as  large  as  the  Susquehanna  River  at  Anderson's 
Creek,  and  the  distance  of  the  said  Creek  from  the  Allegheny  River  is 
about  thirty-five  miles.  The  Portage  from  the  Susquehanna  at  Ander- 
son's.to  Toby's  Creek  is  forty-nine  miles.  Toby's  Creek  is  twenty-two 
perches  wide,  and  its  distance  from  the  intersection  of  the  Road  to  the 
Allegheny  River  is  about  forty  miles.  It  is  navigable  for  boats,  rafts,  &c., 
from  the  intersection  of  the  Road  to  the  Allegheny  River  and  about  fifty 
or  sixty  miles  above  the  place  of  intersection.  The  portage  from  the 
Susquehanna  to  the  Allegheny  River  at  Sussunadohtaw  is  seventy-two 
miles,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  of  these  portages  the  Road 
passes  through  a  rich  and  fertile  country. 

"  VII.  That  your  Commissioners  have  formed  their  estimate  of  ex- 
penses upon  the  supposition  that  the  said  Road,  as  far  as  it  has  been  sur- 
veyed, will  be  opened  thirty  feet  in  width ;  sixteen  feet  in  the  middle  to 

128 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

be  cut  and  cleared  as  nearly  level  with  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  prac- 
ticable, but  where  digging  and  levelling  on  the  sides  of  Hills  and  Moun- 
tains shall  become  necessary  that  a  passage  will  be  dug  twelve  feet  wide, 
and  that  Bridges  and  causeways  will  be  erected  and  formed  over  all  miry 
places  to  enable  Waggons  to  pass. 

"A  general  estimate  of  expenditures  requisite  in  opening,  clearing, 
digging,  levelling,  erecting  Bridges  and  forming  causeways  over  the  said 
Road. 

"The  expenses  in  opening  the  Road  through  the  County  of  Mifflin, 
commencing  at  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  and  ending  at  the  Big  Mushanon 
Creek,  nineteen  miles  &  sixteen  perches. 

"For  opening,    cleaning,    digging,  levelling,  forming^       „  .. 
causeways  on  the  said  Road  and  erecting  a  Bridge  over  the  > 
Little  Mushanon  in  the  said  County.  J 

"  The  expenses  in  opening  the  Road  through  the  County  of  Hunting- 
don, commencing  at  the  Big  Mushanon  Creek  and  ending  at  the  West 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  twenty-one  miles  one  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  perches. 

"For   opening,    clearing,    digging,    levelling,  forming  ^ 
causeways  on  the  said  Road  and  erecting  a  Bridge  over  >    2643.37. 
Alder  Run  in  said  County.  J 

"The  expenses  in  opening  the  Road  through  the  County  of  Ly- 
coming,  commencing  at  the  West  branch  of  Susquehanna  and  ending  at 
the  Allegheny  River,  seventy-two  miles  &  193  perches. 

"  For  opening,  clearing,  digging,  levelling,  and  forming  ) 
Causeways  on  the  said  Road.  ) 

"  VIII.  That  the  said  Road  in  its  whole  length  passes  through  one 
entire  and  uninterrupted  Wilderness,  and  the  expenses  already  incurred 
in  the  execution  of  the  business  have  considerably  exceeded  the  legal 
appropriation  intended  for  its  completion. 

"  GEO.  WILSON. 
JOSEPH  ELLICOTT." 

DELAWARE  INDIAN  AND  PIONEER  NAMES  FOR  RIVERS  AND  CREEKS; 
ALSO  ACTS  OF  LEGISLATURE  DECLARING  THESE  STREAMS  PUB- 
LIC HIGHWAYS. 

"  Where  skimmed  the  Indian  bark, 
And  the  song  of  the  boatman  re-echoed  through  the  forest." 

Topi-hanne — Toby  Creek  ;   1749,  Riviere  au  Fiel — Gall  River. 
Ma-onink — Mahoning. 
Tangawunsch-hanne — North  Fork. 

Legamwi  mahonne — Sandy  Lick,  or  Red  Bank;  1749,  Riviere  au 
Vermilion. 

129 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Legamwi-hanne — Sandy  Creek. 

The  reason  why  Toby  Creek  was  subsequently  called  Clarion  River 
was  because  there  were  no  less  than  three  or  four  Toby  Creeks  in  Penn- 
sylvania. There  was  one  in  Monroe  County,  one  in  Luzerne,  and  one 
in  Venango,  which  is  now  Clarion.  Now,  Tobyhanna,  or  Toby  Creek, 
is  corrupted  from  Topi-hanne,  signifying  alder  stream ;  that  is,  a  stream 
whose  banks  were  fringed  with  alders.  I  find  also  that  the  Clarion  River 
was  called  by  the  Delawares  Gawunsch-hanne ;  that  is,  brier  stream,  a 
stream  whose  banks  are  overgrown  with  briers.  There  seems  to  be  an 
incongruity,  but  the  probabilities  are  that  farther  down  in  what  is  now 
Clarion  County  the  stream  was  overgrown  with  alder-bushes.  Mahoning 
is  a  corruption  of  Ma-onink,  and  signifies  where  there  is  a  lick,  or  at  the 
lick  ;  sometimes  a  stream  flowing  there  or  near  a  lick.  This  name  is  a 
very  common  one  for  rivers  and  places  in  the  Delaware  country,  along 
which  or  where  the  surface  of  the  ground  was  covered  with  saline  de- 
posits, provisionally  called  "licks,"  from  the  fact  that  deer,  elk,  buffalo, 
and  other  animals  frequented  these  places  and  licked  the  salted  earth. 

Mahonitty  signifies  a  small  lick,  and  Ma-oning  a  stream  flowing  from 
or  near  a  lick. 

By  the  act  of  Assembly,  March  21,  1808,  this  creek  was  declared  to 
be  a  public  highway  for  the  passage  of  rafts,  boats,  and  other  vessels  from 
its  confluence  with  the  Allegheny  River  to  the  mouth  of  Canoe  Creek,  in 
Indiana  County.  That  act  authorized  the  inhabitants  along  its  banks,  and 
others  desirous  of  using  it  for  navigation,  to  remove  all  natural  and  arti- 
ficial obstructions  in  it,  except  dams  for  mills  and  other  water -works,  and 
to  erect  slopes  at  the  mill  and  other  dams,  which  must  be  so  constructed 
as  not  to  injure  the  works  of  such  dams.  Any  person  owning  or  possess- 
ing lands  along  this  stream  has  the  liberty  to  construct  dams  across  it, 
subject,  however,  to  the  restrictions  and  provisions  of  the  general  act 
authorizing  the  riparian  owners  to  erect  dams  for  mills  on  navigable 
streams.  William  Travis  and  Joseph  Marshall  were  appointed  to  super- 
intend the  expenditure  of  eight  hundred  dollars  for  the  improvement  of 
this  stream,  authorized  by  the  act  of  March  24,  1817,  to  whom  an  order 
for  their  services  for  two  hundred  and  one  dollars  was  issued  by  the  com- 
missioners of  this  county  December  23,  1818. 

The  Act  of  Legislature,  No.  129,  declaring  part  of  Big  Mahoning 
Creek  a  public  highway,  approved  April  13,  1833,  reads  as  follows : 

"  SECTION  2.  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  that  part  of  Big 
Mahoning  Creek,  in  Jefferson  County,  from  the  mouth  of  Canoe  Creek, 
in  said  county,  is  hereby  declared  a  public  highway  for  the  passage  of 
rafts,  boats,  and  other  craft ;  and  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  persons 
desirous  of  using  the  navigation  of  said  creek  between  the  points  afore- 
said to  remove  all  natural  and  artificial  obstructions  from  the  bed  or 
channel  of  said  creek,  except  dams  for  mills  and  other  water  works,  and 

130 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

also  to  erect  such  slopes  at  the  mill  or  other  dams  on  said  creek  as  may 
be  necessary  for  the  passage  of  rafts,  boats,  and  other  vessels.  Provided, 
such  slopes  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  injure  the  works  of  such  dams. 
And  provided  also,  that  any  person  or  persons  owning  or  possessing  lands 
on  said  creek  shall  have  liberty  to  construct  any  dam  or  dams  across  the 
same,  agreeably  and  subject  to  all  the  restrictions  and  provisions  of  an  act 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth,  passed  the  twenty-third 
day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  three,  entitled  '  An  Act 
to  authorize  any  person  or  persons  owning  lands  adjoining  navigable 
streams  of  water  declared  public  highways  to  erect  dams  on  such  streams 
for  mill  and  other  water-works.'  ' 

Tangawunsch-hanne,  North  Fork,  meant  in  the  Indian  tongue  Little 
Brier  Stream,  or  stream  whose  banks  are  overgrown  with  green  brier. 

The  following  act  of  the  Legislature  declared  it  a  public  highway. 

An  act,  No.  64,  declaring  the  North  Fork  of  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  in 
the  county  of  Jefferson,  from  the  mouth  thereof  to  Ridgway,  in  said 
county,  a  public  highway  : 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  North  Fork  of  Sandy  Lick 
Creek,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  from  the  mouth  thereof  to  Ridgway,  in 
said  county,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  a  public  highway ;  and 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  desirous  of  improving 
or  using  the  navigation  of  said  stream  to  remove  thereout  all  obstruc- 
tions, except  dams  for  mills  and  other  water-works  already  built,  on  which 
dam  any  such  person  or  persons  as  aforesaid  shall  have  full  power  to 
make  slopes,  such  as  are  hereinafter  described,  and  to  keep  the  same  in 
repair  for  the  passage  of  boats,  rafts,  and  other  craft.  Provided,  that 
such  slopes  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  injure  such  dams. 

"Approved — the  thirteenth  day  of  March,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-three. 

"  GEORGE  WOLF, 

"  Governor.'" 

"  Legamwi-mahonne  means  a  sandy  lick  creek;  that  is,  Sandy  Lick, 
which  was  the  name  of  this  stream  as  late  as  1792,  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth,  according  to  Reading  Howell's  map  of  that  year.  It  bore  that 
name  even  later.  By  the  act  of  Assembly,  March  21,  1798,  '  Sandy  Lick 
or  Red  Bank  Creek'  was  declared  to  be  a  public  stream  or  highway  '  from 
the  mouth  up  to  the  second  or  great  fork. '  The  writer  has  not  been  able 
to  ascertain  just  when,  why,  or  at  whose  suggestion  its  original  name  was 
changed  to  Red  Bank,  by  which  it  has  been  known  by  the  oldest  inhab- 
itants now  living  in  the  region  through  which  it  flows.  Perhaps  the 
change  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  red  color  of  the  soil  of  its  banks 
many  miles  up  from  its  mouth." — History  of  Armstrong  County,  Pennsyl- 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

THE   ORIGIN  OF   THE   NAME   OF   RED   BANK   CREEK. 

In  1749  the  governor-general  of  Canada  sent  an  expedition  under 
Celeron  de  Bienville  down  what  is  now  known  as  the  Allegheny  and 
Ohio  Rivers,  to  take  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king 
of  France.  The  command  embraced  two  hundred  and  fifteen  French 
and  Canadian  soldiers  and  fifty-five  Indians.  Father  Bonnecamp,  a 
chaplain  of  this  expedition,  drew  a  map  of  the  route,  locating  the  tribes 
of  Indians,  and  giving  the  Indian  names  of  the  tributaries  of  these  rivers 
and  also  the  name  of  the  Indian  villages.  This  manuscript  map  was  de- 
posited and  is  still  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  de  la  Marine  in 
Paris,  and  is  styled  "  Map  of  a  Voyage  made  on  the  Beautiful  River  in 
New  Flanders,  1749,  by  Rev.  Father  Bonnecamp,  Jesuit  Mathematician." 
The  map  is  very  correct,  considering  all  the  circumstances.  It  has 
been  reproduced  on  a  smaller  scale  by  George  Dallas  Albert  and  pub- 
lished in  "The  Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsylvania,"  in  vol.  ii.,  with  an  ex- 
planation of  the  map,  French  names,  and  their  corresponding  American 
designations.  In  this  map  I  find  Riviere  au  Vermilion  emptying  into 
the  Allegheny  River,  corresponding  to  the  exact  location  of  what  is  now 
called  Red  Bank  Creek,  and  unfortunately  translated  by  Mr.  Albert  as 
Mahoning  Creek.  On  the  Allegheny  River  going  downward  I  find 
Riviere  aux  Bceuf,  Beef,  or  Buffalo  River,  now  called  French  Creek; 
then  Riviere  au  Fiel, — Gall  River  or  Clarion  River ;  third,  Riviere  au 
Vermilion  or  Red  Bank  Creek;  fourth,  a  stream  not  named,  which 
must  have  been  Mahoning ;  and  then  Attique,  a  village,  or  what  is  now 
Kittanning.  Mr.  Albert  should  have  named  the  undesignated  stream 
Mahoning  and  the  Vermilion  River  Eed  Bank. 

In  1 798  this  stream  was  designated  by  legal  statute  as  Sandy  Lick  or 
Red  Bank  Creek,  but  later  by  common  acceptance  the  name  Sandy  Lick 
was  applied  to  that  portion  above  where  the  North  Fork  unites,  and  Red 
Bank  from  Brook ville  to  the  mouth. 

"  The  first  lot  of  lumber  which  Barnett  and  Scott  sent  down  the  Red 
Bank  was  a  small  platform  of  timber,  with  poles  instead  of  oars  as  the  pro- 
pelling power.  There  was  a  flood  in  this  stream  in  1806  which  reached 
eight  or  ten  feet  up  the  trees  on  the  flats. 

"One  thousand  dollars  was  appropriated  by  the  act  of  Assembly 
'making  appropriations  for  certain  internal  improvements,'  approved 
March  24,  1817,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  this  creek,  and  Levi  Gib- 
son and  Samuel  C.  Orr  were  appointed  commissioners  to  superintend  the 
application  of  the  money.  By  the  act  of  April  4,  1826,  '  Sandy  Lick,  or 
Red  Bank  Creek,'  was  declared  a  public  highway  only  for  the  passage  of 
boats,  rafts,  etc.,  descending  it.  That  act  also  made  it  lawful  for  all 
persons  owning  lands  adjoining  this  stream  to  erect  mill-dams  across  it. 
and  other  water-works  along  it,  to  keep  them  in  good  repair,  and  draw 

132 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

off  enough  water  to  operate  them  on  their  own  land,  but  required  them 
'  to  make  a  slope  from  the  top,  descending  fifteen  feet  for  every  foot  the 
dam  is  high,  and  not  less  than  forty  feet  in  breadth,'  so  as  to  afford  a 
good  navigation,  and  not  to  infringe  the  rights  and  privileges  of  any  owner 
of  private  property. 

"  The  first  flat-boat  that  descended  this  stream  was  piloted  by  Samuel 
Knapp,  in  full  Indian  costume.  In  1832  or  1833  two  boats  loaded  with 
sawed  lumber  owned  by  Uriah  Matson,  which  found  a  good  market  in 
Cincinnati,  with  the  proceeds  of  which  Matson  purchased  the  goods 
with  which  he  opened  his  store  at  Brookville. " — History  of  Armstrong 
County. 

An  act  declaring  the  rivers  Ohio  and  Allegheny,  and  certain  branches 
thereof,  public  highways : 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  from  and  after  the  passing  of 
this  act,  the  river  Ohio,  from  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Monongahela,  Big  Beaver  Creek,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
first  fork  in  the  seventh  district  of  donation  land,  Allegheny  River,  from 
the  mouth  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State,  French  Creek  to  the 
town  of  Le  Boeuf,  and  Conewango  Creek,  from  the  mouth  thereof  to  the 
State  line,  Cussawago  Creek,  from  the  mouth  of  the  main  forks,  Little 
Coniate  Creek,  from  the  mouth  up  to  the  inlet  of  the  Little  Coniate 
Lake,  Toby's  Creek,  from  the  mouth  up  to  the  second  fork  (now  Clarion 
River,  and  Johnsonburg  was  the  second  fork),  Oil  Creek,  from  the  mouth 
up  to  the  main  fork,  Broken  Straw  Creek,  from  the  mouth  up  to  the  second 
fork,  Sandy  Lick,  or  Red  Bank  Creek,  from  the  mouth  up  to  the  second 
great  fork,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  declared  to  be  public  streams 
and  highways  for  the  passage  of  boats  and  rafts ;  and  it  shall  and  may  be 
lawful  for  the  inhabitants  or  others  desirous  of  using  the  navigation  of 
the  said  river  and  branches  thereof  to  remove  all  natural  obstructions  in 
the  said  river  and  branches  aforesaid."  Passed  2ist  March,  1798.  Re- 
corded in  Law  Book  No.  VI.  page  245. 

The  first  fork  was  at  Brookville's  site,  the  second  great  fork  was  at 
Port  Barnett. 

An  act,  No.  189,  declaring  Little  Toby's  Creek,  Black  Lick  Creek, 
Little  Oil  Creek,  and  Clark's  Creek  public  highways : 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  from  and  after  the  passage  of 
this  act  Little  Toby's  Creek,  in  the  counties  of  Clearfield  and  Jefferson, 
from  the  mouth  of  John  Shaffer's  mill  run,  on  the  main  branch  of  Toby's 
Creek,  and  from  the  forks  of  Brandy  Camp  (or  Kersey  Creek)  to  the 
Clarion  River, 

%%.-%.%%%'%%.%. 
be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  declared  public  highways  for  the  passage  of 
rafts,  boats,  and  other  craft,  and  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for,  etc. 
(The  same  provisions  follow  here  as  in  No.  129.) 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"Approved — the  fourteenth  day  of  April,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight 

hundred  and  twenty-eight. 

"  J.  ANDW.  SHULTZ, 

"  Governor:' 

The  Little  Sandy  Creek  makes  a  long  circuit  through  about  what  is 
now  the  centre  of  the  county.  Numerous  runs  approach  it  from  the  east 
and  north.  The  principal  streamlets  are  Big  Run,  Elk  Run,  and  Pine 
Run.  This  region  of  the  county  is  hilly  and  the  ravines  are  deep,  and 
at  some  points  wide  ranges  of  bottom  flats.  When  the  pioneer  settled 
here  the  stream  was  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  county.  The  table- 
lands along  this  stream  range  in  height  from  twelve  hundred  to  eighteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

"THAT   FLOOD. 

"The  flood  is  here.  During  the  past  week  all  has  been  bustle  and 
hurry.  Our  lumbermen  have  had  an  excellent  time  to  start  their  lumber 
to  market,  and  now  the  great  body  of  the  lumber  manufactured  on  the 
Clarion  and  its  tributaries  during  the  past  year  is  floating  down-stream. 
The  waters  have  been  very  accommodating  for  a  few  days  past, — neither 
too  high  nor  too  low.  Pilots  are  in  their  glory.  Each  one  was  the  first  to 
discover  that  stray  '  snag'  which  had  hid  itself  beneath  the  foaming  waters 
in  some  critical  spot,  and  although  some  of  them  happened  to  run  pretty 
close  to  it,  yet  all  knew  it  was  there,  and  would  have  missed  it,  if  they 
could ;  and  some  of  them  did  miss  it  by  dint  of  '  cracking  her  up  behind' 
with  all  their  power. 

"The  rafting  season  on  these  waters  is  a  season  of  life  and  activity, 
bustle  and  confusion,  wet  limbs  and  red  wamuses.  It  gives  to  our  town 
an  important  and  business-like  appearance.  The  landing  of  steamers  and 
other  craft  in  a  great  commercial  mart  may  be  some,  but  the  landing  of 
rafts  in  '  Dick's  Pond'  and  '  the  Eddy'  is  considerable  more.  The  skill, 
nerve,  and  muscle  here  exhibited — to  say  nothing  of  an  occasional  big 
word  that  accidentally  falls  from  some  excited  pilot  or  proprietor — can 
find  its  equal  nowhere  only  on  some  lumbering  stream  during  a  rafting 
freshet.  There  is  something  fascinating  about  this  rafting  business,  not- 
withstanding its  incessant  hard  labor.  As  they  proceed  downward,  float- 
ing majestically  over  the  virgin  bosom  of  the  mighty  waters,  the  scene 
changes  with  them,  the  fare  changes,  the  atmosphere  changes,  the  waters 
change.  Here  the  hungry  raftmen  recruit  their  drooping  energies  with 
'the  best  the  country  can  afford,'  and  such  as  are  so  disposed  (and  we 
are  happy  to  say  there  are  but  few  of  this  class)  can  wet  their  whistles 
with  pure,  unadulterated  '  rot  gut,'  with  which  '  our  bar'  is  always  boun- 
tifully supplied.  On  their  course  they  soon  find  beef  and  potatoes  and 
hot  cakes  more  scarce,  but  are  cheered  up  by  a  change  from  this  fare  to 
'  a  great  many  molasses, '  lots  of  flitch,  and  mouldy  bread  that  has  been 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

kept  over  from  the  last  rafting  for  their  especial  benefit,  with  common 
corn  whiskey.  But  anything  for  a  change.  No  matter  if  you  do  flop  out 
of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  Peradventure,  our  hardy  fellow- citizens, 
with  rough  exterior,  but  large,  generous  souls  glowing  within  them, 
arrive  at  towns  below,  where  they  are  greeted  with  '  Olean  hoosiers' 
from  every  long  nine,  with  a  smutty-faced  urchin  attached  to  it,  they 
meet.  But  no  matter.  They  have  '  better  clothes'  at  home  and  more 


Banking  logs. 

rhino  in  their  pockets  than  any  score  of  these  foppish  nobodies.  They 
command  respect  wherever  they  land,  whether  it  be  in  a  skiff  at  some 
little  settlement  to  get  a  small  stock  of  provisions,  or  in  the  populous 
cities  where  they  find  a  market.  Their  frank,  open  countenances,  their 
independent  swagger,  and  their  muscular  appearance  is  enough  to  secure 
them  from  molestation.  They  see  all  the  curiosities  of  the  city,  visit  the 
theatre,  take  a  peep  into  the  'punch-room,'  just  to  see  what  is  there. 
They  get  a  view  of  all  the  fashionable  resorts  of  the  city.  But  we  are  not 
going  to  speak  of  all  the  places  they  frequent !  They  do  not  care  for 
expenses.  They  go  down  the  river  for  fun,  not  for  profit,  and  as  they 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

did  not  have  much  going  down, — tugging  away  at  an  oar,  in  rain-,  hail-, 
and  snow-storms, — they  are  bent  on  making  up  for  lost  time.  Finally, 
after  they  have  become  sick  and  tired  of  smoke  and  confusion,  they  turn 
their  steps  homeward,  and  in  due  time  they  arrive  at  their  mountain  home, 
and  are  ready  to  go  to  work — when  they  get  rested." — Elk  Advocate. 

In  1844  the  waters  of  what  is  now  called  the  Clarion  were  as  clear  as 
crystal,  pure  as  life,  and  gurgled  into  the  river  from  mountain  springs. 
No  tannery  or  other  refuse  was  to  be  found  in  it.  In  1749  the  French 
named  the  stream  Gall  River.  It  was  declared  a  public  highway,  as 


Driving  logs. 

Toby's  Creek,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  March  21,  1798,  up  to  the 
second  great  fork. 

In  early  times  this  river  was  known  as  Stump  Creek,  and  sometimes 
as  Toby's  Creek,  and  it  is  said  that  it  got  these  two  names  after  two 
Indian  hunters,  who  were  in  the  habit  (in  the  winter)  of  going  up  this 
river  in  canoes  to  hunt  and  trap.  They  would  return  each  spring 
with  their  furs  and  meat  to  their  villages  down  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio 
Rivers. 

It  was  called  Toby's  Creek  as  early  as  1758.  Unable  myself  to  find 
any  authority  for  a  change  to  Clarion,  I  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  Internal 
Affairs,  and  received  the  following  reply, — viz. : 

136 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"June  8,  1897. 
"  HON.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  recent  date,  we  beg  to  say 
that  we  are  unable  to  find  any  act  of  Assembly  changing  the  name  of 
Toby's  Creek  to  Clarion  River.  In  an  act  to  authorize  the  erection  of  a 
dam,  passed  in  1822,  this  stream  is  designated  as  '  Toby's  Creek,  other- 
wise called  Clarion  River.' 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  JAMES  W.  LATTA, 

"Secretary." 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   OLD   STATE   ROAD — EARLY  ROADS  AND  TRAILS — WHY  THE  STATE  ROAD 

WAS    MADE THE     FIRST    ATTEMPT    TO    OPEN     THE     ROAD LAWS,    ETC., 

TOUCHING   THE    SUBJECT — THE    SURVEY THE   ROAD   COMPLETED — THE 

ACT   OF   THE   LEGISLATURE  WHICH    SANCTIONED   THE   BUILDING   OF   THE 
ROAD. 

IN  1791  and  1793  a  State -road  through  this  wilderness  to  what  is  now 
called  Waterford  was  incepted,  agitated,  and  legalized ;  but,  owing  to 
the  Indian  troubles  of  1791,  '92,  '93,  and  '94,  all  efforts  had  to  be 
stopped  and  all  legal  proceedings  annulled  and  repealed.  The  Indian 
troubles  were  settled  in  1794  by  war  and  purchases,  and  then  legal  steps 
were  again  taken  to  open  up  this  great  northwest  in  1795  and  1796.  The 
reader  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  Le  Boeuf  is  now  Waterford,  Penn- 
sylvania, Presque  Isle  is  now  Erie  City,  Pennsylvania,  and  Bald  Eagle's 
Nest  is  now  Milesburg,  Centre  County,  Pennsylvania. 

EARLY  ROADS  AND  TRAILS. 

In  1784-85  the  old  State  Road  from  the  east  was  opened  through 
to  Fort  Pitt  in  the  west  over  what  had  been  previously  a  path,  or  what 
was  called  Forbes's  Trail.  This  trail  passed  through  Bedford,  Westmore- 
land, and  other  counties.  In  those  days  the  State  surveyed  and  laid 
out  county  seats  and  sold  the  lots.  The  lots  were  generally  sold  at 
auction.  All  government  stores,  as  well  as  groceries  and  goods  of  every 
description,  were  for  a  long  time  carried  from  the  east  to  the  west  on 
pack-horses  over  trails.  One  man  would  sometimes  drive  a  hundred 
horses. 

Guards  from  the  militia  were  a  necessity  for  their  trains.  Guards 
were  also  a  necessity  for  the  road  surveyors  and  road-makers.  A  body 
of  about  fifty  militia  was  the  usual  number,  and  sometimes  these  soldiers 
would  do  some  work  as  well  as  guard  the  road-makers.  Transportation 
was  also  carried  over  Meade's  trail,  which  passed  through  West  Reynolds- 

10  137 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ville,  in  the  same  way.  In  1787  the  only  road  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Le  Boeuf 
(now  Waterford)  was  a  trail  or  path  through  what  is  now  Butler  County 
and  up  the  Allegheny  River.  The  turnpike  over  or  across  the  old  Forbes's 
trail  was  finished  to  Pittsburg  in  1819. 

In  1 794  the  great  problem  was  a  thoroughfare  from  the  east  to  the 
northwest.  The  defence  of  the  western  portion  of  the  State  from  In- 
dians required  the  State  and  the  national  authorities  to  be  constantly  on 
the  alert.  On  the  28th  of  February,  1794,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act 
for  "raising  soldiers  for  the  defence  of  the  western  frontiers."  Also  at 
this  time  a  combined  effort  of  the  nation  and  State  was  made  to  lay  out 
a  town  at  Presque  Isle  (now  Erie)  on  Lake  Erie. 

WHY   THE   STATE   ROAD   WAS   MADE. 

In  order  to  protect  these  frontiers  from  the  British  and  Indians  a 
road  through  this  wilderness  seemed  an  absolute  necessity,  hence  an  act 
was  passed  through  the  Legislature  previous  to  or  in  1794,  authorizing 
the  surveying  and  making  of  a  State  road  from  Reading  to  Presque  Isle 
(Erie  City).  Colonel  William  Irvine  and  Andrew  Ellicott  were  the  com- 
missioners. These  men  were  also  commissioners  to  lay  out  the  town  of 
Erie  (Presque  Isle).  The  official  instructions  to  the  commissioners  and 

Captain  Denny  were  as  follows  : 

'•PHILADELPHIA,  March  i,  1794. 

"  GENTLEMEN, — In  providing  for  the  general  defence  of  the  frontiers, 
the  Legislature  has  authorized  me  to  form  a  detachment  of  troops,  for 
carrying  into  effect  the  act  directing  a  town  to  be  laid  out  at  or  near 
Presque  Isle ;  and  as  the  subject  of  the  commission  to  survey  and  lay  out 
a  road  from  Reading  to  Presque  Isle  may  be  promoted  by  the  same 
measure,  I  have  instructed  Captain  Denny,  the  commanding  officer  of 
the  detachment,  to  grant  to  you  as  commissioners  all  the  aid  and  pro- 
tection that  is  compatible  with  a  due  attention  to  the  particular  charge 
which  is  confided  to  him.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  trust  you  will 
find  it  convenient  to  proceed  immediately  in  the  execution  of  your  work. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  THOMAS  MIFFLIN. 

"To  WILLIAM  IRVINE  and  ANDREW  ELLICOTT,  Commissioners  for  lay- 
ing out  a  road  from  Reading  to  Presque  Isle." 

"PHILADELPHIA,  March  I,  1794. 

"The  Legislature  having  made  provision  for  surveying  and  opening 
two  roads, — one  from  Reading  and  the  other  from  French  Creek  to 
Presque  Isle, — it  is  obvious  that  the  establishment  of  the  town  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  those  objects ;  and,  therefore,  you  shall  deem  it 
your  duty  to  grant  all  the  aid  and  protection  to  the  respective  commis- 

138 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

sioners  and  contractors  employed  in  surveying  and  opening  those  roads 
that  is  compatible  with  due  attention  to  the  particular  charge  confided  in 
you. 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"THOMAS    MlFFLlN. 

"To  EBENEZER  DENNY,  ESQ.,  Captain  of  the  Allegheny  Company, 

&c." 

FIRST   ATTEMPT   TO   OPEN   THE   ROAD. 

Captain  Ebenezer  Denny,  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers,  was  ordered 
by  the  government  to  accompany  these  men.  On  the  arrival  of  Denny 
and  the  soldiers  at  what  is  now  Franklin,  Venango  County,  he  discovered 
that  the  Indians  were  cross  and  ugly,  and  General  Wilkins,  in  talking  to 
Mr.  Dallas,  said,  "  The  English  are  fixed  in  their  opposition  to  the  open- 
ing of  the  road  to  Presque  Isle,  and  are  determined  to  prevent  it  by  the 
English  and  Indians."  Orders  were  then  given  to  Captain  Denny  to  go 
no  farther  than  Le  Boeuf  (now  Waterford),  and  occupy  two  small  block- 
houses, which  had  been  erected  for  Commissioners  Irvine  and  Ellicott. 

This  was  the  first  attempt  to  open  up  a  road  through  the  wilderness 
of  what  is  now  Jefferson  County.  Governor  Mifflin  applied  to  the  Presi- 
dent for  a  thousand  militia  soldiers  to  enforce  this  work;  but  the  Presi- 
dent counselled  peace.  Work  was  suspended  at  Presque  Isle,  and  it  was 
not  until  in  April,  1795,  that  all  difficulties  were  removed  and  Colonel 
William  Irvine  and  Andrew  Ellicott  resumed  work.  At  this  time  Irvine 
commanded  the  troops  and  Ellicott  had  charge  of  the  surveyors. 

LAWS,  ETC.,  TOUCHING   THE   SUBJECT. 

The  following  letter  to  the  author  from  Hon.  Isaac  B.  Brown,  Secre- 
tary Pennsylvania  Department  of  Internal  Affairs,  of  Harrisburg,  gives 
some  valuable  information  concerning  the  road. 

"  HARRISBURG,  April  29,  1895. 
"  MR.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  i3th  instant,  we  beg  to 
say  that  you  will  find  '  An  Act  to  provide  for  opening  a  road  from  near 
the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest,  in  Mifflin  County,  to  Le  Boeuf,  in  the  county  of 
Allegheny,'  passed  April  10,  1790,  published  in  full  in  Bioren's  'Laws 
of  Pennsylvania,'  vol.  vi.  p.  24.  The  reference  in  the  preamble  of  this 
act  to  a  road  '  in  part  laid  out  from  Reading  to  Presque  Isle,'  is  probably 
to  an  act  passed  April  n,  1793,  appropriating  certain  sums  of  money 
for  laying  out  a  large  number  of  roads  within  the  State.  The  following 
appropriation  is  made  in  the  first  section  :  '  For  viewing  and  laying  out 
a  road  from  Reading  to  Presque  Isle,  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
thirty-three  dollars.'  This  act  appears  in  Bioren's  'Laws,'  vol.  iv.  p. 
277  et  seq.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  reference  was  intended  to 

i39 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

apply  to  a  road  from  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  to  the  Allegheny  River,  which 
was  surveyed  and  laid  out  under  an  act  passed  April  4,  1796,  entitled 
1  An  Act  for  laying  out  and  opening  sundry  roads  within  this  Common- 
wealth, and  for  other  purposes.'  This  act  will  be  found  in  full  in  Bioren's 
'Laws,'  vol.  v.  p.  187.  By  this  act  the  governor  was  authorized  and 
empowered  to  appoint  '  three  skilful  persons  to  view  the  ground,  and 
estimate  the  expense  of  opening  and  making  a  good  wagon  road  from 
the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest,  or  the  end  of  the  Nittany  Mountain,  to  the  town 
of  Erie  at  Presque  Isle. ' 

"Under  this  last  act  the  governor,  on  the  i3th  day  of  April,  1796, 
appointed  William  Irvine,  Andrew  Ellicott,  and  George  Wilson  commis- 
sioners to  make  the  survey.  Andrew  Ellicott  declined  the  appointment, 
and  Joseph  Ellicott  was  appointed  in  his  place.  These  men  met  to  ex- 
amine the  situation  of  the  country  at  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  and  at  the 
end  of  Nittany  Mountain,  and  determined  to  start  at  the  Bald  Eagle's 
Nest,  now  Milesburg,  Centre  County.  It  appears,  however,  that  William 
Irvine  returned  home,  and  George  Wilson  and  Joseph  Ellicott  proceeded 
to  make  the  survey.  Their  draft  and  report  are  among  the  records  of 
this  department,  and  show  their  work  from  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  to  the 
Allegheny  River,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  miles  by  their 
measurement.  After  reaching  the  Allegheny  River,  they  say  that  '  in 
consequence  of  the  failure  of  horses,  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  the  ad- 
vanced season  of  the  year,  and  various  other  obstacles  which  retarded  the 
prosecution  of  the  business,  they  were  compelled  to  relinquish  the  object 
of  their  mission,  and  have  left  above  thirty-six  miles  of  the  road  unfin- 
ished.' 

' '  Very  truly  yours, 

"  ISAAC  B.  BROWN, 

' '  Secretary. ' ' 

THE   SURVEY. 

The  point  on  the  Allegheny  River  where  these  surveyors  stopped  in 
the  fall  of  1796  was  on  the  land  where  Eli  Holeman  settled  in  1800.  It 
is  three  miles  below  Tionesta  borough,  Forest  County,  Pennsylvania. 
For  the  sixteen  years  of  travel  and  traffic  of  emigrants  and  others  over 
this  old  State  Road  each  and  all  had  to  force  or  cross  this  ferry.  The 
old  State  Road  never  passed  through  where  Clarion  now  is,  or  through 
Franklin  or  Meadville.  It  passed  through  the  wilderness  away  north  of 
these  towns,  but  connected  with  other  State  roads  running  through  them. 
All  of  the  county  histories  which  have  been  written  prior  to  this  one 
confound  this  road  with  the  turnpike,  which  was  not  built  or  opened  for 
traffic  until  November,  1820.  At  Brookville  the  turnpike  survey  in  1818 
took  a  separate  and  distinct  southerly  course  from  the  old  State  Road, 
and  passed  through  Franklin,  Meadville,  and  so  forth. 

140 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

THE   ROAD   COMPLETED. 

The  road  was  officially  taken  from  the  contractors  and  a  quietus  en- 
tered as  to  the  contract  April  2,  1804.  The  course  of  the  road  through 
what  is  now  Winslow  township  was  through  Rathmel,  down  Sandy  Lick 
to  the  south  side,  crossing  the  creek  between  Sandy  Valley  and  near 
where  West  Reynoldsville  now  is,  where  it  deflected  to  the  right  over  the 
hill,  through  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Robert  Waite.  This  State  road 
was  the  great  public  thoroughfare  for  emigrants  from  the  east  to  the 
northwest  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  until  the  turnpike  was  finished  in 
1820.  A  portion  of  about  seven  miles  is  still  in  use  from  Brookville  to 
the  Clarion  County  line,  parallel,  but  north  of  that  part  of  the  turnpike 
which  extends  from  Brookville  to  Corsica. 

SANCTIONED  BY  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

The  following  is  the  act  which  authorized  the  building  of  the  State 
Road,  of  which  this  article  is  a  history  : 

"AN  ACT  FOR  LAYING  OUT  AND  OPENING  SUNDRY  ROADS  WITHIN  THIS 
COMMONWEALTH,  AND  FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

"  WHEREAS,  From  the  increasing  population  of  the  northern  and 
northwestern  parts  of  this  State,  it  becomes  expedient  at  this  time  to  pro- 
vide for  the  laying  out  and  opening  the  necessary  roads,  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  same ;  therefore, 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  governor  be,  and  he 
is  hereby,  authorized  and  empowered  to  appoint  three  skilful  persons  to 
view  the  ground  and  estimate  the  expense  of  opening  and  making  a  good 
wagon  road  from  the  town  of  Northampton,  in  the  county  of  Northamp- 
ton, to  the  mouth  of  Tioga,  in  the  county  of  Luzerne,  and  from  thence, 
by  the  most  practicable  route,  to  the  northern  line  of  this  State ;  and 
three  skilful  persons  to  view  the  ground  and  estimate  the  expense  of 
opening  and  making  a  good  wagon  road  from  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest,  or 
the  end  of  the  Nittany  Mountain,  to  the  town  of  Erie,  at  Presque  Isle ; 
and  to  cause  the  said  roads  to  be  surveyed  and  staked  out  by  the  most 
practicable  routes ;  and  also  to  cause  drafts  of  the  roads  to  be  made  in 
profile,  and  report  to  the  Legislature  the  proportional  parts  of  the  ex- 
pense that  will  be  incurred  in  each  county  through  which  the  said  road 
will  pass ;  provided  that  the  commissioners  thus  appointed  shall  not  stake 
out  any  part  of  the  said  roads  when  they  may  be  carried  on  roads  hereto- 
fore laid  out  and  opened  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  former  laws  of 
this  State. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  empowered  to  contract,  either  with 

141 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

individuals,  or  with  companies,  for  opening  a  road  from  Pittsburg,  by 
the  way  of  Fort  Franklin,  to  Le  Boeuf,  and  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the 
State  Treasurer  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  two  thousand  dollars,  to  defray 
the  expense  of  laying  out  the  roads  to  Tioga  and  Erie ;  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding four  thousand  dollars,  to  defray  the  expense  of  opening  the  road 
from  Pittsburg,  by  Fort  Franklin,  to  Le  Bceuff.  Provided  always,  That 
all  contracts  to  be  made  by  virtue  of  this  act  shall  be  registered  by  the 
governor,  according  to  the  directions  of  the  eighth  section  of  the  act, 
entitled  '  An  Act  to  provide  for  the  opening  and  improving  sundry  navi- 
gable waters  and  roads  within  the  Commonwealth,'  passed  the  thirteenth 
day  of  April,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one.* 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  empowered  to  draw  his  warrant  in 
favor  of  Joseph  Horsefield  for  any  sum  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, to  be  applied  towards  removing  the  fallen  timber  and  other  obstruc- 
tions in  the  road  leading  from  Jacob  Heller's  tavern,  in  Northampton 
County,  to  Wilkesbarre,  in  Luzerne  County.  Passed  4th  April,  1796." 

"DEPARTMENT   OF   INTERNAL   AFFAIRS, 

"  HARRISBURG,  PA.,  June  7,  1895. 

"  HON.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Herewith  you  will  find  copies  of  the  contract  and  the 
reports  of  John  Fleming  relating  to  the  road  from  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  to 
Le  Bceuff. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"JAMES  W.  LATTA, 

' '  Secretary. ' ' 

"  ARTICLES  OF  AGREEMENT  made  and  entered  into  this  third  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  between  Thomas  Mifflin,  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  the  one  part,  and  Samuel  Miles  and  Roger  Alden,  of  the 
City  of  Philadelphia,  Esquires,  of  the  other  part. 

"WHEREAS,  In  and  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  entitled 
'  An  Act  to  provide  for  opening  a  Road  from  near  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest, 
in  Mifflin  county,  to  Le  Bceuff,  in  the  county  of  Allegheny,'  passed  the 
tenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  the  Governor  is  empowered  to  contract  for  opening  and  improving 
the  said  road  in  the  manner  and  on  the  terms  in  the  said  act  prescribed  : 
AND  WHEREAS,  The  said  Samuel  Miles  and  Roger  Alden  have  made  pro- 
posals for  entering  into  the  said  contract  upon  principles  which  appear 
to  the  Governor  most  likely  to  accomplish  the  good  purposes  by  the  Legis- 

*  For  the  act  referred  to  in  this  section,  see  vol.  iv.  chap.  1558. 
142 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

lature  intended :  Now  THESE  ARTICLES  WITNESS,  That  the  said  Samuel 
Miles  and  Roger  Alden,  jointly  and  severally  for  themselves,  their  Heirs, 
Executors,  and  Administrators,  covenant,  promise,  and  agree  to  and  with 
the  said  Thomas  Mifflin  and  his  successors,  Governors  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania,  in  consideration  of  the  Covenant  on  behalf  of  the 
said  Commonwealth  hereinafter  made,  That  they,  the  said  Samuel  Miles 
and  Roger  Alden,  their  Heirs,  Executors,  and  Administrators,  shall  and 
will,  well  and  faithfully,  and  with  all  convenient  diligence,  open,  extend, 
and  improve  the  said  Road  in  manner  following, — that  is  to  say :  That 
the  Road  shall  be  opened  generally  of  such  width  as  to  enable  and  admit 
two  waggons  to  pass  each  other,  except  only  in  such  place  or  places  as 
from  great  natural  difficulty  of  Mountains,  Hills,  Rocks,  and  Morasses 
shall  render  such  an  undertaking  impracticable  or  unreasonably  laborious 
and  expensive,  considering  the  public  consideration  therefor  given.  But 
in  all  such  place  or  places  there  shall  be  a  good  passage  of  at  least  ten  feet 
wide,  with  proper  and  convenient  passing  places  in  view :  And  that  the 
said  Contractors  will  advance  by  anticipation  (if  necessary)  the  sums  of 
money  requisite  to  open  the  said  Road  in  the  manner  aforesaid.  And 
the  said  Thomas  Mifflin,  in  consideration  of  the  Covenants  and  under- 
taking of  the  said  Contractors,  and  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  the  said 
Act  of  Assembly  to  him  given,  covenants,  promises,  and  agrees  to  and 
with  the  said  Samuel  Miles  and  Roger  Alden,  their  Executors,  Adminis- 
trators, and  Assigns,  that  they  shall  have  and  receive  the  sum  of  Five 
Thousand  Dollars,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  first  money  arising  from  the  sale 
of  the  reserved  Lands  &  Lots  at  the  Towns  of  Erie,  Franklin,  Warren, 
and  Waterford  :  And  for  which  sum  of  Five  Thousand  Dollars,  the  said 
Thomas  Mifflin  covenants,  promises,  and  agrees  to  draw  his  Warrant  or 
Warrants  on  the  State  Treasurer  in  favor  of  the  said  Contractors.  In 
Witness  whereof  the  parties  have  hereunto  set  their  respective  hands  & 
seals  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

(Signed)  "SAMUEL  MILES,  [seal] 

ROGER  ALDEN,  [seal] 
THOS.  MIFFLIN.  [seal] 
''Sealed  and   Delivered"! 
in  the  presence  of       [ 

A.  W.  FOSTER,  [ 

JNO.  MILES."    ) 

To  the  above  contract  appear  the  names  of  George  Fox,  James 
Phillips,  and  Tench  Coxe  as  sureties  for  its  "  true,  faithful,  perfect,  and 
diligent  performance,"  and  also  the  following  endorsement  on  the  back 
of  the  same  : 

"The  Governor,  being  satisfied,  from  three  several  reports  of  John 
Fleming,  Esquire,  (the  two  first  dated  on  the  i6th  of  December,  1801, 

i43 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

&  the  loth  of  January,  1803,  respectively;  &  the  last  without  date,  but 
delivered  into  the  Secretary's  Office  in  the  month  of  January  last,)  that 
Samuel  Miles  &  Roger  Alden,  Esquires,  have  completed  their  contract 
for  opening  a  road  from  near  the  Bald  Eagle's  Nest  to  Le  Boeuff,  by 
opening  &  improving  the  same  agreeably  to  the  terms  of  said  contract, 
as  far  as  could  reasonably  be  expected  'from  the  situation  and  nature  of 
the  country  through  which  said  road  passes,  &  the  public  consideration 
given  therefore,  this  day  directed  a  quietus  to  be  entered  upon  the 
contract. 

(Signed)  "  T.  M.  THOMPSON,  Sec. 

"April  the  2nd,  1804." 

' '  To   HIS   EXCELLENCY  THOMAS   MC~KEAN,   ESQUIRE,    Governor  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  : 

"  SIR, — In  pursuance  of  your  Excellency's  letter  appointing  me  a  Com- 
missioner to  view  and  report  on  that  part  of  the  State  Road  from  Miles- 
burg  to  Le  BceufF,  which  was  undertaken  to  be  opened  by  Col.  Samuel 
Miles,  I  proceeded  to  Milesburg  and  viewed  the  said  Road  as  shewn  to 
me  by  Mr.  Richard  Miles,  and  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  Report : 

"Beginning  at  Milesburg  the  road  crosses  Bald  Eagle  creek,  over 
which  is  a  sufficient  wooden  Bridge,  thence  up  the  said  creek  on  the 
north  side  of  it  for  five  miles ;  the  road  passable  for  waggons.  Within 
these  five  miles,  on  the  west  side  of  Wallis's  run,  there  is  some  wet  ground 
a  little  swampy. 

"  Leaving  the  Bald  Eagle  creek  and  thence  to  the  foot  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountain,  five  miles,  the  Road  is  good  excepting  some  trees  that 
have  fallen  across  it  since  it  was  opened. 

Across  the  mountain  is  three  miles.  The  ascent  is  one  mile,  of  which 
240  perches  are  dug,  in  some  places,  nine  feet  wide.  Towards  the  top  it 
is  too  steep  for  carriages.  The  descent  of  the  mountain  is  about  two 
miles  and  gradual. 

"About  one  mile  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  is  a  small  run  diffi- 
cult to  pass. 

"  Here  I  must  beg  leave  to  remark,  as  applicable  to  this  as  well  as  to 
other  small  runs  that  may  be  mentioned  in  this  Report,  that  many  very 
small  streams  in  the  country  over  which  this  road  passes  run  in  narrow 
channels,  the  bottoms  of  which  lie  from  one  to  three  feet  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth.  A  footman  can  step  over  many  of  them,  where,  from 
the  nature  of  the  soil  at  the  bottom,  a  horse  is  in  great  danger  of  being 
mired. 

"  After  crossing  the  last-mentioned  run  there  is  a  hill  of  which  in 
ascent  there  are  thirty  perches,  and  in  descent  twelve  perches  not  pas- 
sable for  waggons  for  want  of  digging.  Near  this  are  two  small  runs,  both 
difficult  to  pass. 

144 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  To  Phillipsburg  from  thence,  a  distance  of  more  than  eight  miles, 
the  Road  is  good,  excepting  some  very  swampy  ground  on  the  east  of 
what  is  called  the  five  mile  run,  and  some  miry  ground  at  Coldstream, 
one  mile  from  Phillipsburg.  Some  more  work  is  necessary  on  the  hill 
west  of  the  five  mile  run.  The  whole  distance  from  Milesburg  to  Phil- 
lipsburg is  twenty-six  miles. 

"  Passing  Phillipsburg  one  mile  is  Moshannon  creek.  It  is  not 
bridged  nor  is  it  fordable  at  the  place  where  the  Road  crosses  it  at  any 
season.  There  is  some  timber  prepared  at  the  place  for  a  bridge.  It  is 
about  six  perches  wide  with  steep  banks.  There  is  a  Fording  about  half 
a  mile  below.  Three  miles  further  the  road  is  good  excepting  a  few  wet 
places.  Within  two  miles  further  there  are  two  runs,  the  banks  of  which 
are  dug,  and  the  road  is  good. 

"  Thence  to  Clearfield  creek,  four  miles,  some  digging  done  in  two 
places,  and  on  the  hill  descending  to  Clearfield  forty  perches  are  well 
dug ;  the  road  is  good. 

"  Thence  to  the  Susquehanna  river,  five  miles,  the  road  good.  The 
breadth  of  the  river  is  twelve  perches. 

"Thence  to  Anderson's  creek,  nearly  three  miles,  some  digging  done 
on  Hogback  hill.  The  road  in  general  good. 

"  Thence  to  a  branch  of  Anderson's  creek,  about  eight  miles,  several 
places  dug  and  some  bridges  made :  the  road  is  tolerably  good.  More 
digging  and  bridging  wanted. 

"Thence  to  the  waters  of  Stump  creek,  about  three  miles,  several 
bridges  made  and  digging  done  in  some  places ;  the  road  good. 

"  Thence  five  miles,  crossing  two  ridges  on  each  of  which  there  is 
digging  done,  and  several  runs,  two  of  which  are  bridged.  In  the  latter 
part  of  these  five  miles  are  two  runs  necessary  to  be  bridged.  With  this 
exception  the  road  is  tolerably  good. 

"  Thence  to  a  branch  of  Sandy  Lick  creek,  about  six  miles,  in  several 
places  the  road  is  dug  and  some  bridges  made.  The  road  tolerably  good. 

"Thence  about  three  miles;  several  steep  banks,  deep  runs  and  wet 
places ;  road  not  passable. 

"  Thence  to  the  end  of  Col.  Miles'  opening  is  four  miles.  The  road 
good. 

"From  Milesburg  until  the  road  crosses  the  Susquehanna  the  road  is 
opened  from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  wide,  and  from  thence  to  the  end  it  is 
opened  from  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  wide.  The  whole  length  of  the  road 
opened  as  aforesaid  by  Col.  Miles  is  seventy-four  miles  and  eighty-six 

perches. 

(Signed)  "JNO.  FLEMING. 

"  December  i6th,  1801." 

Only  the  commonest  goods  were  hauled  into  this  county  from  Phila- 
delphia over  the  old  State  Road.  The  freightage  from  Philadelphia  to 

i45 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Port  Barnett  was  about  six  dollars  per  one  hundred  pounds,  and  it  took 
four  weeks  to  come  from  Philadelphia.  In  1800  wheat  brought  one  dollar 
and  a  half  a  bushel,  wheat  flour  four  and  five  dollars  per  one  hundred 
pounds,  corn  one  dollar  per  bushel,  oats  seventy-five  cents,  potatoes 
sixty-five  cents.  Tobacco  was  sold  by  the  yard  at  four  cents  per  yard, 
common  sugar  thirty-three  cents,  and  loaf  (white  sugar)  fifty  cents  per 
pound.  A  hunter's  rifle  cost  twenty-five  dollars,  a  yoke  of  oxen  eighty 
dollars,  boots  from  one  to  three  dollars,  a  pair  of  moccasins  about  three 
or  four  shillings. 

S.  B.  Rowe,  in  his  "Pioneer  History  of  Clearfield  County,"  says, 
"The  State,  in  order  to  connect  the  western  frontier  with  the  eastern 
settlements,  had  laid  out  several  roads,  among  others  one  leading  from 
Milesburg  to  Erie.  This  road  was  opened  in  the  year  1803.  It  crossed 
the  Susquehanna  River  near  the  residence  of  Benjamin  Jordan. 

"The  Milesburg  and  Le  Boeuff  road  became  subsequently  an  impor- 
tant and  leading  thoroughfare.  It  was  a  road  of  the  worst  kind,  laid  out 
with  very  little  skill,  and  made  with  a  great  deal  of  dishonesty.  It  had 
but  one  bridge — at  Moshannon — between  Bellefonte  and  Anderson's 
Creek,  and  to  avoid  digging  the  hill-side,  Anderson's  Creek  was  crossed 
three  times  in  less  than  two  miles.  Large  quantities  of  merchandise 
passed  over  it,  principally  upon  pack-horses,  companies  of  which,  ex- 
ceeding a  score  in  number,  might  often  be  seen  traversing  it.  Until  the 
place  of  this  road  was  supplied  by  an  artificial  road,  located  on  or  near  its 
bed,  it  was  the  principal  road  leading  to  Erie  and  the  great  West.  About 
the  time  the  State  Road  was  supplanted  by  the  turnpike  the  now  almost 
forgotten  Conestoga  wagon,  with  its  heavy  horses,  walking  leisurely  along, 
their  tread  measured  by  the  jingling  of  bells,  afforded  cheaper  and  better 
mode  of  transportation  for  goods.  A  trip  to  Philadelphia  to  purchase 
goods  or  to  '  see  the  sights'  of  that  village  was  then  quite  an  undertaking, 
and  called  for  weeks  of  preparation." 


"To  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THOMAS  McKEAN,  ESQUIRE,  Governor  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania  : 

"  Agreeably  to  your  Instructions  received  through  the  Secretary  of 
the  Commonwealth,  I  proceeded  to  review  that  part  of  the  road  leading 
from  Milesburg  to  Le  Boeuff,  opened  by  Major  Roger  Alden,  and  beg 
leave  to  submit  the  following  report  : 

"  Beginning  at  the  west  end  of  Col.  Samuel  Miles'  opening, 

"  2  miles,  a  hill  with  some  digging  ;  the  road  good. 

"  i  y2  miles  to  the  crossing  of  the  north  branch  of  Sandy  Lick  creek. 
The  road  good. 

"  9  m  farther.     The  road  good. 

"  4  m  of  rough  road.  There  is  in  this  distance  four  streams  of  water 

146 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

crossing  it,  with  bad  hills  on  each  side  of  each  of  them.     They  are  gen- 
erally all  dug  that  carriages  may  pass. 

"4m  farther  to  Toby's  creek :  some  digging  done  on  the  descent  of 
the  hill  going  down  to  the  creek — the  road  tolerably  good. 

"2m  farther  to  the  hill  descending  to  Little  Toby's  creek.  The 
road  good.  When  I  reported  before,  this  descent  to  the  creek  was  im- 
passable with  waggons ;  since  that  time  the  road  has  been  changed,  and 
laid  on  better  ground,  and  the  road  dug.  The  road  good.  West  of  the 
creek  the  road  is  somewhat  difficult  for  carriages. 

"4m.     The  road  passable  for  carriages. 

"  i  m.  A  hill  descending  to  Licking  creek,  bad,  as  is  also  the  hill 
on  the  west  side  of  the  creek.  There  is  some  digging  done  here.  These 
hills  comprehend  a  distance  exceeding  a  mile. 

.  "  10  m.    Road  good,  lying  on  chestnut  ridges.     In  this  distance  there 
is  little  difference  in  the  road. 

"4m  to  the  Allegheny  river,  lying  over  pine  ridges,  some  of  them 
steep.  The  hill  to  the  river  near  a  mile  long.  Since  my  last  report 
some  bridging  and  digging  has  been  done.  Passable  for  carriages. 

"6m  from  the  crossing  of  the  Allegheny  river  to  Pi  thole  creek.  The 
road  crosses  several  ridges,  one  of  which  is  dug. 

"2m  of  good  road. 

"  2  m  of  very  swampy  ground,  principally  bridged  and  causewayed. 
Passable  with  carriages. 

"3  m  to  the  crossing  of  the  south-east  branch  of  Oil  creek  There 
are  several  bridges  made  in  this  distance.  There  is  a  good  one  across  the 
creek.  The  road  good. 

"7m  to  the  crossing  of  the  N.  W.  branch  of  Oil  creek.  There  are 
several  bridges  made  in  this  distance.  Since  my  last  report  the  fording 
of  the  creek  is  changed  for  the  better. 

"  i  m.  West  of  the  creek  for  near  a  mile  the  road  is  altered,  making 
the  ascent  of  the  hills  that  I  noticed  easier.  They  are  still  difficult  for 
carriages. 

"  7  m  to  where  this  road  intersects  the  public  road  from  Pittsburg  to 
Le  Boeuff  by  the  way  of  Franklin.  In  this  distance  the  road  in  general 
is  good.  A  number  of  bridges  are  made  on  it. 

"  3  m  to  the  crossing  of  Muddy  creek — several  bridges  made.  The 
road  something  wet. 

"  12  m  to  the  crossing  of  French  creek — a  number  of  bridges  made. 

"  3  m  to  Le  Boeuff— a  number  of  bridges  made,  and  the  road  good. 
From  the  intersection  of  the  Franklin  road  to  Le  Boeuff  the  soil  is  gen- 
erally wet. 

"  I  would  generally  observe  that  a  considerable  quantity  of  timber  is 
fallen  across  the  road,  and  the  sprouts  in  such  quantities  grown  up  in 
many  places,  since  the  road  was  opened,  as  to  render  travelling  difficult. 

i47 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

There  has  not  been  any  cutting  done  since  I  reported,  unless  where  the 
road  is  changed  in  the  two  places  before  mentioned. 
"  I  am  Sir, 

"  Your  Excellency's  very  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  FLEMING." 

"AN  ACT  MAKING  APPROPRIATION  FOR  CERTAIN  INTERNAL  IMPROVE- 
MENTS. 

"  SECTION  14.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  sum  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
appropriated  to  be  paid  to  John  Litle  and  James  Weston,  for  improving 
the  following  roads  in  the  county  of  Erie :  to  wit,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  for  the  State  Road  from  Milesburgh  to  Waterford,  etc. 

"SECTION  17.  That  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  the  commissioners  of  Venango 
County  for  improving  the  following  roads  :  viz.,  .  .  .  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  for  the  State  Road  from  Waterford  to  Milesburgh,  where 
it  passes  through  the  county  of  Venango,  and  crosses  the  Allegheny  River 
at  the  ferry  of  Eli  Holeman. 

"SECTION  20.  That  the  sum  of  seven  hundred  dollars  be,  and  the 
same  is  hereby  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  the  commissioners  of  Indiana 
County  for  improving  the  State  Road  from  Milesburgh  to  Waterford,  where 
it  passes  through  the  county  of  Jefferson,  between  the  counties  of  Clear- 
field  and  Armstrong ;  and  that  the  further  sum  of  seven  hundred  dollars 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  the  commissioners 
of  Armstrong  County ;  three  hundred  dollars  thereof  for  improving  that 
part  of  the  Milesburgh  and  Waterford  road  which  passes  through  the 
County  of  Armstrong,  etc. 

"  SECTION  22.  That  the  sum  of  seven  hundred  dollars  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  the  commissioners  of  Centre  County 
for  improving  the  roads  in  Clearfield  County,  as  follows  :  viz.,  .  .  .  four 
hundred  dollars  for  the  road  from  Milesburgh  to  Waterford  between  the 
west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  and  the  line  between  the  counties 
of  Clearfield  and  Jefferson,  and  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  said  road 
from  Clearfield  Creek  to  the  line  of  Centre  County. 

"  SECTION  29.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners, 
and  trustees,  and  the  commissioners  appointed  by  this  act,  to  whom  the 
sums  hereby  appropriated  are  to  be  paid  respectively,  to  advertise  that 
proposals  will  be  received  at  a  certain  time  and  place,  to  be  by  them  fixed, 
for  making  the  improvements  in  this  act  specified,  and  shall  contract 
with  such  person  or  persons  as  will  in  their  judgment  secure  the  most 
advantageous  expenditure  of  the  several  sums  herein  appropriated ;  and 
they  shall  furnish  to  the  auditors  of  their  several  counties  a  detailed 
statement  of  the  manner  in  which  the  said  monies  shall  have  been  ex- 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

pended ;  and  the  county  commissioners,  and  trustees,  and  commissioners 
appointed  by  this  act,  as  soon  as  their  accounts  shall  have  been  settled 
and  adjusted,  shall  transmit  a  certified  copy  of  the  detailed  statement 
aforesaid  to  the  auditor-general,  together  with  the  vouchers,  which  ac- 
counts shall  be  settled  by  the  accountant  department  in  the  usual  manner. 

"SECTION  30.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  at  any  time  after  the  first  day  of  August  next,  the  State  treasurer  be, 
and  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  pay  to  the  county  commis- 
sioners, and  trustees,  and  commissioners  appointed  by  this  act,  on  their 
producing  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  several  contracts  have  been  made, 
and  the  necessary  securities  for  the  faithful  application  of  the  monies 
taken,  and  the  work  actually  commenced,  the  several  sums  hereby  appro- 
priated out  of  any  monies  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

"Approved — the  second  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 

and  eleven. 

"  SIMON  SNYDER." 

The  road  was  opened  and  finished  to  Holeman's  Ferry,  on  the  Alle- 
gheny River,  in  1804.  This  point  is  now  in  Forest  County.  There  was 
no  provision  made  to  complete  the  road  from  there  to  Waterford  by  the 
Legislature  until  1810.  At  that  time  Clarion  County  was  not  organized, 
and  the  part  of  the  State  Road  that  now  lies  in  Clarion  County  was  then 
in  Venango  County.  As  near  as  can  be  learned,  the  following  contracts 
were  let  for  work  on  the  road  in  the  year  1811  : 

"  Wm.  Hays  contracted  to  dig  a  part  of  said  road  on  the  north  side 
of  'Three  Mile  Run  at  40  cts.  per  perch.' 

"  Isaac  Connelly  contracted  to  dig  a  part  of  said  road  on  the  north 
side  of  '  Hemlock  Creek  at  50  cts.  per  perch.' 

"William  Hays  contracted  to  dig  and  open  a  part  of  said  road  on 
the  south  side  of  '  Hemlock  Creek  at  40  cts.  a  perch.' 

"Samuel  and  Alexander  McHatten  agree  to  open  and  bridge  a  part 
of  the  said  road  near  Hicks  cabin  at  eight  dollars. 

"  Charles  Holman  contracted  to  open  and  dig  a  part  of  said  road  for 
66  cts.  per  perch  for  digging,  and  a  reasonable  prize  for  any  part  which 
may  be  opened. 

"Samuel  and  Alexander  McHatten  contracted  to  dig  and  open  a  part 
of  said  road  at  57  cts.  a  perch  on  the  north  side  of  Little  Toby's  Creek. 

"Alexander  McElhaney  contracted  to  bridge  a  part  of  said  road, 
supposed  to  be  26  rods,  at  99  cts.  per  perch,  and  to  open  and  repair  at  a 
reasonable  price. 

"Samuel  and  Alex  McHatten  agree  to  dig  and  open  a  part  of  said 
road  on  Toby's  Creek  Hill  at  twenty-four  and  a  half  cents  per  perch." 

In  Brookville  the  State  Road  came  up  the  hill  between  Mrs.  Show- 
alter 's  and  the  Lutheran  church,  turned  to  the  right  and  over  what  is  now 
an  alley  between  Dr.  McKnight  and  Robert  Darrah. 

149 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    X. 

PIONEER  AGRICULTURE — HOW  THE  FARMERS  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME  HAD  TO 
MAKE  SHIFT — THE  PIONEER  HOMES — PIONEER  FOOD PIONEER  EVEN- 
ING FROLICS — TREES,  SNAKES,  AND  REPTILES — SOLDIERS  OF  l8l2 — 

PIONEER   LEGAL   RELATIONS    OF    MAN   AND    WIFE EARLY  'AND    PIONEER 

MUSIC — LIST  OF  TAXABLE  INHABITANTS  IN  1820 THE  TRANSPORTA- 
TION OF  IRON — THE  FIRST  SCREW  FACTORY — POPULATION  OF  THE 
STATE  AND  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

FOR  convenience  in  description  I  may  here  state  that  the  soil  of  Jef- 
ferson County  was  covered  in  sections  with  two  different  growths  of  tim- 
ber,— viz.,  sections  of  oak  and  other  hard -wood  timber,  with  underbrush 
and  saplings.  Some  of  these  sections  were  called  the  barrens.  The 
other  sections  were  covered  with  a  dense  and  heavy  growth  of  pine, 
hemlock,  poplar,  cucumber,  bass,  ash,  sugar,  and  beech,  with  saplings, 
down  timber,  and  underbrush  in  great  profusion.  The  mode  of  clearing 
in  these  different  sections  was  not  the  same.  In  the  first-mentioned  or 
sparsely  covered  section  the  preliminary  work  was  grubbing.  The  saplings 
and  underbrush  had  to  be  grubbed  up  and  out  with  a  mattock  and  piled 
in  brush-piles.  One  man  could  usually  grub  an  acre  in  four  days,  or  you 
could  let  this  at  a  job  for  two  dollars  per  acre  and  board.  The  standing 
timber  then  was  usually  girdled  or  deadened,  and  allowed  to  fall  down  in 
the  crops  from  year  to  year,  to  be  chopped  and  rolled  in  heaps  every  spring. 
In  the  dense  or  heavy  growth  timber  the  preliminary  work  was  underbrush- 
ing,  cutting  the  saplings  close  to  the  ground,  piling  the  brush  or  not,  as 
the  necessity  of  the  case  seemed  to  require.  The  second  step  was  the 
cutting  of  all  down  timber  into  lengths  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet.  After  this 
came  the  cutting  of  all  standing  timber,  which,  too,  had  to  be  brushed 
and  cut  into  twelve-  or  fifteen-foot  lengths.  This  latter  work  was  always 
a  winter's  job  for  the  farmer,  and  the  buds  on  these  falling  trees  made 
excellent  browsing  feed  for  his  cattle.  In  the  spring-time,  after  the  brush 
had  become  thoroughly  dry,  and  in  a  dry  time,  a  good  burn  of  the  brush, 
if  possible,  was  obtained.  The  next  part  of  the  process  was  logging, 
usually  after  harvest.  This  required  the  labor  of  five  men  and  a  team  of 
oxen, — one  driver  for  the  oxen  and  two  men  at  each  end  of  the  log-heap. 
Neighbors  would  "  morrow"  with  each  other,  and  on  such  occasions  each 
neighbor  usually  brought  his  own  handspike.  This  was  a  round  pole, 
usually  made  of  beech-,  dog-,  or  iron  wood,  without  any  iron  on  or  in  it, 
about  six  feet  long,  and  sharpened  at  the  large  end.  Logs  were  rolled  on 
the  pile  over  skids.  Sometimes  the  cattle  were  made  to  draw  or  roll  the 
logs  on  the  heap.  These  piles  were  then  burned,  and  the  soil  was  ready 

150 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

for  the  drag  or  the  triangular  harrow.  I  have  looked  like  a  negro  many 
a  time  while  working  at  this  logging.  Then  money  was  scarce,  labor 
plenty  and  cheap,  and  amusements  few,  hence  grubbing,  chopping,  and 
logging  "frolics"  were  frequent  and  popular.  For  each  frolic  one  or 
more  two-gallon  jugs  of  whiskey  were  indispensable.  A  jolly  good  time 
was  had,  as  well  as  a  good  dinner  and  supper,  and  every  one  in  the 
neighborhood  expected  an  invitation. 

As  there  was  a  fence  law  then,  the  ground  had  to  be  fenced,  accord- 
ing to  this  law,  "horse-high,  bull-strong,  and  hog-tight."  The  effort 
made  by  the  pioneer  to  obey  this  law  was  in  four  ways, — viz. :  First,  by 
slashing  trees  and  placing  brush  upon  the  trees ;  second,  by  using  the 
logs  from  the  clearing  for  the  purpose  of  a  fence ;  third,  by  a  post-  and 
rail-fence,  built  straight,  and  the  end  of  each  rail  sharpened  and  fastened 
in  a  mortised  post ;  fourth,  by  the  common  rail-  or  worm-fence.  These 
rails  were  made  of  ash,  hickory,  chesnut,  linn,  and  pine.  The  usual  price 
for  making  rails  per  hundred  was  fifty  cents  with  board.  I  have  made 
them  by  contract  at  that  price  myself. 

"  I  seem  to  see  the  low  rail-fence, 

That  worming  onward  mile  on  mile, 
Was  redolent  with  pungent  scents 

Of  sassafras  and  camomile. 
Within  a  fence-rail  tall  and  bare, 
The  saucy  bluebird  nested  there ; 
'Twas  there  the  largest  berries  grew, 
As  every  barefoot  urchin  knew  ! 
And  swiftly,  shyly  creeping  through 

The  tangled  vine  and  the  bramble  dense, 
The  mingled  sunshine  and  the  dew, 

The  Bob- White  perched  atop  the  fence ; 
And,  flinging  toil  and  care  away, 
He  piped  and  lilted  all  the  day." 

In  1799,  when  Joseph  Hutchison  lived  here,  wheat  sold  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  State  for  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  flour  for  eighteen 
dollars  per  barrel,  corn  two  dollars,  oats  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  and 
potatoes  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel. 

The  early  axes  were  called  pole-axes.  They  were  rude,  clumsy,  and 
heavy,  with  a  single  bit.  About  1815  an  improved  Yankee  single-bit 
axe  was  introduced,  but  it,  too,  was  heavy  and  clumsy.  In  about  1825 
the  present  double-bitted  axe  came  to  be  occasionally  used. 

I  have  never  seen  the  wooden  plough,  but  I  have  seen  them  with  the 
iron  shoe  point  and  coulter.  These  were  still  in  use  in  the  late  twenties. 
I  have  driven  an  ox-team  to  the  drag  or  triangular  harrow.  This  was  the 
principal  implement  used  in  seeding  ground,  both  before  and  after  the 
introduction  of  the  shovel-plough  in  1843. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"The  greatest  improvement  ever  made  on  ploughs,  in  this  or  any 
other  country,  was  made  by  Charles  Newbold,  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey, 
and  patented  in  1797.  The  mould-board,  share,  landside,  and  point  were 
all  cast  together  in  one  solid  piece.  The  plough  was  all  cast  iron  except 
the  beam  and  handles.  The  importance  of  this  invention  was  so  great 
that  it  attracted  the  attention  of  plough-makers  and  scientific  men  all 
over  the  country.  Thomas  Jefferson  (afterwards  President  of  the  United 
States)  wrote  a  treatise  on  ploughs,  with  a  particular  reference  to  the 
Newbold  plough.  He  described  the  requisite  form  of  the  mould-board, 
according  to  scientific  principles,  and  calculated  the  proper  form  and  cur- 
vature of  the  mould-board  to  lessen  the  friction  and  lighten  the  draught. 

"  The  Newbold  plough  would  have  been  nearly  perfect  had  it  not 
been  for  one  serious  defect.  When  the  point,  for  instance,  was  worn  out, 
which  would  soon  be  accomplished,  the  plough  was  ruined  and  had  to 
be  thrown  aside.  This  defect,  however,  was  happily  remedied  by  Jethro 
Wood,  who  was  the  first  to  cast  the  plough  in  sections,  so  that  the  parts 
most  exposed  to  wear  could  be  replaced  from  the  same  pattern,  by  which 
means  the  cast-iron  plough  became  a  complete  success.  His  plough  was 
patented  in  1819,  twenty-two  years  after  Newbold's  patent.  It  is  a  won- 
der that  so  long  a  time  should  have  elapsed  before  any  one  thought  of 
this  improvement.  These  two  men  did  more  for  the  farmers  in  relation 
to  ploughs  than  any  others  before  their  time  or  since. ' ' 

In  harvest-time  the  grain  was  first  reaped  with  a  sickle ;  then  came 
the  cradle.  In  my  boyhood  all  the  lying  grain  thrown  down  by  storms 
was  still  reaped  with  a  sickle.  I  carry  the  evidence  of  this  on  my  fingers. 
Grain  was  usually  thrashed  by  a  flail,  though  some  tramped  it  out  with 
horses.  By  the  flail  ten  bushels  of  wheat  or  twenty  bushels  of  oats  was 
a  good  day's  work.  Men  who  travelled  around  thrashing  on  shares  with 
the  flail  charged  every  tenth  bushel,  including  board.  The  tramping 
was  done  by  horses  and  by  farmers  who  had  good  or  extra  barn  floors. 
The  sheaves  were  laid  in  a  circle,  a  man  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  circle 
to  turn  up  and  over  the  straw  as  needed,  and  then,  with  a  boy  to  ride 
one  horse  and  lead  another,  the  "  tramping"  in  this  circuit  commenced. 
This  was  hard  work  for  the  boy ;  it  made  him  tired  and  sore  where  he  sat 
down.  To  prevent  dizziness,  the  travel  on  the  circuit  was  frequently  re- 
versed. One  man,  a  boy,  and  two  horses  could  tramp  out  in  this  way 
in  a  day  about  fifteen  bushels  of  wheat  or  thirty-five  bushels  of  oats. 
Grain  was  cleaned  by  means  of  two  hand-riddles,  one  coarse  and  one  fine. 
These  riddles  had  no  iron  or  steel  about  them,  the  bottom  of  each  being 
made  of  wooden  splints  woven  in.  The  riddles  were  two  and  one-half 
feet  in  diameter  and  the  rings  about  four  inches  wide.  Three  men  were 
required  to  clean  the  grain, — one  to  shake  the  riddle,  while  two  others, 
one  at  each  end  of  a  tow  sheet,  doubled,  swayed  the  sheet  to  and  fro  in 
front  of  the  man  shaking  the  riddle.  These  three  men  in  this  way  could 

152 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

clean  about  ten  or  fifteen  bushels  of  wheat  in  a  day.  This  process  was 
practised  in  the  twenties.  Windmills  came  into  use  about  1825.  For 
many  years  there  were  extremely  few  wagons  and  but  poor  roads  on 
which  to  use  them.  The  early  vehicles  were  the  prongs  of  a  tree,  a  sled 
made  of  saplings,  called  a  "pung,"  and  ox-carts.  In  fact,  about  all  the 
work  was  done  with  oxen,  and  in  driving  his  cattle  the  old  settler  would 
halloo  with  all  his  might  and  swear  profusely.  This  profanity  and  hal- 
looing was  thought  to  be  necessary.  The  pioneer  sled  was  made  with 
heavy  single  runners,  the  "  bob" -sled  being  a  later  innovation. 

"  HAYING   IN   THE   OLDEN   TIME. 

"  Haying  in  the  old  days  was  a  much  more  formidable  yearly  under- 
taking than  it  is  to  modern  farmers.  Before  the  era  of  labor-saving 
haying  implements  farmers  began  the  work  of  haying  early  in  the  day 
and  season,  and  toiled  hard  until  both  were  far  spent.  Human  muscle 
was  strained  to  exert  a  force  equal  to  the  then  unused  horse-power.  On 
large  farms  many  '  hands'  were  required.  Haying  was  an  event  of  im- 
portance in  the  farmer's  year.  It  made  great  demands  upon  his  time, 
strength,  and  pocket-book.  His  best  helpers  were  engaged  long  in  ad- 
vance, sometimes  a  whole  season.  Ability  to  handle  a  scythe  well  enti- 
tled a  man  to  respect  while  haying  lasted.  Experts  took  as  much  pains 
with  a  scythe  as  with  a  razor.  Boys  of  to-day  have  never  seen  such  a 
sight  as  a  dozen  stalwart  men  mowing  a  dozen-acre  field. 

"  On  the  first  day  of  haying,  almost  before  the  sun  was  up,  the  men 
would  be  at  the  field  ready  to  begin.  The  question  to  be  settled  at  the 
very  outset  was  as  to  which  man  should  cut  the  '  double.'  This  was  the 
first  swath  to  be  cut  down  and  back  through  the  centre  of  the  field. 

"  The  boys  brought  up  the  rear  in  the  line  of  mowers.  Their  scythes 
were  hung  well  'in,'  to  cut  a  narrow  swath.  They  were  told  to  stand 
up  straight  when  mowing,  point  in,  keep  the  heel  of  the  scythe  down, 
and  point  out  evenly,  so  as  not  to  leave  '  hog-troughs'  on  the  meadow 
when  the  hay  was  raked  up.  Impatient  of  these  admonitions,  they 
thought  they  could  mow  pretty  well,  and  looked  ambitiously  forward  to 
a  time  when  they  might  cut  the  '  double.'  ' 

DRESS  OF   MEN. 

Moccasin  shoes,  buckskin  breeches,  blue  broadcloth  coats  and  brass 
buttons,  fawn-skin  vests,  roundabouts,  and  woollen  warmuses,  leather  or 
woollen  gallowses,  coon-  or  seal-skin  caps  in  winter  with  chip  or  oat-straw 
hats  for  summer.  Every  neighborhood  had  then  usually  one  itinerant 
shoemaker  and  tailor,  who  periodically  visited  cabins  and  made  up  shoes 
or  clothes  as  required.  All  material  had  to  be  furnished,  and  these  itin- 
erant mechanics  worked  for  fifty  cents  a  day  and  board.  Corduroy  pants 
and  corduroy  overalls  were  common. 
ii  153 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  warmuses,  breeches,  and  hunting-shirts  of  the  men,  the  linsey 
petticoats,  dresses,  and  bed-gowns  of  the  women,  were  all  hung  in  some 
corner  of  the  cabin  on  wooden  pegs.  To  some  extent  this  was  a  display 

of  pioneer  wealth. 

DRESS   OF   WOMEN. 

Home  made  woollen  cloth,  tow,  linen,  linsey-woolsey,  etc.  I  have 
seen  "barefoot  girls  with  cheek  of  tan"  walk  three  or  four  miles  to 
church,  when,  on  nearing  the  church,  they  would  step  into  the  woods  to 
put  on  a  pair  of  shoes  they  carried  with  them.  I  could  name  some  of 
these  who  are  living  to-day.  A  woman  who  could  buy  eight  or  ten  yards 
of  calico  for  a  dress  at  a  dollar  a  yard  put  on  queenly  airs.  Every  married 
woman  of  any  refinement  then  wore  day-caps  and  night-caps.  The 
bonnets  were  beaver,  gimp,  leghorn,  and  sun-bonnets.  For  shoes,  women 
usually  went  barefoot  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  covered  their  feet 
with  moccasins,  calf-skin  shoes,  buffalo  overshoes,  and  shoe-packs. 

Linen  and  tow  cloth  were  made  from  flax.  The  seed  was  sown  in  the 
early  spring  and  ripened  about  August.  It  was  harvested  by  "pulling." 
This  was  generally  done  by  a  "pulling  frolic"  of  young  people  pulling 
it  out  by  the  root.  It  was  then  tied  in  little  sheaves  and  permitted  to 
dry,  hauled  in,  and  thrashed  for  the  seed.  Then  the  straw  was  watered 
and  rotted  by  laying  it  on  the  ground  out  of  doors.  Then  the  straw  was 
again  dried  and  "  broken  in  the  flax-break,"  after  which  it  was  again  tied 
up  in  little  bundles  and  then  scutched  with  a  wooden  knife.  This  scutch- 
ing was  a  frolic  job  too,  and  a  dirty  one.  Then  it  was  hackled.  This 
hackling  process  separated  the  linen  part  from  the  tow.  The  rest  of  the 
process  consisted  of  spinning,  weaving,  and  dyeing.  Linen  cloth  sold  for 
about  twenty-four  cents  a  yard,  tow  cloth  for  about  twenty  cents  a  yard. 

In  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  of  1837  to  amend  the  con- 
stitution I  find  the  occupation  of  the  members  elected  to  that  body  to  be 
as  follows, — viz.:  Farmers,  51;  iron-masters,  3;  manufacturer,  i;  me- 
chanics, 2 ;  house-carpenters,  2 ;  brick-maker,  i ;  paper-maker,  i  ; 
printers,  2;  potter,  i ;  judge,  i  ;  attorneys,  41 ;  doctors,  12;  editor,  i  ; 
merchants,  9;  surveyors,  4;  clerks,  4;  total  membership,  136.  From 
this  it  will  be  seen  that  farmers  received  proper  recognition  in  the  earlier 
elections. 

THE  PIONEER  HOMES  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

"  This  is  the  land  our  fathers  loved, 

The  homestead  which  they  toiled  to  win. 
This  is  the  ground  whereon  they  moved, 
And  here  are  the  graves  they  slumber  in." 

The  home  of  the  pioneer  in  Jefferson  County  was  a  log  cabin,  one 
story  high,  chinked  and  daubed,  having  a  fireplace  in  one  end,  with  a 
chimney  built  of  sticks  and  mud,  and  in  one  corner  always  stood  a  big 

i54 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


wooden  poker  to  turn  back-logs  or  punch  the  fire.  These  cabins  were 
usually  small,  but  some  were  perhaps  twenty  by  thirty  feet,  with  a  hole 
cut  in  two  logs  for  a  single  window, — oiled  paper  being  used  for  glass. 


For  Brussels  carpet  they  had  puncheon  floors,  and  a  clapboard  roof  held 
down  by  weight  poles  to  protect  them  from  the  storm.  Wooden  pegs 
were  driven  in  the  logs  for  the  wardrobe,  the  rifle,  and  the  powder-horn. 
Wooden  benches  and  stools  were  a  luxury  upon  which  to  rest  or  sit  while 
feasting  on  mush  and  milk,  buckwheat  cakes,  hog  and  hominy. 

155 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Hospitality  in  this  log  cabin  was  simple,  hearty,  and  unbounded. 
Whiskey  was  pure,  cheap,  and  plenty,  and  was  lavished  bountifully  on 
each  and  all  social  occasions.  Every  settler  had  his  jug  or  barrel.  It 
was  the  drink  of  drinks  at  all  merry-makings,  grubbings,  loggings,  chop- 
pings,  house-warmings,  and  weddings.  A  drink  of  whiskey  was  always 
proffered  to  the  visitor  or  traveller  who  chanced  to  call  or  spend  a  night 
in  these  log  cabins. 

Puncheon  boards  or  planks  were  made  from  a  log  of  straight  grain 
and  clear  of  knots,  and  of  the  proper  length,  which  was  split  into  parts 


Cabin  barn. 

and  the  face  of  each  part  smoothed  with  a  broadaxe.  The  split  parts 
had  to  be  all  started  at  the  same  time,  with  wedges  at  the  end  of  the 
log,  each  wedge  being  struck  alternately  with  a  maul  until  all  the  parts 
were  separated. 

The  furniture  for  the  table  of  the  pioneer  log  cabins  consisted  of 
pewter  dishes,  plates,  and  spoons,  or  wooden  bowls,  plates,  and  noggins. 
If  noggins  were  scarce,  gourds  and  hard-shelled  squashes  answered  for 
drinking-cups. 

The  iron  pots,  knives  and  forks,  along  with  the  salt  and  iron,  were 

156 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

brought  to  the  wilderness  on  pack-horses  over  Meade's  trail  or  over  the 
Milesburg  and  Le  Boeuf  State  road. 

Some  of  these  log  cabins  near  Brookville  were  still  occupied  in  the 
forties.  I  have  been  in  many  of  them  in  my  childhood.  In  proof  of  the 
smallness  of  the  early  cabin  I  reproduce  the  testimony  on  oath  of  Thomas 
Lucas,  Esq.,  in  the  following  celebrated  ejectment  case, — viz.  : 

"EJECTMENT. 

"  In  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Jefferson  County.  Ejectment  for 
sixteen  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Pine  Creek  township.  Elijah  Heath  vs. 
Joshua  Knap,  et  al. 

"  i6th  September,  1841,  a  jury  was  called  per  minets.  The  plaintiff 
after  having  opened  his  case  in  support  of  the  issue,  gave  in  evidence  as 
follows  : 

"  Thomas  Lucas. — Masons  have  in  the  surveys  about  twelve  acres  of 
land,  a  cabin  house,  and  stable  thereon.  They  live  near  the  line  of  the 
town  tract,  the  town  tract  takes  in  the  apple-trees  ;  think  they  claim  on 
some  improvement.  Some  of  this  improvement  I  think  is  thirty-five 
years  old, — this  was  the  Mason  claim.  The  first  improvement  was  made 
in  1802  ;  I  call  it  the  Pickering  survey,  only  an  interference.  Jacob  Mason 
has  been  living  off  and  on  since  1802, — two  small  cabin  houses  on  the 
interference,  one  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  square,  the  other  very  small, 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet, — a  log  stable." 

At  this  time  and  before  it  many  of  these  cabins  were  lighted  by 
means  of  a  half  window, — viz.,  one  window-sash,  containing  from  four  to 
six  panes  of  seven  by  nine  glass.  Up  to  and  even  at  this  date  (1841)  the 
usual  light  at  night  in  these  cabins  was  the  old  iron  lamp,  something  like 
the  miner  wears  in  his  hat,  or  else  a  dish  containing  refuse  grease,  with 
a  rag  in  it.  Each  smoked  and  gave  a  dismal  light,  yet  women  cooked, 
spun,  and  sewed  and  men  read  the  few  books  they  had  as  best  they  could. 
The  aroma  from  this  refuse  grease  was  simply  horrible.  The  cabin  was 
daily  swept  with  a  split  broom  made  of  hickory.  The  hinges  and  latches 
of  these  cabins  were  made  of  wood.  The  latch  on  the  door  was  raised  from 
without  by  means  of  a  buckskin  string.  At  night,  as  a  means  of  safety, 
the  string  was  "  pulled  in,"  and  this  locked  the  door.  As  a  further  mark 
of  refinement  each  cabin  was  generally  guarded  by  from  two  to  six 
worthless  dogs. 

Of  pests  in  and  around  the  old  cabin,  the  house-fly,  the  bed-bug,  and 
the  louse  were  the  most  common  on  the  inside ;  the  gnat,  the  wood-tick, 
and  the  horse-fly  on  the  outside.  It  was  a  constant  fight  for  life  with 
man,  cattle,  and  horses  against  the  gnat,  the  tick,  and  the  horse-fly,  and 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  protection  of  what  were  called  "  gnat-fires," 
life  could  not  have  been  sustained,  or  at  least  it  would  have  been  unen- 
durable. The  only  thing  to  dispel  these  outside  pests  was  to  clear  land 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  let  in  the  sunshine.     As  an  all-around  pest  in  the  cabin  and  out,  day 
and  night,  there  was  the  flea. 

PIONEER    FOOD— WHAT   THE   PIONEER    COULD    HAVE,   OR    DID 
HAVE,  TO   EAT. 

Buckwheat  cakes,  mush, .and  souens,  corn-mush  and  milk,  rye-mush 
and  bread,  hominy,  potatoes,  turnips,  wild  onions  or  wramps,  wild 
meats,  wild  birds,  fish,  and  wild  fruits. 

In  the  early  cooking  everything  was  boiled  and  baked  ;  this  was 
healthy.  There  was  no  "rare  fad,"  with  its  injurious  results.  The 
common  dishes  served  were  wheat-  and  rye  bread,  wheat-  and  rye-mush, 
corn-pone,  cakes,  and  mush,  sweet  and  buttermilk  boiled  and  thickened, 
doughnuts,  and  baked  pot-pies.  Soda  was  made  by  burning  corn-cobs. 

Buckwheat  souens  was  a  great  pioneer  dish.  It  was  made  in  this 
wise  :  Mix  your  buckwheat  flour  and  water  in  the  morning ;  add  to  this 
enough  yeast  to  make  the  batter  light ;  then  let  it  stand  until  evening,  or 
until  the  batter  is  real  sour.  Now  stir  this  batter  into  boiling  water  and 
boil  until  it  is  thoroughly  cooked,  like  corn  mush.  Eat  hot  or  cold  with 
milk  or  cream. 

MEATS. 

Hogs,  bears,  elks,  deer,  rabbits,  squirrels,  and  woodchucks. 

The  saddles  or  hams  of  the  deer  were  salted  by  the  pioneer,  then 
smoked  and  dried.  This  was  a  great  luxury,  and  could  be  kept  all  the 
year  through. 

The  late  Dr.  Clarke  wrote,  "Wild  game,  such  as  elks,  deer,  bears, 
turkeys,  and  partridges,  were  numerous,  and  for  many  years  constituted 
an  important  part  of  the  animal  food  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  wilder- 
ness. Wolves  and  panthers  came  in  for  a  share  of  this  game,  until  they, 
too,  became  game  for  the  hunters  by  the  public  and  legal  offer  of  boun- 
ties to  be  paid  for  their  scalps,  or  rather  for  their  ears,  for  a  perfect  pair 
of  ears  was  required  to  secure  the  bounty.  All  these  have  become  nearly 
extinct.  The  sturdy  elk  no  longer  roves  over  the  hills  or  sips  '  salty 
sweetness'  from  the  licks.  The  peculiar  voice  of  the  stately  strutting 
wild  turkey  is  heard  no  more.  The  howl  of  the  wolf  and  the  panther's 
cry  no  longer  alarm  the  traveller  as  he  winds  his  way  over  the  hills  or 
through  the  valleys,  and  the  flocks  are  now  permitted  to  rest  in  peace. 
Even  the  wild  deer  is  now  seldom  seen,  and  a  nice  venison  steak  rarely 
gives  its  delicious  aroma  among  the  shining  plate  of  modern  well-set 
tables." 

FISH. 

Pike,  bass,  catfish,  suckers,  sunfish,  horn-chubs,  mountain  trout,  and 
eels. 

The  old  settler  shot,  seined,  hooked  with  a  line,  and  gigged  his  fish. 
Gigging  was  done  at  night  by  means  of  a  light  made  from  burning  fagots 

158 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  pitch-pine.  It  usually  required  three  to  do  this  gigging,  whether 
"  wading"  or  in  a  canoe, — one  to  carry  the  light  ahead,  one  to  gig,  and 
one  to  care  for  the  fish. 

BIRDS. 

Pheasants  were  plentiful,  and  enlivened  the  forests  with  their  drum- 
ming. The  waters  and  woods  were  full  of  wild  ducks,  geese,  pigeons, 
and  turkeys. 

The  most  remarkable  bird  in  America  was  the  wild  turkey.  It  is 
the  original  turkey,  and  is  the  stock  from  which  the  tame  turkeys  sprung. 
In  the  wild  state  it  was  to  be  found  in  the  wooded  lands  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  pioneer  times  it  was  called  gobbler  or  Bubly 
Jock  by  the  whites,  and  Oo-coo-coo  by  the  Indians.  Our  pioneer 
hunters  could  mimic  or  imitate  the  gobbling  of  a  turkey,  and  this  decep- 
tive ruse  was  greatly  practised  to  excite  the  curiosity  and  bring  the  bird 
within  shooting  distance.  The  last  wild  turkey  in  our  county  was  killed 
in  the  seventies  near  the  town  of  False  Creek. 

To  obtain  a  turkey  roast  when  needed,  the  pioneer  sometimes  built  in 
the  woods  a  pen  of  round  logs  and  covered  it  with  brush.  Whole  flocks 
of  turkeys  were  sometimes  caught  in  these  pens,  built  in  this  wise : 

"  First,  a  narrow  ditch,  about  six  feet  long  and  two  feet  deep,  was 
dug.  Over  this  trench  the  pen  was  built,  leaving  a  few  feet  of  the  chan- 
nel outside  of  the  enclosure.  The  end  of  the  part  of  the  trench  enclosed 
was  usually  about  the  middle  of  the  pen.  Over  the  ditch,  near  the  wall 
of  the  pen,  boards  were  laid.  The  pen  was  made  tight  enough  to  hold 
a  turkey  and  covered  with  poles.  Then  corn  was  scattered  about  on  the 
inside,  and  the  ditch  outside  baited  with  the  same  grain.  Sometimes 
straw  was  also  scattered  about  in  the  pen.  Then  the  trap  was  ready  for  its 
victims.  The  turkeys  came  to  the  pen,  began  to  pick  up  the  corn,  and 
followed  the  trench  within.  When  they  had  eaten  enough,  the  birds 
tried  to  get  out  by  walking  around  the  pen,  looking  up  all  the  time. 
They  would  cross  the  ditch  on  the  boards,  and  never  think  of  going  to 
the  opening  in  the  ground  at  the  centre  of  the  pen.  When  the  hunter 
found  his  game  he  had  only  to  crawl  into  the  pen  through  the  trench  and 
kill  the  birds." 

In  the  fall  turkeys  became  very  fat,  and  gobblers  were  sometimes 
captured  for  Christmas  in  this  way  weighing  over  twenty  pounds. 

FRUITS. 

Apples,  crab-apples,  wild,  red,  and  yellow  plums,  blackberries, 
huckleberries,  elderberries,  wild  strawberries,  choke-cherries,  and  wild 
gooseberries. 

SWEETS. 

Domestic  and  wild  honey,  maple-sugar,  maple -molasses,  and  corn-cob 
molasses.  Bee-trees  were  numerous,  and  would  frequently  yield  from 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

eight  to  twelve  gallons  of  excellent  honey.     These  trees  had  to  be  cut  in 
the  night  by  the  light  of  pitch-pine  fagots. 

DRINK. 

Metheglin,  a  drink  made  from  honey;  whiskey,  small  beer,  rye 
coffee,  buttermilk,  and  fern,  sassafras,  sage,  and  mint  teas. 

To  fully  illustrate  the  pioneer  days  I  quote  from  the  "  History  of 
Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania," — viz.  : 

"  The  habits  of  the  pioneers  were  of  a  simplicity  and  purity  in  con- 
formance  to  their  surroundings  and  belongings.  The  men  were  engaged 
in  the  herculean  labor,  day  after  day,  of  enlarging  the  little  patch  of  sun- 
shine about  their  homes,  cutting  away  the  forest,  burning  off  the  brush 
and  debris,  preparing  the  soil,  planting,  tending,  harvesting,  caring  for 
the  few  animals  which  they  brought  with  them  or  soon  procured,  and  in 
hunting.  While  they  were  engaged  in  the  heavy  labor  of  the  field  and 
forest,  or  following  the  deer,  or  seeking  other  game,  their  helpmeets  were 
busied  with  their  household  duties,  providing  for  the  day  and  for  the 
winter  coming  on,  cooking,  making  clothes,  spinning,  and  weaving. 
They  were  fitted  by  nature  and  experience  to  be  the  consorts  of  the 
brave  men  who  first  came  into  the  western  wilderness.  They  were  heroic 
in  their  endurance  of  hardship  and  privation  and  loneliness. 

"Their  industry  was  well  directed  and  unceasing.  Woman's  work 
then,  like  man's,  was  performed  under  disadvantages,  which  have  been 
removed  in  later  years.  She  had  not  only  the  common  household  duties 
to  perform,  but  many  others.  She  not  only  made  the  clothing,  but  the 
fabric  for  it.  That  old,  old  occupation  of  spinning  and  of  weaving, 
with  which  woman's  name  has  been  associated  in  all  history,  and  of  which 
the  modern  world  knows  nothing,  except  through  the  stories  of  those 
who  are  great-grandmothers  now, — that  old  occupation  of  spinning  and 
weaving  which  seems  surrounded  with  a  glamour  of  romance  as  we  look 
back  to  it  through  tradition  and  poetry,  and  which  always  conjures  up 
thoughts  of  the  graces  and  virtues  of  the  dames  and  damsels  of  a  genera- 
tion that  is  gone, — that  old,  old  occupation  of  spinning  and  of  weaving 
was  the  chief  industry  of  the  pioneer  woman.  Every  cabin  sounded  with 
the  softly  whirring  wheel  and  the  rhythmic  thud  of  the  loom.  The  woman 
of  pioneer  times  was  like  the  woman  described  by  Solomon  :  '  She  seeketh 
wool  and  flax,  and  worketh  willingly  with  her  hands ;  she  layeth  her 
hands  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold  the  distaff.' 

"Almost  every  article  of  clothing,  all  of  the  cloth  in  use  in  the  old 
log  cabins,  was  the  product  of  the  patient  woman-weaver's  toil.  She  spun 
the  flax  and  wove  the  cloth  for  shirts,  pantaloons,  frocks,  sheets,  and 
blankets.  The  linen  and  the  wool,  the  '  linsey-woolsey'  woven  by  the 
housewife,  formed  all  of  the  material  for  the  clothing  of  both  men  and 

women,  except  such  articles  as  were  made  of  skins.     The  men  commonly 

160 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

wore  the  hunting-shirt,  a  kind  of  loose  frock  reaching  half-way  down  the 
figure,  open  before,  and  so  wide  as  to  lap  over  a  foot  or  more  upon  the 
chest.  This  generally  had  a  cape,  which  was  often  fringed  with  a  ravelled 
piece  of  cloth  of  a  different  color  from  that  which  composed  the  garment. 
The  bosom  of  the  hunting- shirt  answered  as  a  pouch,  in  which  could  be 
carried  the  various  articles  that  the  hunter  or  woodsman  would  need.  It 
was  always  worn  belted,  and  made  out  of  coarse  linen,  or  linsey,  or  of 
dressed  deer-skin,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  wearer.  Breeches  were 
made  of  heavy  cloth  or  of  deer-skin,  and  were  often  worn  with  leggings 
of  the  same  material  or  of  some  kind  of  leather,  while  the  feet  were  most 
usually  encased  in  moccasins,  which  were  easily  and  quickly  made,  though 
they  needed  frequent  mending.  The  deer- skin  breeches  or  drawers  were 
very  comfortable  when  dry,  but  when  they  became  wet  were  very  cold  to 
the  limbs,  and  the  next  time  they  were  put  on  were  almost  as  stiff  as  if 
made  of  wood.  Hats  or  caps  were  made  of  the  various  native  furs.  The 
women  were  clothed  in  linsey  petticoats,  coarse  shoes  and  stockings,  and 
wore  buckskin  gloves  or  mittens  when  any  protection  was  required  for 
the  hands.  All  of  the  wearing  apparel,  like  that  of  the  men,  was  made 
with  a  view  to  being  serviceable  and  comfortable,  and  all  was  of  home 
manufacture.  Other  articles  and  finer  ones  were  sometimes  worn,  but 
they  had  been  brought  from  former  homes,  and  were  usually  relics 
handed  down  from  parents  to  children.  Jewelry  was  not  common,  but 
occasionally  some  ornament  was  displayed.  In  the  cabins  of  the  more 
cultivated  pioneers  were  usually  a  few  books,  and  the  long  winter  even- 
ings were  spent  in  poring  over  these  well-thumbed  volumes  by  the  light 
of  the  great  log-fire,  in  knitting,  mending,  curing  furs,  or  some  similar 
occupation. 

"As  the  settlement  increased,  the  sense  of  loneliness  and  isolation 
was  dispelled,  the  asperities  of  life  were  softened  and  its  amenities  multi- 
plied ;  social  gatherings  became  more  numerous  and  more  enjoyable. 
The  log-rollings,  harvestings,  and  husking-bees  for  the  men,  and  apple- 
butter  making  and  the  quilting-parties  for  the  women,  furnished  frequent 
occasions  for  social  intercourse.  The  early  settlers  took  much  pleasure 
and  pride  in  rifle-shooting,  and  as  they  were  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
the  gun  as  a  means  often  of  obtaining  a  subsistence,  and  relied  upon  it  as 
a  weapon  of  defence,  they  exhibited  considerable  skill. 

"Foot-racing,  wrestling,  and  jumping  matches  were  common.  The 
jumping  matches  consisted  of  the  'single  jump,'  backward  jump,  high 
jump,  three  jumps,  and  the  running  hop,  step,  and  jump. 

"  A  wedding  was  the  event  of  most  importance  in  the  sparsely  settled 
new  country.  The  young  people  had  every  inducement  to  marry,  and 
generally  did  so  as  soon  as  able  to  provide  for  themselves.  When  a  mar- 
riage was  to  be  celebrated,  all  the  neighborhood  turned  out.  It  was 
customary  to  have  the  ceremony  performed  before  dinner,  and  in  order 

161 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  be  in  time,  the  groom  and  his  attendants  usually  started  from  his 
father's  house  in  the  morning  for  that  of  the  bride.  All  went  on  horse- 
back, riding  in  single  file  along  the  narrow  trail.  Arriving  at  the  cabin 
of  the  bride's  parents,  the  ceremony  would  be  performed,  and  after 
that  dinner  served.  This  would  be  a  substantial  backwoods  feast,  of 
beef,  pork,  fowls,  and  bear-  or  deer-meat,  with  such  vegetables  as  could 
be  procured.  The  greatest  hilarity  prevailed  during  the  meal.  After  it 
was  over,  the  dancing  began,  and  was  usually  kept  up  till  the  next  morn- 
ing, though  the  newly  made  husband  and  wife  were,  as  a  general  thing, 
put  to  bed  in  the  most  approved  fashion  and  with  considerable  formality 
in  the  middle  of  the  evening's  hilarity.  The  tall  young  men,  when  they 
went  on  the  floor  to  dance,  had  to  take  their  places  with  care  between 
the  logs  that  supported  the  loft-floor,  or  they  were  in  danger  of  bumping 
their  heads.  The  figures  of  the  dances  were  three-  and  four-hand  reels, 
or  square  sets  and  jigs.  The  commencement  was  always  a  square  four, 
which  was  followed  by  'jigging  it  off,'  or  what  is  sometimes  called  a 
'cutout  jig.'  The  'settlement'  of  a  young  couple  was  thought  to  be 
thoroughly  and  generously  made  when  the  neighbors  assembled  and  raised 
a  cabin  for  them." 

PIONEER  EVENING  FROLICS,  SOCIAL  PARTIES,  PLAYS,  AND  AMUSE- 
MENTS—HOW THE  PIONEER  AND  EARLY  SETTLERS  MADE  THEIR 
LOG  CABINS  MERRY  WITH  SIMPLE,  PRIMITIVE  ENJOYMENTS. 

In  the  pioneer  days  newspapers  were  few,  dear,  printed  on  coarse 
paper,  and  small.  Books  were  scarce,  only  occasional  preaching,  no 
public  lectures,  and  but  few  public  meetings,  excepting  the  annual  Fourth 
of  July  celebration,  when  all  the  patriots  assembled  to  hear  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  read.  The  pioneer  and  his  family  had  to  have  fun. 
The  common  saying  of  that  day  was  that  "  all  work  and  no  play  makes 
Jack  a  dull  boy."  As  a  rule,  outside  of  the  villages,  everybody  lived  in 
log  cabins,  and  were  bound  together  by  mutual  dependence  and  acts  of 
neighborly  kindness.  At  every  cabin  the  latch- string  was  always  out. 
The  young  ladies  of  the  "  upper  ten"  learned  music,  but  it  was  the  hum- 
ming of  to  "  knit  and  spin  ;"  their  piano  was  a  loom,  their  sunshade  a 
broom,  and  their  novel  a  Bible.  A  young  gentleman  or  lady  was  then 
as  proud  of  his  or  her  new  suit,  woven  by  a  sister  or  a  mother  on  her  own 
loom,  as  proud  could  be,  and  these  new  suits  or  "best  clothes"  were 
always  worn  to  evening  frolics.  Social  parties  among  the  young  were 
called  "kissing  parties,"  because  in  all  the  plays,  either  as  a  penalty  or 
as  part  of  the  play,  all  the  girls  who  joined  in  the  amusement  had  to  be 
kissed  by  some  one  of  the  boys.  The  girls,  of  course,  objected  to  the 
kissing,  but  then  they  were  gentle,  pretty,  and  witty,  and  the  sweetest 
and  best  girls  the  world  ever  knew.  This  was  true,  for  I  attended  these 
parties  myself.  To  the  boys  and  girls  of  that  period — 

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PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  earth  was  like  a  garden  then, 

And  life  seemed  like  a  show, 
For  the  air  was  rife  with  fragrance, 

The  sky  was  all  rainbow, 
And  the  heart  was  warm  and  joyous  ; 

Each  lad  had  native  grace, 
Sly  Cupid  planted  blushes  then 

On  every  virgin's  face." 

The  plays  were  nearly  all  musical  and  vocal,  and  the  boys  lived  and 
played  them  in  the  "pleasures  of  hope,"  while  usually  there  sat  in  the 
corner  of  the  cabin  fireplace  a  granddad  or  a  grandma  smoking  a  stone 
or  clay  pipe,  lighted  with  a  live  coal  from  the  wood-fire,  living  and 
smoking  in  the  "  pleasures  of  memory." 

The  plays  were  conducted  somewhat  in  this  way : 
A  popular   play  was  for  all  the  persons  present  to  join  hands  and 
form  a  ring,  with  a  dude  of  that  time,  in  shirt  of  check  and  bear-greased 
hair,  in  the  centre.     Then  they  circled  round  and  round  the  centre 
person,  singing, — 

"  King  William  was  King  James's  son, 
And  of  that  royal  race  he  sprung; 
He  wore  a  star  upon  his  breast, 
To  show  that  he  was  royal  best. 
Go  choose  your  east,  go  choose  your  west, 
Go  choose  the  one  that  you  like  best; 
If  he's  not  here  to  take  your  part, 
Go  choose  another  with  all  your  heart." 

The  gentleman  in  the  centre  then  chose  a  lady  from  the  circle,  and  she 
stepped  into  the  ring  with  him.  Then  the  circling  was  resumed,  and  all 
sang  to  the  parties  inside, — 

"  Down  on  this  carpet  you  must  kneel, 
Just  as  the  grass  grows  in  the  field ; 
Salute  your  bride  with  kisses  sweet, 
And  then  rise  up  upon  your  feet." 

The  play  went  on  in  this  manner  until  all  the  girls  present  were 
kissed. 

Another  popular  play  was  to  form  a  ring.  A  young  lady  would  step 
into  the  circle,  and  all  parties  would  join  hands  and  sing, — 

"  There's  a  lily  in  the  garden 

For  you,  young  man  ; 
There's  a  lily  in  the  garden, 
Go  pluck  it  if  you  can,"  etc. 

The  lady  then  selects  a  boy  from  the  circle,  who  walks  into  the  ring 
with  her.  He  then  kisses  her  and  she  goes  out,  when  the  rest  all  sing, — 

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PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  There  he  stands,  that  great  big  booby, 

Who  he  is  I  do  not  know ; 
Who  will  take  him  for  his  beauty  ? 
Let  her  answer,  yes  or  no." 

This  play  goes  on  in  this  way  until  all  the  girls  have  been  kissed. 
Another  favorite  play  was  : 

"  Oats,  peas,  beans,  and  barley  grows ; 
None  so  well  as  the  farmer  knows 
How  oats,  peas,  beans,  and  barley  grows ; 
Thus  the  farmer  sows  his  seed, 
Thus  he  stands  to  take  his  ease ; 
He  stamps  his  foot  and  claps  his  hands, 
And  turns  around  to  view  his  lands,"  etc. 

Another  great  favorite  was  : 

"  Oh,  sister  Phoebe,  how  merry  were  we 
The  night  we  sat  under  the  juniper-tree, 

The  juniper-tree,  I,  oh. 

Take  this  hat  on  your  head,  keep  your  head  warm, 
And  take  a  sweet  kiss,  it  will  do  you  no  harm, 
But  a  great  deal  of  good,  I  know,"  etc. 

Another  was : 

"  If  I  had  as  many  lives 

As  Solomon  had  wives, 

I'd  be  as  old  as  Adam  ; 

So  rise  to  your  feet 

And  kiss  the  first  you  meet, 

Your  humble  servant,  madam." 
Another  was : 

"  It's  raining,  it's  hailing,  it's  cold,  stormy  weather ; 
In  comes  the  farmer  drinking  of  his  cider. 
He's  going  a-reaping,  he  wants  a  binder, 
I've  lost  my  true  love,  where  shall  I  find  her." 

A  live  play  was  called  "  hurly-burly."  "  Two  went  round  and  gave 
each  one,  secretly,  something  to  do.  This  girl  was  to  pull  a  young 
man's  hair ;  another  to  tweak  an  ear  or  nose,  or  trip  some  one,  etc. 
When  all  had  been  told  what  to  do,  the  master  of  ceremonies  cried  out, 
'  Hurly-burly.'  Every  one  sprang  up  and  hastened  to  do  as  instructed. 
This  created  a  mixed  scene  of  a  ludicrous  character,  and  was  most  prop- 
erly named  '  hurly-burly. '  ' 

TREES,   SNAKES,    AND   REPTILES. 

Our  forests  were  originally  covered  by  a  heavy  growth  of  timber-trees 
of  various  kinds.  Pine  and  hemlock  predominated.  Chestnut  and  oak 
grew  in  some  localities.  Birch,  sugar-maple,  ash,  and  hickory  occupied 

164 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

a  wide  range.  Birch-  and  cherry-trees  were  numerous,  and  linnwood-, 
cucumber-,  and  poplar-trees  grew  on  many  of  the  hill-sides,  butternut, 
sycamore,  black  ash,  and  elm  on  the  low  grounds. 

In  all,  about  one  hundred  varieties  of  trees  grew  here.  These  forests 
have  become  the  prey  of  the  woodman's  axe.  There  has  been  no  voice 
raised  effectively  to  restrain  the  destruction,  wanton  as  it  has  been,  of  the 
best  specimens  of  the  pine  which  the  eye  of  man  ever  saw.  The  growth 
of  hundreds  of  years  felled  to  the  ground,  scarified,  hauled  to  the  streams, 
tumbled  in,  and  floated  away  to  the  south  and  east  and  west  for  the  pal- 
try pittance  of  ten  cents  a  foot !  Oh,  that  there  could  have  been  some 
power  to  restrain  the  grasping,  wasteful,  avaricious  cupidity  of  man,  of 
some  voice  of  thunder  crying,  "  Woodman,  woodman,  spare  that  tree  ! 
That  old  familiar  forest- tree,  whose  glory  and  renown  has  spread  over 
land  and  sea,  and  woodmen  hacked  it  down  !" 

But  they  are  gone,  all  gone  from  the  mountain's  brow.  The  hands, 
also,  that  commenced  the  destruction  are  now  mouldering  into  dust,  thus 
exemplifying  the  law  of  nature,  that  growth  is  rapidly  followed  by  decay, 
indicating  a  common  destiny  and  bringing  a  uniform  result.  And  such 
are  we ;  it  is  our  lot  thus  to  die  and  be  forgotten. 

Reptiles  and  snakes  were  very  numerous.  The  early  pioneer  had  to 
contend  against  the  non-poisonous  and  poisonous  snakes.  The  non- 
poisonous  were  the  spotted  adder,  blacksnake,  the  green-,  the  garter-, 
the  water-,  and  the  house-snake.  The  blacksnake  sometimes  attained  a 
length  of  six  and  eight  feet.  But  dens  of  vicious  rattlesnakes  existed 
in  every  locality  in  the  county.  In  the  vicinity  of  Brookville  there  was 
one  at  Puckerty,  several  on  the  north  fork,  one  at  Iowa  Mills,  and 
legions  of  rattlers  on  Mill  Creek.  The  dens  had  to  be  visited  by  bold, 
hardy  men  annually  every  spring  to  kill  and  destroy  these  reptiles  as 
they  emerged  in  the  sun  from  their  dens.  Hundreds  had  to  be  destroyed 
at  each  den  every  spring.  This  was  necessary  as  a  means  of  safety  for 
both  man  and  beast.  Of  copperheads,  there  were  but  a  few  dens  in  the 
county,  and  these  in  the  extreme  south  and  southwest, — viz.,  in  Perry 
township,  in  Beaver  township,  on  Beaver  Run ;  and  two  or  three  dens  in 
Porter  township,  on  the  head- waters  of  Pine  Run,^viz.,  Nye's  Branch 
and  Lost  Hill.  Occasionally  one  was  found  in  Brookville. 

The  copperhead  is  hazel-brown  on  the  back  and  pinkish  on  the  belly. 
On  each  side  there  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty-six  chestnut  blotches  or 
bands,  that  somewhat  resemble  an  inverted  Y-  His  head  is  brighter  and 
almost  copper-colored  on  top,  and  everywhere  over  his  back  are  found 
very  fine  dark  points.  The  sides  of  his  head  are  cream-colored.  The 
dividing  line  between  the  cream  of  the  side  and  the  copper  of  the  top 
passes  through  the  upper  edge  of  the  head,  in  front  of  the  eye,  and 
involves  three-fourths  of  the  orbit.  The  line  is  very  distinct. 

He  is  commonly  found  wherever  the  rattler  is,  but  he  does  not  live 

165 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

quite  so  far  north.  He  has  a  variety  of  names, — upland  moccasin, 
chunkhead,  deaf-adder,  and  pilot-snake  among  the  rest.  It  is  agreed 
that  he  is  a  much  more  vicious  brute  than  the  rattlesnake.  He  is  more 
easily  irritated  and  is  quicker  in  his  movements.  It  is  said  that  he  will 
even  follow  up  a  victim  for  a  second  blow.  On  the  other  hand,  his  bite 
is  very  much  less  dangerous  for  a  variety  of  reasons.  In  the  first  place, 
he  is  no  more  than  three  feet  long,  and  his  fangs  are  considerably  shorter 
than  those  of  a  rattler  of  the  same  size,  while  his  strength  is  less,  and  the 
blow,  therefore,  less  effective.  So  he  cannot  inflict  as  deep  a  wound  nor 
inject  so  much  venom.  The  chances  of  his  getting  the  venom  directly 
into  a  large  vein  are  proportionately  less. 

Rattlesnakes,  copperheads,  and  other  large  snakes  do  most  of  their 
travelling  in  the  night.  "Snakes,  it  appears,  are  extremely  fastidious, 
every  species  being  limited  to  one  or  two  articles  of  diet,  and  prefer- 
ring to  starve  rather  than  eat  anything  else  apparently  quite  as  tooth- 
some and  suitable.  Individual  snakes,  too,  show  strange  prejudices  in 
the  matter  of  diet,  so  that  it  is  necessary  in  every  case  to  find  out  what 
the  snake's  peculiarities  are  before  feeding  him." 

Rattlesnakes  eat  berries  for  food,  hence  they  avoid  ash  and  sugar, 
and  live  on  barren,  rocky,  or  on  huckleberry  land.  They  like  to  bathe, 
drink,  and  live  in  the  sunshine.  This,  too,  makes  them  avoid  ridgy, 
heavily  timbered  land. 

The  bigger  the  reptile,  of  course,  the  more  poison  it  has.  Further- 
more, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  of  all  American  serpents  the  rattle- 
snake is  the  most  dangerous,  the  copperhead  less  so,  and  the  water- 
moccasin  least.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  poisonous  snakes  are  proof  against 
their  own  venom.  That  this  is  true  has  been  demonstrated  repeatedly  by 
inoculating  such  serpents  with  the  poisonous  secretion  from  their  salivary 
glands.  It  is  believed  that  there  exists  in  the  blood  of  the  venomous 
snake  some  agent  similar  to  the  poison  itself,  and  that  the  presence  of 
this  toxic  principle  is  accountable  for  the  immunity  exhibited. 

One  safety  from  the  snakes  to  the  pioneer  and  his  family  was  the 
great  number  of  razor-back  hogs.  These  animals  were  great  snake- 
hunters,  being  very  fond  of  them. 

RATTLESNAKES   FIRST   KILL   THEIR   PREY,   THEN   SWALLOW   IT 

WHOLE. 

The  rattlesnake  is  not  found  anywhere  but  in  America.  It  belongs 
to  the  viper  family.  There  are  twelve  species  and  thirteen  varieties. 
They  vary  in  size  and  color,  one  variety  being  red.  A  rattle  is  formed 
at  each  renewal  of  the  skin,  and  as  the  skin  may  be  renewed  more  than 
once  a  year,  rattles  do  not  indicate  the  exact  age.  They  live  to  a  ripe  old 
age,  and  have  sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  rattles.  Some  writers  call  our 
variety  the  "banded  snake."  In  the  natural  state  the  rattler  sheds  his 

166 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

skin  but  once  a  year,  but  in  confinement  he  can  be  forced  to  shed  the 
skin  two  or  three  times  annually  by  giving  him  warm  baths  and  keeping 
him  in  a  warm  place.  Rattlers  are  unable  to  climb  trees,  are  fond  of 


Dr.  Ferd.  Hoffman  and  rattlesnakes. 


music,  and   do   not  chase  a  retreating   animal   that  has  escaped  their 
"strike." 

The  rattlesnake  of  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  is  the  Crotalus 
horridus,  or  North  American  species,  and  is  the  black  variety,  somewhat 
spotted.  Our  snake  attains  the  length  of  five  feet,  but  usually  only  four 
and  one-half  feet,  and  they  inhabit  the  barren,  rocky  portions  of  our 

167 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

county,  formerly  in  immense  numbers,  but  of  late  years  they  are  not  so 
plentiful. 

Dr.  Ferd.  Hoffman,  of  our  town,  celebrated  as  a  snake-charmer, 
brought  a  rattlesnake  into  our  store  one  day,  in  a  little  box  covered 
with  wire  screen.  The  snake  was  small,  being  only  thirty  inches  long 
and  having  seven  rattles.  Desiring  to  see  the  reptile  eat,  and  know- 
ing that  they  will  not  eat  anything  but  what  they  kill  themselves,  we 
conceived  the  idea  of  furnishing  his  kingship  a  repast.  Mr.  Robert 
Scofield  went  out  and  captured  a  large  field-mouse  (not  mole)  and 
brought  it  in,  and,  in  the  presence  of  myself,  Scofield,  Albert  Gooder, 
'Squire  McLaughlin  and  brother,  and  Frank  Arthurs,  dropped  it  into 
the  box  under  the  screen.  The  box  was  fourteen  inches  long  and  seven 
inches  wide.  The  snake,  being  lively,  immediately  struck  the  mouse 
back  of  the  head.  The  mouse  gave  a  little  squeak  of  terror  and  ran 
fourteen  inches,  then  staggered  fourteen  inches,  the  length  of  the  box, 
then  was  apparently  seized  with  spinal  paralysis,  for  it  had  to  draw  its 
hind  limbs  with  its  front  feet  to  a  corner  of  the  box.  It  then  raised 
up  and  fell  dead  on  its  back.  After  striking  the  mouse,  the  snake  paid 
no  attention  to  anything  until  the  mouse  dropped  over  dead,  then  his 
snakeship  wakened  up  and  apparently  smelled  (examined)  the  mouse  all 
over.  Satisfied  it  was  healthy  and  good  food,  the  snake  caught  the 
mouse  by  the  nose  and  pulled  it  out  of  the  corner.  After  this  was  done, 
the  snake  commenced  the  process  of  swallowing  in  this  manner, — viz.  : 
He  opened  his  jaws  and  took  the  head  of  the  mouse  in  one  swallow, 
pulling  alternately  by  the  hooks  in  the  upper  and  lower  jaw,  thus  forcing 
the  mouse  downward,  taking  an  occasional  rest,  swallowing  and  resting 
six  times  in  the  process.  He  rattled  vigorously  three  times  during  this 
procedure.  It  is  said  they  rattle  only  when  in  fear  or  in  danger.  This 
rattling  of  his  must  have  been  a  notice  to  us  that  he  was  dining,  and  to 
stand  back. 

I  am  informed  by  my  friend  Dr.  Hoffman,  of  Brookville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, that  the  rattlesnake  is  possessed  of  both  a  high  intelligence  and  a 
memory ;  that  he  can  be  domesticated,  and  in  that  state  become  quite 
affectionate  and  fond  of  his  master,  and  that  snakes  thus  domesticated 
will  vie  and  dispute  with  each  other  in  manifestations  of  affection  to  and 
for  their  master.  He  also  informs  me  that  rattlesnakes  are  unlike  in  dis- 
position,— some  are  cross  and  ugly,  while  others  are  docile  and  pleasant. 

He  also  informs  me  that  the  rattlesnake  can  be  trained  to  perform 
tricks,  as  he  has  thus  trained  them  himself  and  made  them  proficient  in 
numerous  acrobatic  tricks,  such  as  suspending  a  number  by  the  head  of 
one  on  his  thumb,  the  forming  of  a  suspension  chain  or  bridge,  and  per- 
mitting them  to  kiss  him,  and  many  other  tricks  too  numerous  to  relate. 

To  my  personal  knowledge,  he  has  educated  or  trained  the  rattlers  in 
numbers  to  perform  in  the  manner  indicated  here,  and  without  removing, 

168 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  a  single  instance,  any  poisonous  tooth  or  sac.  These  trained  rattlers 
will  fight  any  stranger  the  moment  he  presents  himself;  but  if  the  master 
or  their  acquaintance  presents  himself,  the  rattlers  will  at  once  recognize 
him,  and  to  him  be  kind,  docile,  and  affectionate. 

The  snapping-turtle,  the  mud-turtle,  and  the  diamond-backed  ter- 
rapin existed  in  great  numbers  in  the  swamps  and  around  the  streams, 
and  formed  a  part  of  the  Indian's  food.  The  tree-toad,  the  common  toad, 
common  frog,  lizard,  and  water-lizard  lived  here  before  the  pioneers  took 
possession  of  the  land. 

The  tools  of  the  pioneer  were  the  axe,  six-inch  auger,  the  drawing- 
knife,  the  shaving-knife,  a  broadaxe,  and  a  cross-cut  saw.  These  were 
"all  used  in  the  erecting  of  his  shelters."  The  dexterity  of  the  pioneer 
in  the  "slight"  and  use  of  the  axe  was  remarkable  and  marvellous.  He 
used  it  in  clearing  land,  building  cabins,  making  fences,  chopping  fire- 
wood, cutting  paths  and  roads,  bridges  and  corduroy.  In  fact,  in  all 
work  and  hunting,  in  travelling  by  land,  in  canoeing  and  rafting  on  the 
water,  the  axe  was  ever  the  friend  and  companion  of  the  pioneer. 

The  civilized  man  in  his  first  beginning  was  farmer,  carpenter,  mason, 
merchant,  and  manufacturer — complete,  though  primitive,  in  the  indi- 
vidual. But  he  was  a  farmer  first  and  foremost,  and  used  the  other  avo- 
cations merely  as  incidentals  to  the  first  and  chief  employment.  Less 
than  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  spinning-wheel  and  the  loom 
were  common  and  necessary  in  the  home. 


SOLDIERS  OF  1812  WHO  PASSED  THROUGH  PINE  CREEK  TOWN- 
SHIP TO  FIGHT  GREAT  BRITAIN— AN  INTERESTING  ACCOUNT 
OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  MILITIA  WHICH  MARCHED  OVER  THE 
OLD  STATE  ROAD  THROUGH  BROOKVILLE  AND  WITHIN  TWO 
MILES  OF  WHERE  REYNOLDSVILLE  NOW  STANDS,  WHILE  ON 
ITS  WAY  TO  ERIE. 

George  Washington  never  passed  through  any  portion  of  Jefferson 
County  with  soldiers ;  neither  did  Colonel  Bird,  who  was  stationed  at 
Fort  Augusta  in  1756;  neither  was  there  a  "  road  brushed  out  for  the 
purpose  of  transferring  troops  to  Erie."  In  1814,  early  in  the  spring,  a 
detachment  of  soldiers,  under  command  of  Major  William  McClelland, 
travelled  through  our  county,  over  the  old  State  Road  (Bald  Eagle's  Nest 
and  Le  Boeuf  road)  to  Erie.  They  encamped  at  Soldiers'  Run,  in  what 
is  now  Winslow  township,  rested  at  Port  Barnett  for  four  days,  and  en- 
camped over  night  at  the  "  four-mile"  spring,  on  what  is  now  the  Afton 
farm.  Elijah  M.  Graham  was  impressed  with  his  two  "  pack-horses"  into 
their  service,  and  was  taken  as  far  as  French  Creek,  now  in  Venango 
County. 

Joseph  B.  Graham  gave  me  these  facts  in  regard  to  McClelland. 

These  soldiers  were  Pennsylvania  volunteers  and  drafted  men,  and 
12  169 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

were  from  Franklin  County.  Major  McClelland,  with  his  officers  and 
men,  passed  through  where  Brookville  now  is,  over  the  old  Milesburg 
and  Waterford  Road.  Three  detachments  of  troops  left  Franklin 
County  during  the  years  1812-14  at  three  different  times, — one  by  way 
of  Pittsburg,  one  by  way  of  Baltimore,  and  the  last  one  through  this 
wilderness.  All  of  these  troops  in  these  three  detachments  were  under 
the  supervision  of  the  brigade  inspector,  Major  McClelland. 


N.  B.  BOILEAU   TO   WILLIAM   MCCLELLAND. 

"HARRISBURG,  February  I,  1814. 
"To  WILLIAM  MCCLELLAND,  ESQ.,  Inspector  Second  Brigade,  Seventh 

Division. 

"SiR, — By  last  evening's  mail  the  Governor  received  a  letter  from 
the  Secretary  of  War,  requiring  a  detachment  of  one  thousand  militia  to 
march  to  the  defence  of  Erie.  He  has  it  in  contemplation  to  order  them 
from  the  counties  of  Cumberland,  York,  Adams,  and  Franklin.  The 
Governor  directs  me  to  give  you  this  intimation  in  order  that  you  may 
make  arrangements  to  execute  as  promptly  as  possible  the  orders  which 
which  will  be  sent  to  you  in  a  few  days. 

"  Very  respectfully,  sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"N.  B.  BOILEAU." 

NOTE. — Similar  letters  were  written  to  George  Welsh,  James  Lamber- 
ton,  and  Archibald  S.  Jordan. 


GOVERNOR  SIMON  SNYDER  TO  N.  B.  BOILEAU. 

"  GENERAL  ORDERS. 

"  HARRISBURG,  February  7,  1814. 
"To  N.  B.  BOILEAU,  Aide- de- Camp. 

"In  compliance  with  a  requisition  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  I  do  order  into  the  service  of  the  Union  one  thousand  men,  rank 
and  file,  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  and  a  competent  number  of  officers, 
to  be  composed  of  the  quotas  of  the  First  and  Second  Brigades  of  the 
Seventh  Division,  and  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Fifth  Division,  desig- 
nated for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  under  general  orders  of  the 
1 2th  of  May,  1812,  to  rendezvous  at  Erie  on  the  5th  day  of  March,  then, 
or  as  soon  thereafter  as  possible,  to  be  organized  into  one  regiment,  and 
to  be  agreeably  to  law. 

"  SIMON  SNYDER, 

"  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.''1 
170 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

N.  B.  BOILEAU   TO   WILLIAM   MCCLELLAND. 

"  HARRISBURG,  February  24,  1815. 
"  To  WILLIAM  MCCLELLAND,  ESQ.,  Inspector  of  Second  Brigade,  Seventh 

Division. 

"  SIR, — In  answer  to  yours  of  the  2ist  ult.,  to  the  Governor,  I  am 
directed  to  state  that  in  case  your  first  draft  does  not  furnish  a  quota  suf- 
ficient when  added  to  those  from  Mr.  Lamberton's  and  Welsh's  brigades 
to  make  one  thousand  men,  rank  and  file,  then  you  put  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Major  Lamberton  the  number  you  may  have  ready  to  march,  and 
proceed  to  make  another  draft  to  make  up  the  deficiency  of  your  quota, 
and  march  them  on  to  the  general  place  of  rendezvous  as  expeditiously  as 
practicable.  You  will  make  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Lamberton  as  to 
the  point  where  your  detachment  will  join  his.  A  sufficient  number  of 
tents,  together  with  those  at  Carlisle,  to  accommodate  the  whole  detach- 
ment, are  now  on  the  road  from  Philadelphia,  and  will  be  at  Carlisle  OP 
Saturday  next. 

"  By  order  of  the  Governor. 

"N.  B.  BOILEAU." 

I  quote  from  an  early  history  of  Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania : 
"In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1814,  the  general  government  having 
made  a  call  upon  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  more  troops,  Governor 
Simon  Snyder,  about  the  beginning  of  February  of  that  year,  ordered  a 
draft  for  one  thousand  men  from  the  counties  of  York,  Adams,  Franklin, 
and  Cumberland,  Cumberland  County  to  raise  five  hundred  men  and  the 
other  counties  the  balance.  The  quota  of  Franklin  County  was  ordered 
to  assemble  at  Loudon  on  the  ist  of  March,  1814.  What  was  its  exact 
number  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

"At  that  time  Captain  Samuel  Dunn,  of  Path  Valley,  had  a  small 
volunteer  company  under  his  command,  numbering  about  forty  men. 
These,  I  am  informed,  volunteered  to  go  as  part  of  the  quota  of  the 
county,  and  were  accepted.  Drafts  were  then  made  to  furnish  the 
balance  of  the  quota,  and  one  full  company  of  drafted  men,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Samuel  Gordon,  of  Waynesburg,  and  one  partial 
company,  under  command  of  Captain  Jacob  Stake,  of  Lurgan  township, 
were  organized,  and  assembled  at  Loudon  in  pursuance  of  the  orders  of 
the  Governor.  There  the  command  of  the  detachment  was  assumed  by 
Major  William  McClelland,  brigade  inspector  of  the  county,  who  con- 
ducted it  to  Erie.  It  moved  from  Loudon  on  the  4th  of  March,  and 
was  twenty-eight  days  in  reaching  Erie.  According  to  Major  McClel- 
land's  report  on  file  in  the  auditor-general's  office  at  Harrisburg,  it  was 
composed  of  one  major,  three  captains,  five  lieutenants,  two  ensigns,  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one  privates. 

171 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Captain  Jacob  Stake  lived  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  between 
Roxbury  and  Strasburg.  He  went  as  captain  of  a  company  of  drafted 
men  as  far  as  Erie,  at  which  place  his  company  was  merged  into  those 
of  Captains  Dunn  and  Gordon,  as  the  commissions  of  those  officers  ante- 
dated his  commission  and  there  were  not  men  enough  in  their  companies 
to  fill  them  up  to  the  required  complement." 

Upon  the  arrival  of  these  troops  at  Erie,  and  after  their  organization 
into  companies,  they  were  put  into  the  Fifth  Regiment  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania troops,  commanded  by  Colonel  James  Fenton,  of  that  regiment. 
James  Wood,  of  Greencastle,  was  major,  and  Thomas  Poe,  of  Antrim 
township,  adjutant,  the  whole  army  being  under  the  command  of  Major- 
General  Jacob  Brown. 

Adjutant  Poe  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  gallant  officer,  one  to  whom 
fear  was  unknown.  On  one  occasion  he  quelled  a  mutiny  among  the 
men  in  camp,  unaided  by  any  other  person.  The  mutineers  afterwards 
declared  that  they  saw  death  in  his  eyes  when  he  gave  them  the  com- 
mand to  "return  to  quarters."  He  fell  mortally  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Chippewa,  July  5,  1814,  and  died  shortly  afterwards. 

These  soldiers  did  valiant  service  against  the  British.  They  fought 
in  the  desperate  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy's  Lane,  on  July  5  and 
25  of  the  year  1814. 

War  has  cost  the  United  States  nearly  $10,000,000,000  'and  over 
680,000  lives,  to  say  nothing  of  30,000  lives  lost  in  colonial  wars  before 
the  Revolution.  Here  are  the  details  : 

Cost.  Lives. 

Revolution $13S>193'7°3'  30,000 

\Varof  1812 107,159,003  2,000 

Mexican  war 74,000,000  2,000 

Civil  war 8,500,000,000  600,000 

Indian  wars 1,000,000,000  49,000 

The  two  Napoleons  cost  France  in  war  nearly  $3,500,000,000.  For 
the  Napoleonic  wars  France  paid  $1,275,000,000.  Over  5,000,000  men 
were  killed  in  these  wars. 

AN   OUTLINE   OF    THE   PIONEER   LEGAL   RELATIONS   OF   MAN  AND 

WIFE. 

Up  to  and  later  than  1843,  Pennsylvania  was  under  the  common  law 
system  of  England.  Under  this  law  the  wife  had  no  legal  separate  ex- 
istence. The  husband  had  the  right  to  whip  her,  and  only  in  the  event 
of  her  committing  crimes  had  she  a  separate  existence  from  her  husband. 
But  if  the  crime  was  committed  in  her  husband's  presence,  she  was  then 
presumed  not  guilty.  Her  condition  was  legally  little,  if  any,  better  than 
a  slave. 

172 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Under  the  common  law,  husband  and  wife  were  considered  as  one 
person,  and  on  this  principle  all  their  civil  duties  and  relations  rested. 

The  wife  could  not  sue  in  her  own  name,  but  only  through  her  hus- 
band. If  she  suffered  wrong  in  her  person  or  property,  she  could,  with 
her  husband's  aid  and  assistance,  prosecute,  but  the  husband  had  to  be 
the  plaintiff.  For  crimes  without  any  presumed  coercion  of  her  husband, 
the  wife  could  be  prosecuted  and  punished,  and  for  these  misdemeanors 
the  punishments  were  severe.  The  wife  could  make  no  contract  with  her 
husband.  The  husband  and  she  could  make  a  contract  through  the 
agency  of  trustees  for  the  wife,  the  wife,  though,  being  still  under  the  pro- 
tection of  her  husband. 

All  contracts  made  between  husband  and  wife  before  marriage  were 
void  after  the  ceremony.  The  husband  could  in  no  wise  convey  lands  or 
realty  to  his  wife,  only  and  except  through  a  trustee.  A  husband  at  death 
could  bequeath  real  estate  to  his  wife. 

Marriage  gave  the  husband  all  right  and  title  to  his  wife's  property, 
whether  real  or  personal,  but  he  then  became  liable  for  all  her  debts  and 
contracts,  even  those  that  were  made  before  marriage,  and  after  marriage 
he  was  so  liable,  except  for  "superfluities  and  extravagances." 

If  the  wife  died  before  the  husband  and  left  no  children,  the  husband 
and  his  heirs  inherited  her  real  estate.  But  if  there  were  children,  the 
husband  remained  in  possession  of  her  land  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
wife,  and  at  his  death  the  land  went  to  the  wife's  heirs. 

All  debts  due  to  the  wife  became  after  marriage  the  property  of  the 
husband,  who  became  invested  with  power  to  sue  on  bond,  note,  or  any 
other  obligation,  to  his  own  and  exclusive  use.  The  powers  of  discharge 
and  assignment  and  change  of  securities  were,  of  course,  involved  in  the 
leading  principle.  If  the  husband  died  before  the  recovery  of  the  money, 
or  any  change  in  the  securities,  the  wife  became  entitled  to  these  debts, 
etc.,  in  her  own  right.  All  personal  property  of  the  wife,  such  as  money, 
goods,  movables,  and  stocks,  became  absolutely  the  property  of  the 
husband  upon  marriage,  and  at  his  death  went  to  his  heirs. 

Property  could  be  given  to  a  wife  by  deed  of  marriage  settlement. 

Property  could  be  settled  on  the  wife  after  marriage  by  the  husband, 
provided  he  was  solvent  at  the  time  and  the  transfer  not  made  with  a 
view  to  defraud. 

The  wife  could  not  sell  her  land,  but  any  real  estate  settled  upon  her 
to  a  trustee  she  could  bequeath. 

The  husband  and  wife  could  not  be  witnesses  against  each  other  in 
civil  or  criminal  cases  where  the  testimony  could  in  the  least  favor  or 
criminate  either.  One  exception  only  existed  to  this  rule,  and  that 
was  this,  "  the  personal  safety  or  the  life  of  the  wife  gave  her  permission 
to  testify  for  her  protection."  For  further  information,  see  my  "Recol- 
lections." 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 
A   PIONEER   SONG   THAT   WAS   SUNG   IN    EVERY   FAMILY. 

'•OLD   GRIMES. 

"Old  Grimes  is  dead,  that  good  old  man, 

We  ne'er  shall  see  him  more; 
He  used  to  wear  a  long  black  coat 
All  buttoned  down  before. 

"  His  heart  was  open  as  the  day, 

His  feelings  all  were  true; 
His  hair  was  some  inclined  to  gray, 
He  wore  it  in  a  queue. 

"  When'er  he  heard  the  voice  of  pain 

His  breast  with  pity  burned ; 
The  large  round  head  upon  his  cane 
From  ivory  was  turned. 

"  Kind  words  he  ever  had  for  all ; 

He  knew  no  base  design  ; 
His  eyes  were  dark  and  rather  small, 
His  nose  was  aquiline. 

"  He  lived  in  peace  with  all  mankind, 

In  friendship  he  was  true ; 
His  coat  had  pocket-holes  behind, 
His  pantaloons  were  blue. 

"  Unharmed,  the  sin  which  earth  pollutes 

He  passed  securely  o'er, 
And  never  wore  a  pair  of  boots 
For  thirty  years  or  more. 

"  But  good  Old  Grimes  is  now  at  rest, 

Nor  fears  misfortune's  frown ; 

He  wore  a  double-breasted  vest, 

The  stripes  ran  up  and  down. 

"  He  modest  merit  sought  to  find, 

And  pay  it  its  desert : 
He  had  no  malice  in  his  mind, 
No  ruffles  on  his  shirt. 

"  His  neighbors  he  did  not  abuse, 

Was  sociable  and  gay ; 
He  wore  large  buckles  on  his  shoes, 
And  changed  them  every  day. 

"  His  knowledge  hid  from  public  gaze 

He  did  not  bring  to  view, 
Nor  make  a  noise  town-meeting  days, 
As  many  people  do. 
174 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  His  worldly  goods  he  never  threw 

In  trust  to  fortune's  chances, 
But  lived  (as  all  his  brothers  do) 
In  easy  circumstances. 

"  Thus  undisturbed  by  anxious  cares 

His  peaceful  moments  ran ; 
And  everybody  said  he  was 
A  fine  old  gentleman." 

— ALBERT  G.  GREENE. 

EARLY    AND    PIONEER    MUSIC— PIONEER    MUSIC-SCHOOLS    AND 
PIONEER   SINGING-MASTERS   IN   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

I.  D.  Hughes,  of  Punxsutawney,  informs  me  that  the  first  music-book 
he  bought  was  Wyeth's  "Repository  of  Sacred  Music,"  second  edition. 
I  have  seen  this  book  myself,  but  a  later  edition  (the  fifth),  published  in 
1820.  Mr.  Hughes  says  that  Joseph  Thompson,  of  Dowlingville,  was 
the  pioneer  "singing-master"  in  Jefferson  County,  and  that  he  sang  from 
Wakefield's  "  Harp,"  second  edition.  He  used  a  tuning-fork  to  sound 
the  pitches,  and  accompanied  his  vocal  instruction  with  violin  music. 

George  James  was  an  early  ' '  master, ' '  and  used  the  same  book  as 
Thompson.  These  two  taught  in  the  early  thirties.  I.  D.  Hughes  taught 
in  1840  and  used  the  "Missouri  Harmony."  This  was  a  collection  of 
psalm  and  hymn  tunes  and  anthems,  and  was  published  by  Morgan  & 
Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  The  first  tune  in  this  old  "Harmony,"  or 
"  buckwheat"  note-book,  was  "Primrose"  : 

"  Salvation,  oh,  the  joyful  sound, 

'Tis  pleasure  to  our  ears, 
A  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 
A  cordial  for  our  fears." 

On  the  second  page  was  "Old  Hundred,"  and  on  the  same^page 

"Canaan"  : 

"  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 

And  cast  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
Where  my  possessions  lie." 

The  dear  old  pioneers  who  used  to  delight  in  these  sweet  melodies 
have  nearly  all  crossed  this  Jordan,  and  are  now  doubtless  singing 

"Harwell"  : 

"  Hark  !  ten  thousand  harps  and  voices 

Sound  the  note  of  praise  above ; 

Jesus  reigns,  and  heaven  rejoices  ; 

Jesus  reigns,  the  God  of  love." 

Rev.  George  M.  Slaysman,  of  Punxsutawney,  was  the  pioneer  teacher 
of  round  notes — the  do  ra  me1  s — in  the  county.  Judge  William  P.  Jenks 
was  also  an  early  instructor  in  these  notes. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

We  talk  about  progress,  rapid  transit,  and  electricity,  but  modern 
music- teachers  have  failed  to  improve  on  the  melody  of  those  old  pioneer 
tunes,  "that  seemed  like  echoes  from  a  heavenly  choir;  echoes  that 
seemed  to  have  increased  power  every  time  the  pearly  gates  opened  to 
admit  some  sainted  father  or  mother." 

"  God  sent  these  singers  upon  earth 
With  songs  of  sadness  and  of  mirth, 
That  they  might  touch  the  hearts  of  men 
And  bring  them  back  to  Heaven  again." 

A    PIONEER   SONG   FOR   THE   SUGAR-TROUGH   CRADLE. 

DR.  WATTS'S   CRADLE   HYMN. 
"  Hush,  my  babe,  lie  still  and  slumber, 

Holy  angels  guard  thy  bed; 
Heavenly  blessings,  without  number, 
Gently  falling  on  thy  head. 

"  Sleep,  my  babe,  thy  food  and  raiment, 

House  and  home  thy  friends  provide, 
All  without  thy  care  or  payment, 
All  thy  wants  are  well  supplied. 

"  How  much  better  thou'rt  attended 
Than  the  Son  of  God  could  be, 
When  from  heaven  He  descended 
And  became  a  child  like  thee. 

"  Soft  and  easy  is  thy  cradle, 

Coarse  and  hard  thy  Saviour  lay, 
When  His  birthplace  was  a  stable, 
And  his  softest  bed  was  hay. 

"  Blessed  babe!  what  glorious  features, 

Spotless,  fair,  divinely  bright ! 
Must  He  dwell  with  brutal  creatures  ? 
How  could  angels  bear  the  sight  ? 

"  Was  there  nothing  but  a  manger 

Wicked  sinners  could  afford 
To  receive  the  heavenly  stranger  ? 
Did  they  thu$  affront  the  Lord  ? 

"  Soft,  my  child,  I  did  not  chide  thee, 

Though  my  song  may  sound  too  hard : 
'Tis  thy  mother  sits  beside  thee, 
And  her  arms  shall  be  thy  guard. 

"  Yet,  to  read  the  shameful  story, 

How  the  Jews  abused  their  King ; 
How  they  served  the  Lord  of  Glory, 
Makes  me  angry  while  I  sing. 
176 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  See  the  kinder  shepherds  round  Him, 

Telling  wonders  from  the  sky; 
There  they  sought  Him,  there  they  found  Him, 
With  his  virgin  mother  by. 

"  See  the  lovely  babe  a  dressing, 

Lovely  infant !  how  He  smiled ! 
When  He  wept,  His  mother's  blessing 
Soothed  and  hushed  the  holy  child. 

"  Lo  !  He  slumbers  in  a  manger 
Where  the  horned  oxen  fed  ! 
Peace,  my  darling,  here's  no  danger, 
Here's  no  ox  about  thy  bed. 

"  'Twas  to  save  thee,  child,  from  dying, 

Save  my  dear  from  burning  flame, 
Bitter  groans,  and  endless  crying, 
That  thy  blest  Redeemer  came. 

"  May'st  thou  live  to  know  and  fear  Him, 

Trust  and  love  Him  all  thy  days  ! 
Then  go  dwell  forever  near  Him, 
See  His  face  and  sing  His  praise. 

"  I  could  give  thee  thousand  kisses 

Hoping  what  I  most  desire ; 

Not  a  mother's  fondest  wishes 

Can  to  greater  joys  aspire." 

COMPLETE   LIST   OF   TAXABLE   INHABITANTS   IN  JEFFERSON 
COUNTY,  PENNSYLVANIA,  IN   A.D.   1820. 

PINE   CREEK   TOWNSHIP. 

Robert  Andrews,  William  Andrews,  single  man,  Joseph  Barnett,  saw- 
and  grist-mill,  John  Barnett,  single  man,  Andrew  Barnett,  single  man, 
Thomas  Barnett,  grist-mill,  Summers  Baldwin,  single  man,  half  a  saw- 
mill, Israel  Bartlett,  David  Butler,  single  man,  Peter  Bartle,  Harmen 
Bosley,  single  man,  J:  Bowen,  Joseph  Clements,  Paul  Campbell,  Joseph 
Carr,  Euphrastus  Carrier,  single  man,  Samuel  Corbett,  single  man,  John 
Dixon,  Robert  Dixon,  single  man,  John  Z.  Early,  two  saw-mills,  J. 
Stephens,  half  a  saw-mill,  Henry  Feye,  Sr.,  Henry  Feye,  Jr.,  single 
man,  George  Feye,  single  man,  Aaron  Fuller,  Solomon  Fuller,  saw-mill 
and  grist-mill,  John  Fuller,  saw-mill,  Elijah  Graham,  Andrew  Grinder, 
Alexander  Hatter,  single  man,  John  Hise,  Christopher  Himes,  William 
Himes,  single  man,  Frederick  Hetrick,  John  Jones,  single  man,  Robert 
Knox,  Henry  Kailor,  Moses  Knapp,  Lewis  Long,  John  Lucas,  John 
Lattimer,  single  man,  Thomas  Lucas,  Henry  Latt,  John  Matson,  half  a 
saw-mill,  Jacob  Mason,  Abraham  Milliron,  Philip  Milliron,  William 
Morrison,  Joseph  McCullough,  Samuel  McGill,  William  Milliron,  John 

177 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Mason,  single  man,  John  McCartney,  single  man,  John  McClelland, 
single  man,  Adam  Newenhouse,  John  Nolf,  Jr.,  John  Nolf,  Sr.,  saw-mill, 
Peter  B.  Ostrander,  half  a  saw-mill,  Alexander  Powers,  Jacob  Pierce, 
single  man,  John  Reed,  Hulet  Smith,  James  Shields,  Samuel  Shaffer, 
Henry  Sharp,  Walter  Templeton,  Adam  Vasbinder,  Sr.,  Jacob  Vas- 
binder,  William  Vasbinder,  Henry  Vasbinder,  John  Vasbinder,  Andrew 
Vasbinder,  Jr.,  single  man,  Fudge  Van  Camp,  colored,  Richard  Van 
Camp,  single  man,  colored,  Sarah  Van  Camp,  colored,  Enos  Van  Camp, 
colored,  Hugh  Williamson,  John  Welsh,  saw-mill,  Charles  Sutherland, 
colored. 

PERRY   TOWNSHIP. 

Jesse  Armstrong,  James  Brady,  Jr.,  John  Bell,  Esq.,  James  Bell,  single 
man,  Joseph  Bell,  single  man,  John  Bell,  single  man,  Asa  Grossman,  Sr., 
Asa  Crossman,  Jr.,  Joseph  Grossman,  Elisha  Dike,  Benjamin  Dike,  Na- 
thaniel Foster,  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  David  Hamilton,  James  Hamilton, 
Archibald  Hadden,  Jacob  Hoover,  saw-mill,  Elijah  Heath,  John  Hoover, 
James  Hutchinson,  James  Irven,  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  Stephen  Lewis, 
Isaac  Lewis,  Michael  Lantz,  Jacob  Lantz,  single  man,  Adam  Long, 
James  McClelland,  Elizabeth  McHenry,  John  McDonald,  David  Mill- 
iron,  John  Milliron,  Hugh  McKee,  James  McKee,  John  Newcome,  John 
Postlethwait,  David  Postlethwait,  single  man,  John  Pifer,  Thomas  Pagne, 
Peter  Reed,  Samuel  Stokes,  William  Smith,  James  Stewart,  John  Stewart, 
Jacob  Smith,  William  Thompson,  James  Wachob,  John  Young. 

MAPLE-SUGAR  INDUSTRY. 

One  of  the  pioneer  industries  in  this  wilderness  was  maple-sugar- 
making.  The  sugar  season  commenced  either  in  the  last  of  February  or 
the  first  of  March.  In  any  event,  at  this  time  the  manufacturer  always 
visited  his  camp  to  see  or  set  things  in  order.  The  camp  was  a  small 
cabin  made  of  logs,  covered  usually  with  clapboards,  and  open  at  one 
end.  The  fireplace  or  crane  and  hooks  were  made  in  this  way  :  Before 
the  opening  in  the  cabin  four  wooden  forks  were  deeply  set  in  the  ground, 
and  on  these  forks  was  suspended  a  strong  pole.  On  this  pole  was  hung 
the  hook  of  a  limb,  with  a  pin  in  the  lower  end  to  hang  the  kettle  on. 
An  average  camp  had  about  three  hundred  trees,  and  it  required  six  ket- 
tles, averaging  about  twenty-two  gallons  each,  to  boil  the  water  from  that 
many  trees.  The  trees  were  tapped  in  various  ways, — viz.  :  First,  with 
a  three-quarter-inch  auger,  one  or  two  inches  deep.  In  this  hole  was 
put  a  round  spile  about  eighteen  inches  long,  made  of  sumach  or  whit- 
tled pine,  two  spiles  to  a  tree.  The  later  way  was  by  cutting  a  hollow 
notch  in  the  tree  and  putting  the  spile  below  with  a  gouge.  This  spile 
was  made  of  pine  or  some  soft  wood.  When  a  boy  I  lived  about  five 
years  with  Joseph  and  James  McCurdy,  in  what  is  now  Washington  town- 

178 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ship,  and  the  latter  method  of  opening  trees  was  practised  by  them.  In- 
deed, all  I  say  here  about  this  industry  I  learned  from  and  while  with 
them.  At  the  camp  there  were  always  from  one  to  three  storage- troughs 
made  of  cucumber  or  poplar,  and  each  trough  held  from  ten  barrels  up- 
ward. Three  hundred  trees  required  a  storage  of  thirty  barrels  and 
steady  boiling  with  six  kettles.  The  small  troughs  under  the  trees  were 


Stirring  off  maple-sugar. 

made  of  pine  and  cucumber  and  held  from  three  to  six  gallons.  We 
hauled  the  water  to  the  storage-troughs  with  one  horse  and  a  kind  of 
"pung,"  the  barrel  being  kept  in  its  place  by  plank  just  far  enough 
apart  to  hold  it  tight.  In  the  fireplace  there  was  a  large  back  log  and 
one  a  little  smaller  in  front.  The  fire  was  kept  up  late  and  early  with 
smaller  wood  split  in  lengths  of  about  three  feet.  We  boiled  the  water 
into  a  thick  syrup,  then  strained  it  through  a  woollen  cloth  while  hot  into 
the  syrup-barrel.  When  it  had  settled,  and  before  putting  it  on  to 
"sugar  off,"  we  strained  it  the  second  time.  During  this  sugaring  we 
skimmed  the  scum  off  with  a  tin  skimmer  and  clarified  the  syrup  in  the 
kettle  with  eggs  well  beaten  in  sweet  milk.  This  "sugaring  off"  was 
always  done  in  cloudy  or  cold  days,  when  the  trees  wouldn't  run  " sap." 
One  barrel  of  sugar-water  from  a  sugar-tree,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
season,  would  make  from  five  to  seven  pounds  of  sugar.  The  sugar  was 
always  made  during  the  first  of  the  season.  The  molasses  was  always 

179 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

made  at  the  last  of  the  season,  or  else  it  would  turn  to  sugar  in  a  very  few 
days.  The  sugar  was  made  in  cakes,  or  "stirred  off"  in  a  granulated 
condition,  and  sold  in  the  market  for  from  six  and  a  quarter  to  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  a  pound.  In  "sugaring  off,"  the  syrup  had  to  be  fre- 
quently sampled  by  dropping  some  of  it  in  a  tin  of  cold  water,  and  if  the 
molasses  formed  a  "  thread"  that  was  brittle  like  glass,  it  was  fit  to  stir. 
I  was  good  at  sampling,  and  always  anxious  to  try  the  syrup,  as  James 
McCurdy,  who  is  still  living,  can  substantiate.  In  truth,  I  was  never 
very  hungry  during  sugar-making,  as  I  had  a  continual  feast  during 
this  season  of  hot  syrup,  treacle,  and  sugar. 

Skill  and  attention  were  both  necessary  in  "sugaring  off,"  for  if  the 
syrup  was  taken  off  too  soon  the  sugar  was  wet  and  tough,  and  if  left  on 
too  long,  the  sugar  was  burnt  and  bitter.  Time  has  evoluted  this  indus- 
try from  our  county.  In  the  census  chapter  of  1840  you  will  find  how 
many  pounds  of  maple-sugar  were  manufactured  in  each  township  and  the 
sum  total  in  pounds  for  the  county. 

"While  maple-sugar-making  has  passed  in  Jefferson  County,  it  still  is 
quite  an  important  industry  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  According  to 
the  statistics  gathered  in  the  census  of  1890,  Vermont  leads  in  the  pro- 
duction of  maple-sugar,  at  least  in  the  number  of  large  producers.  There 
were  23,533  producers  who  manufactured  each  500  pounds  or  over  of 
sugar,  according  to  that  census.  Of  these,  Vermont  reported  10,099  '>  New 
York,  7884;  New  Hampshire,  1725;  Michigan,  1135;  Pennsylvania, 
noi  ;  Ohio,  930  ;  Massachusetts,  415  ;  Maryland,  78  ;  Maine,  39  ;  West 
Virginia,  26;  Indiana,  24;  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  23  each;  Illinois,  8; 
Connecticut  and  Missouri,  5  each  ;  Wisconsin  and  Virginia,  4  each ; 
Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  2  each ;  and  Kentucky,  i . 

"It  is  the  hard-maple  tree  that  makes  the  sugar.  Windham  County, 
Vermont,  Somerset  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware  County,  New 
York,  are  the  three  greatest  maple-sugar  producing  counties  in  the  Union, 
the  first  leading  the  list  with  an  annual  yield  of  about  3,000,000  pounds, 
the  second  producing  2,500,000  pounds,  and  the  third  2,000,000  pounds. 
The  largest  single  sugar-bush  is  in  Windham  County ;  it  contains  7000 
sap-bearing  trees." 

Joseph  and  James  McCurdy  were  pioneer  settlers.  Joseph  has  been 
dead  many  years,  and  I  can  cheerfully  say  that  he  was  an  honest  and 
true  Christian. 

THE  TRANSPORTATION  OF  IRON  THROUGH  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

Centre  County,  Pennsylvania,  was  richly  supplied  by  nature  with  the 
finest  quality  of  iron  ore  and  all  the  other  requisites  for  its  manufacture 
into  iron.  The  pioneer  in  the  iron  business  in  what  is  now  Centre 
County  was  Colonel  John  Patton,  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Imme- 
diately after  peace  was  declared  he  removed  to  this  region  and  erected 

180 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Centre  Furnace."  He  died  in  1804.  The  iron  in  early  days,  before 
1800,  was  called  "  Juniata  Iron,"  and  the  market  was  to  be  found  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard. 

The  development  of  this  rich  iron  field,  thus  early  commenced, 
gradually  developed  under  the  old  charcoal  system,  until  in  1826,  when, 
from  an  increased  demand  from  the  Western  market,  there  was  in  active 
operation  in  that  county  thirteen  furnaces  making  annually  eleven  thou- 
sand six  hundred  tons  of  pig-metal  and  three  thousand  one  hundred  tons 
of  bar-iron, — with  such  a  production  of  iron  new  markets  had  to  be  sought 
out.  The  completion  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Waterford  Turnpike 
through  this  wilderness  suggested  the  feasibility  to  the  Greggs,  Curtins, 
and  others  of  transporting  pig-metal,  blooms,  and  iron  to  the  waters  of 
Red  Bank  by  horse  power,  a  distance  of  about  eighty-eight  miles,  and 
from  here  by  water  to  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky. 

As  near  as  I  can  ascertain,  about  the  year  1828  a  contract  was  entered 
into  by  iron  men  of  Centre  County  with  Henry  Riley,  of  Armstrong 
County,  Pennsylvania,  to  deliver  blooms  and  pig-iron  to  Pittsburg  and 
the  Western  market  at  a  stated  price  per  ton.  The  transportation  on 
land  to  Port  Barnett  was  principally  carried  on  during  the  winter  months 
by  farmers  in  subcontracts.  Port  Barnett  was  so  named  because  it  was 
a  shipping-point.  Henry  Feye  hauled  with  an  ox- team,  and  Joseph  Mc- 
Giffin,  of  this  county,  hauled  with  a  horse-team.  The  late  Uriah  Matson 
and  Peter  B.  Ostrander  took  subcontracts  from  Riley  for  delivering  at 
Port  Barnett.  They  hauled  with  oxen  and  sleds  and  carried  their  own 
board  and  ox- feed  with  them.  The  round  trip  took  them  about  ten  days. 
Matson  and  Ostrander  received  about  ten  dollars  per  ton  for  their  work. 
Peter  B.  Ostrander  was  a  veteran  of  the  war  of  1812.  Other  Port  Barnett 
teamsters  were  Samuel  Jones  and  David  Butler.  Fudge  Van  Camp,  our 
colored  patriarch  and  brother,  hauled  this  pig-metal  as  well  as  fiddled  in 
the  old  inns  and  taverns.  Riley's  teamsters  were  Captain  F.  Downs, 
Christ  Shick,  and  others.  These  men  were  all  well  supplied  with  old 
rye  and  used  it  freely.  They  hauled  with  wooden  sleds,  having  wooden 
soles.  The  iron  was  principally  hauled  from  Phillipsburg.  A  number  of 
Armstrong  farmers  (now  Clarion)  took  subcontracts  from  Riley, — viz., 
the  Joneses,  Crookses,  Hindmans,  and  Shieldses.  The  "silver  craze" 
prevailed  then,  for  Riley  paid  his  contract  workers  all  in  silver. 

From  Port  Barnett  the  pioneer  transportation  to  Pittsburg  was  on 
rafts.  The  rafts  were  made  of  dry  or  dead  pine  timber,  in  this  wise  : 
The  sticks  were  notched  on  each  side  and  a  hole  was  bored  through 
each  ;  then  the  sticks  were  placed  side  by  side  in  the  water  to  form  a 
platform,  and  poles  were  driven  through  these  flat  platforms  and  wedged 
on  each  side.  These  dry  pine  logs  forming  the  platform  were  marketed 
in  Pittsburg  for  wood.  Samuel  T.  Corbett,  uncle  of  W.  W.  Corbett, 

181 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  the  pioneer  to  pilot  one  of  these  rafts  to  market.  Henry  Feye  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  barges  would  afford  better  transportation  facilities 
for  the  iron,  and  he  built  one,  loaded  it,  and  had  the  misfortune  to  stove 
it  on  what  is  now  called,  on  that  account,  "Iron  Bar  Ripple."  This 
ripple  is  about  one  and  one-half  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Red  Bank. 
William  Jack,  of  Brookville,  built  boats  on  the  North  Fork,  at  the  head 
of  what  is  now  Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co. 's  dam.  The  late  James  K.  Hoff- 
man and  John  Dixon  worked  on  these  boats  and  helped  run  them  to 
market.  The  barge  business  continued,  and  Major  William  Rodgers,  of 
Brookville,  and  Thomas  Chapman,  of  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, received  the  contract  in  1832  for  the  transportation  of  three  hun- 
dred tons.  This  contract  was  for  but  two  years,  and  was  for  bar-iron 
to  be  delivered  at  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Their  shipping-point  was  the 
mouth  of  the  North  Fork.  Joseph  McGiffin,  William  Kennedy,  and 
William  Kelso,  of  this  county,  hauled  for  this  firm.  Chapman  and 
Rodgers  shipped  entirely  by  barges  or  flat-boats  about  eighty  feet  long. 
After  the  iron  was  unloaded  an  eighty-foot  boat  brought  them  eighty 
dollars. 

This  mode  of  transportation  ceased  in  1834,  but  iron  and  nails  were 
still  brought  here  for  our  local  market  for  many  years  thereafter. 

THE  FIRST  SCREW  FACTORY. 

"It  is  an  especially  noteworthy  fact,  known  to  comparatively  few 
persons,  that  the  first  screw-mill  in  the  United  States  was  erected  in  1821 
by  Mr.  Phillips  in  the  little  mountain  village  of  Phillipsburg,  hundreds  of 
miles  distant  from  any  of  the  great  marts  of  the  country.  The  neces- 
sary buildings  were  put  up  near  the  Moshannon  Creek,  in  a  suburb  of  the 
town  that  is  now  called  Point  Lookout.  The  capacity  of  the  factory  was 
fifteen  hundred  gross  per  week,  but  the  largest  quantity  produced  during 
the  time  it  was  in  operation  was  one  thousand  gross  per  week,  the  material 
for  which  was  prepared  from  the  blooms  by  rolling  and  wire  drawing 
machinery  operated  by  steam-  and  water-power.  The  nearest  and  best 
market  was  at  Pittsburg,  through  Port  Barnett,  and  the  products  of  the 
forge-  and  screw- mill  had  to  be  hauled  at  no  inconsiderable  expense  to 
the  waters  of  the  Allegheny  River  in  wagons,  and  thence  transported  in 
arks  to  their  destination." 

The  old  Chinklacamoose  trail  passed  through  and  over  the  high 
table  lands  in  the  county  of  Centre,  passing  through  or  near  Milesburg, 
Phillipsburg,  and  Snow  Shoe.  Snow  Shoe  took  its  name  from  the  follow- 
ing circumstances  :  About  or  previous  to  the  year  1775,  "a  party  of  white 
hunters  went  out  on  the  old  Chinklacamoose  trail  and  were  overtaken  on 
these  high  table-lands  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  near  the  forks  of 
Moshannon  Creek,  by  a  heavy  snow-storm.  Their  provisions  becoming 
exhausted  they  had  to  make  snow-shoes  and  walk  in  them  to  the  Bald 

182 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Eagle  settlement.  It  required  about  two  days  to  travel  in  these  snow- 
shoes  a  distance  of  thirty  miles."  This  old  Indian  path  passed  through 
the  Indian  town  of  Chinklacamoose, — old  town,  or  what  is  now  called 
Clearfield.  "  This  was  the  central  point  of  the  great  Chinklacamoose 
path."  "  Post  lodged  at  this  village  on  his  way  to  the  Ohio  country  in 
the  night  of  August  2,  1758.  'We  arrived,'  he  writes  in  his  journal, 
'  this  night  at  Shinglimuce,  where  we  saw  the  posts  painted  red  and  stuck 
in  the  ground,  to  which  the  Indians  tie  their  prisoners.  It  is  a  disagree- 
able and  melancholy  sight  to  see  the  means  they  use  to  punish  flesh  and 
blood.'  " 

At  this  point  Indian  trails  connecting  the  great  eastern  and  western 
waters  crossed  the  mountains  in  various  directions.  There  was  a  trail 
towards  Fort  Venango  (through  Brookville),  another  towards  Kittanning 
(through  Punxsutawney),  and  one  towards  the  source  of  the  Sinnema- 
honing  (through  Brockwayville).  Punxsutawney  was  another  central 
point  for  Indian  paths,  and  this  Chinklacamoose  trail  is  famous,  made 
so  by  the  fact  that  the  "white  prisoners"  were  carried  over  it  to  Kit- 
han-ne,  in  Munsi  Indian,  and  Gicht-han-ne,  in  Delaware,  meaning  Kit- 
tanning,  or  a  town  near  or  on  the  main  stream, — viz.,  the  Allegheny 
River. 

I  copy  from  the  Armstrong  history  a  few  of  the  early  cruelties  prac- 
tised on  the  prisoners  carried  over  this  trail. 

"At  a  council,  held  in  Philadelphia,  Tuesday,  September  6,  1756, 
the  statement  of  John  Coxe,  a  son  of  the  widow  Coxe,  was  made,  the 
substance  of  which  is :  He,  his  brother  Richard,  and  John  Craig  were 
taken  in  the  beginning  of  February  of  that  year  by  nine  Delaware  In- 
dians from  a  plantation  two  miles  from  McDowell's  mill,  which  was 
between  the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Conococheague  Creek,  about 
twenty  miles  west  of  the  present  site  of  Shippensburg,  in  what  is  now 
Franklin  County,  and  brought  to  Kittanning  'on  the  Ohio.'  On  his 
way  hither  he  met  Shingas  with  a  party  of  thirty  men,  and  afterwards,  with 
Captain  Jacobs  and  fifteen  men,  whose  design  was  to  destroy  the  settle- 
ments in  Conogchege.  When  he  arrived  at  Kittanning  he  saw  here 
about  one  hundred  fighting  men  of  the  Delaware  tribe,  with  their  families, 
and  about  fifty  English  prisoners,  consisting  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. During  his  stay  here  Shingas's  and  Jacobs's  parties  returned,  the 
one  with  nine  scalps  and  five  prisoners.  Another  company  of  eighteen 
came  from  Diahogo  with  seventeen  scalps  on  a  pole,  which  they  took  to 
Fort  Duquesne  to  obtain  their  reward.  The  warriors  held  a  council, 
which,  with  their  war-dances,  continued  a  week,  when  Captain  Jacobs  left 
with  forty-eight  men,  intending,  as  Coxe  was  told,  to  fall  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  Paxton.  He  heard  the  Indians  frequently  say  that  they 
intended  to  kill  all  the  white  folks  except  a  few,  with  whom  they  would 
afterwards  make  peace. 

183 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"They  made  an  example  of  Paul  Broadley,  whom,  with  their  usual 
cruelty,  they  beat  for  half  an  hour  with  clubs  and  tomahawks,  and  then, 
having  fastened  him  to  a  post,  cropped  his  ears  close  to  his  head  and 
chopped  off  his  fingers,  calling  all  the  prisoners  to  witness  the  horrible 
scene. 

"  Among  other  English  prisoners  brought  to  Kittanning  were  George 
Woods,  father-in-law  of  the  eminent  lawyer,  James  Ross  (deceased),  and 
the  wife  and  daughter  of  John  Grey,  who  were  captured  at  Bigham's 
Fort,  in  the  Tuscarora  Valley,  in  1756.  Mr.  Grey  came  out  here  with 
Armstrong's  expedition,  hoping  to  hear  from  his  family.  These  three 
prisoners  were  sent  from  Kittanning  to  Fort  Duquesne  and  subsequently 
to  Canada. 

"  Fort  Granville,  which  was  situated  on  the  Juniata,  one  mile  above 
Lewistown,  was  besieged  by  the  Indians  July  30,  1756.  The  force  then 
in  it  consisted  of  twenty-four  men  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Armstrong,  who  was  killed  during  the  siege.  The  Indians  having  offered 
quarter  to  those  in  the  fort,  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  Turner  opened 
the  gate  to  them.  He  and  the  others,  including  three  women  and  several 
children,  were  taken  prisoners.  By  order  of  the  French  commander  the 
fort  was  burned  by  Captain  Jacobs.  When  the  Indians  and  prisoners 
reached  Kittanning,  Turner  was  tied  to  a  black  post,  the  Indians  danced 
around  him,  made  a  great  fire,  and  his  body  was  run  through  with  red- 
hot  gun-barrels.  Having  tormented  him  for  three  hours,  the  Indians 
scalped  him  alive,  and  finally  held  up  a  boy,  who  gave  him  the  finishing 
stroke  with  a  hatchet. 

"  Such  were  a  few  of  the  terrible  enactments  of  which  Kittanning  was 
the  scene  in  the  eighteenth  century." 

POPULATION    OF     THE    STATE    OF     PENNSYLVANIA    AND    OF     THE 
UNITED  STATES  FROM  1790  TO  1840  INCLUSIVE. 

1790. 

Whites.  Free  Colored.  Negro  Slaves.  Total  in  Pennsylvania. 

424,099  6,537  3.737  434,373 

Population  in  the  United  States,  3,929,827. 

I80O. 

586,098  14,561  1,706  602,365 

Population  in  the  United  States,  5,305,941. 

1810. 

786,704  22,492  795  810,091 

Population  in  the  United  States,  7,239,814. 

1820. 

1,017,094  32,153  211  I,049,458 

Population  in  the  United  States,  9,638,191. 
184 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA, 

1830. 

Whites.  Free  Colored.  Negro  Slaves.  Total  in  Pennsylvania. 

i,3°9>9°°  37,93°  4°3  1,348,233 

Population  in  the  United  States,  12,866,020. 

1840. 

1,676,115  47,854  64  1,724,033 

Population  in  the  United  States,  17,069,453. 

RATIO  FOR  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 

1790 — 33,000  Number  in  Pennsylvania,  13  Total  membership,  105 

1800 — 33,000  "        "             "              18  "  "  141 

1810 — 35,000  "        "             "             23  "  "  181 

1820 — 40,000  "        "             "              26  "  "  213 

1830 — 47,000  "        "             "             28  "  "  240 

1840 — 70,680  "       "             "             24  "  "  223 
Salary  of  a  Congressman,  eight  dollars  a  day. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  ERECTION  OF  THE  COUNTY — SITE  FOR  COUNTY'  ESTABLISHED,  AND 
DEED  FOR  PUBLIC  LOTS — PIONEER  COURT-HOUSE  AND  JAIL — THE 
PIONEER  ACADEMY. 

ERECTION  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

WHEN  William  Penn  came  to  what  is  now  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
and  organized  what  has  become  our  present  Commonwealth,  he  erected 
three  counties,  which  were  Bucks,  Philadelphia,  and  Chester.  Chester 
County  extended  over  the  western  portion  of  the  State  at  that  time.  In 
reality,  it  had  jurisdiction  over  only  the  inhabitable  portion,  but  its 
boundary  lines  extended  west  of  what  is  now  Jefferson  County. 

On  May  10,  1729,  Lancaster  County  was  erected  from  Chester.  On 
January  27,  1750,  Cumberland  County  was  erected  from  Lancaster.  On. 
March  9,  1771,  Bedford  County  was  erected  from  Cumberland.  March 
27,  1772,  Northumberland  County  was  erected,  and  for  thirteen  years  our 
wilderness  was  in  this  county.  On  April  13,  1795,  Lycoming  County 
was  erected  from  Northumberland,  and  on  March  26,  1804,  Jefferson 
County  was  erected  from  Lycoming  County.  Thus  you  will  see  that  this 
wilderness  was  embraced  in  six  other  counties  before  it  was  erected  into 
a  separate  county.  The  name  of  the  county  was  given  in  honor  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  who  was  then  President  of  the  United  States.  The 
original  area  of  Jefferson  County  contained  1 203  square  miles,  but  it  now 
has  only  about  413,440  acres;  highest  altitude,  from  1200  to  1880  feet 
above  sea-level;  length  of  county,  46  miles;  breadth,  26  miles. 
13  185 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Jefferson  County  is  now  in  the  fourth  tier  of  counties  east  of  the  Ohio 
line,  and  in  the  third  tier  south  of  the  New  York  line,  and  is  bounded  by 
Forest  and  Elk  on  the  north,  Clearfield  on  the  east,  Indiana  on  the  south, 
and  Armstrong  and  Clarion  on  the  west.  Its  south  line  now  runs  due 
west  twenty-three  and  one-third  miles  from  the  Clearfield-Indiana  corner  ; 


Map  of  Jefferson  County,  1842. 

its  west  line  thence  due  north  twenty-eight  and  one-quarter  miles  to  the 
Clarion  River ;  its  north  line,  first  up  the  Clarion  River  to  Elk  County, 
thence  due  south  one-half  mile,  thence  southeast  thirteen  and  three- 
quarter  miles,  to  Clearfield  County ;  its  east  line  runs  first  southwest  ten 
miles,  thence  due  south  fifteen  and  one-third  miles,  to  the  starting-place 
at  the  Clearfield-Indiana  corner. 

1 86 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

"  The  original  boundary  lines  enclosed  an  area  of  more  than  one  thou- 
sand square  miles,  embracing  much  of  what  is  now  Forest  and  Elk,  be- 
yond the  Clarion  River.  At  what  time  the  present  boundaries  were 
erected  is  not  certain  ;  but  much  shifting  took  place,  especially  along  the 
northern  border,  until  comparatively  recent  years. 

"  The  pioneer  people  were  mainly  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  with  a 
considerable  intermixture  of  the  German  element,  industrious,  prudent, 

and  thrifty. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

"  The  surface  of  Jefferson  County  is  uniformly  broken  and  hilly ; 
everywhere  occupied  by  the  same  set  of  rock  strata,  lying  nearly  hori- 
zontal, and  excavated  into  valleys  and  ravines  in  the  same  style.  Although 
one  valley  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  exact  counterpart  of  another,  nor  the 
streams  be  considered  of  equal  size  and  importance,  yet  the  type  of  the 
topography  is  the  same  wherever  we  look  at  it,  and  any  one  part  of  the 
county,  therefore,  is,  in  this  respect,  a  picture  of  the  whole. 

"  Standing  upon  one  of  the  many  elevated  points  of  the  region,  the 
observer  may  see  beneath  him  a  broad  valley,  from  three  hundred  to  five 
hundred  feet  deep,  and  as  irregular  in  its  trend  and  course  as  its  slopes 
are  variable  in  their  fall.  Here  precipitous  walls  face  the  stream  on  both 
sides ;  there  a  sharp  descent  upon  the  one  side  is  faced  by  a  long  gentle 
slope  upon  the  other,  according  as  the  dips  are  arranged ;  at  another 
place  the  valley  widens  under  the  influence  of  a  synclinal,  and  both  its 
slopes  are  gradual.  Numerous  ravines,  some  short,  some  long,  some  deep, 
others  shallow,  debouch  into  the  valley  from  both  sides.  Uplands  un- 
dulating, but  of  a  pretty  uniform  height,  stretch  away  in  both  directions. 
No  mountain  ridges  are  anywhere  visible  on  the  horizon.  As  far  as  the 
eye  can  see  there  spreads  an  elevated  table-land,  broken  by  vales,  valleys, 
and  ravines. 

"The  height  above  tide  of  the  upland  summits  ranges  from  twelve 
hundred  to  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  They  are  lowest  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  county,  and  highest  at  the  northern  end,  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  topographical  law  prevailing  throughout  Western  Pennsylvania  : 
that  the  surface  elevations  gradually  increase  in  the  direction  of  the  rising 
anticlinal  axes, — i.e.,  towards  the  northeast. 

"  To  this  law  there  is  one  notable  exception  in  Jefferson  County; 
the  southeast  corner  borders  on  the  high  table-land  of  the  Chestnut  Ridge 
anticlinal,  whose  summits  frequently  attain  an  elevation  of  two  thousand 
feet ;  and  some  few  points  in  Gaskill  township  rise  nearly  to  that  height ; 
but  these  points  are  related  more  closely  to  the  topography  of  Indiana 
and  Clearfield  Counties  than  to  that  of  Jefferson,  which  is  in  fact  a  mere 
continuation  of  that  prevailing  throughout  Clarion,  Armstrong,  and 
western  Indiana  Counties. 

187 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 
ELEVATION. 

Feet. 

Hillman above  sep.-level,  1880 

Perrysville "  "  1170 

Winslow "  "  1636 

Horatio "  "  I2II 

Falls  Creek above  tide,  1405 

Evergreen "  "  1398 

Magee's  (Sandy  Galley  P.  O.) "  "  1387 

Panther  Run "  "  1386 

Reynoldsville "  "  1377 

Prior  Run "  "  1366 

Prindible "  "  1360 

McAnnulty's  Run "  "  1359 

Camp  Run "  "  1341 

Fuller's "  "  1327 

Wolf  Run • "  "  1319 

Iowa  Mills "  "  1299 

Bell's  Mills "  "  1268 

Brookville  Tunnel,  east  end "  "  1242 

Brookville  Station "  "  1235 

Coder's  Run "  "  1223 

Puckerty  Point "  "  ^214 

Rattlesnake  Run "  "  1207 

Baxter "  li  1206 

Troy "  "  1186 

Heathville "  "  1161 

Patton's "  '•  1131 

ELEVATION  ABOVE  TIDE  FROM  FALLS  CREEK  TO  RIDGEWAY. 

Near  Falls  Creek  Station above  tide,  1406 

Surface  ot  ground,  McMinn's  Summit "  "  1625 

(McMinn's  Summit  is  the  Boon  Mountain  divide.) 

Brockwayville "  "  1466 

Ordinary  low  water  in  Little  Toby "  "  1441 

On  the  main  Ridgway  Road "  "  1451 

Mouth  of  Little  Toby  Creek "  "  1321 

(This  is  the  ordinary  water-level.) 

Big  Run "  "  1287 

Sykesville "  "  1350 

Punxsutawney "  "  1225 

DRAINAGE. 

"  The  drainage  of  Jefferson  County  is  all  westward  towards  the  Ohio 
River,  through  (i)  the  Clarion  River  at  the  north  end  of  the  county,  (2) 
Red  Bank  Creek  in  the  centre,  and  (3)  Mahoning  Creek  on  the  south. 
Each  of  these  streams  has  its  own  complex  system  of  tributaries,  each 
with  its  own  system  of  small  branches  and  branchlets ;  and  thus  the  sur- 
face of  the  whole  county  is  broken  into  hills. 

188 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Although  the  Clarion  and  Mahoning  are  larger  streams,  yet  they  flow- 
on  the  borders  of  the  county,  and  are  less  important  to  it  than  the  Red  Bank. 

"  Red  Bank  Creek  is  the  principal  stream,  as  a  glance  at  the  map  will 
at  once  show.  Its  water  basin  is  unsymmetrical  on  the  two  sides,  a  much 
larger  part  of  its  drainage  coming  in  from  the  north  than  from  the  south. 
Excepting  indeed  from  the  Little  Sandy  branch  its  basin  on  the  south 
side  would  be  confined  pretty  much  to  the  hills  which  overlook  the  creek  ; 
whereas  towards  the  north  its  far-reaching  arms  extend  to  what  is  now  the 
Elk  County  line. 

"  Red  Bank  Creek  in  the  original  maps  and  drafts  of  Jefferson  County 
bore  the  name  of  Sandy  Lick,  which  name  is  still  retained  for  its  main 
branch,  coming  from  Clearfield  County,  along  which  the  Bennett's 
Branch  Railroad  is  laid.  The  creek  assumes  the  name  of  Red  Bank  at 
Brookville,  where  Sandy  Lick  unites  with  the  North  Fork,  and  both 
branches  carry  enough  water  during  floods  to  float  rafts  and  logs. 

"  Mill  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Sandy  Lick,  is  also  a  rafting  stream. 

"  Little  Sandy,  before  alluded  to  as  occupying  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  county,  is  a  rafting  stream. 

"  The  volume  of  water,  however,  in  all  the  streams,  large  and  small, 
is  extremely  irregular,  varying  as  it  does  from  stages  of  high  flood  when 
the  larger  streams  are  destructive  torrents,  to  stages  of  almost  complete 
exhaustion  during  periods  of  severe  drought.  This  extreme  of  variability 
is  largely  the  consequence  of  the  porous  and  loose  condition  of  the  surface 
rocks,  which  thus  copiously  yield  water  so  long  as  they  hold  it.  In 
1879,  an  exceptional  year,  after  a  succession  of  prolonged  droughts, 
there  was  a  dearth  of  water  in  all  parts  of  the  county ;  the  larger  streams 
had  barely  enough  in  them  to  turn  a  mill ;  and  considerable  difficulty 
was  experienced,  especially  in  the  upland  country,  to  obtain  water  for  the 
cattle.  As  a  rule,  the  county  is  abundantly  watered  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses, and  for  domestic  supply  in  towns  and  villages. 

"The  Red  Bank-Mahoning  divide  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
county  crosses  from  Clearfield  at  a  point  nearly  due  east  of  Reynoldsville. 
Thence  it  follows  an  irregular  southwest  line,  around  the  heads  of  Elk 
Run,  and  around  the  heads  of  Little  Sandy.  Paradise  settlement  stands 
at  the  top  of  it ;  so  does  Shamoka,  Oliveburg,  and  Frostburg.  Porter 
Post-Office  at  the  southwest  end  of  the  county  marks  the  top  of  the  divide 
in  that  region. 

"  The  Red  Bank-Clarion  divide  on  the  north  enters  Jefferson  south  of 
Lane's  Grove,  where  one  branch  of  Rattlesnake  Run  takes  its  rise.  After 
passing  Brockwayville  the  water-shed  is  forced  almost  to  the  edge  of  Little 
Toby  valley,  as  will  be  seen  on  examination  of  the  county  map.  Along 
the  last-named  stream  it  passes  in  Elk  County,  where  curving  about  the 
heads  of  the  North  Fork  (Red  Bank  system),  it  returns  again  to  Jefferson, 
whence  closely  skirting  the  Clarion  River,  it  runs  southwest  of  Sigel. 

189 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

There  it  turns  sharply  about  and  next  sweeps  around  the  head  of  Big 
Mill  Creek,  extending  thence  south  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Red 
Bank  valley.  It  therefore  describes  a  semicircle  in  northern  Jefferson, 
stretching  from  one  side  of  the  county  to  the  other." 

FOREST-TREES. 

"The  southern  portion  of  Jefferson  County  was  mostly  covered  with 
white  oak,  black  oak,  rock  oak,  chestnut,  sugar,  beech,  and  hickory. 

"The  rock  areas  of  northern  Jefferson  were  covered  with  pine  and 
hemlock,  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  white  oak.  There  is  still  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  marketable  hemlock  left. 

"White  oak,  chestnut,  sugar,  beech,  and  hickory  were  the  principal 
kinds  of  wood  on  the  cleared  lands. 

"White  oak  was  found  mostly  on  the  high  uplands. 

"  W.  C.  Elliott  says,  '  There  were  four  kinds  of  maple,  four  of  ash,  five 
of  hickory,  eight  of  oak,  three  of  birch,  four  of  willow,  four  of  poplar, 
four  of  pine,  and  from  one  to  three  of  each  of  the  other  varieties.  The 
following  are  the  names  of  all  of  them  ;  some  of  the  trees  are  not  correctly 
named,  but  the  names  given  are  the  only  English  names  by  which  they 
go.  Their  Latin  names  are  all  correct  and  would  be  given,  but  would  not 
be  understood.  Sweet-bay,  cucumber,  elkwood,  long-leaved  cucumber, 
white  basswood,  toothache-tree,  wafer-ash,  spindle-tree,  Indian-cherry, 
feted  buckeye,  sweet  buckeye,  striped  maple,  sugar-maple,  white  maple, 
red  maple,  ash-leaved  maple,  staghorn  sumach,  dwarf  sumach,  poison 
elder,  locust,  coffee-nut,  honey-locust,  judas-tree,  wild  plum,  hog-plum, 
red  cherry,  black  cherry,  American  crab- apple,  crab- apple,  cockspur, 
thorn,  scarlet  haw,  blackthorn,  Washington  thorn,  service-tree,  witch- 
hazel,  sweet-gum,  dogwood,  boxwood,  sour-gum,  sheep-berry,  stag-bush, 
sorrel-tree,  spoonwood,  rosebay,  southern  buckthorn,  white  ash,  red  ash, 
green  ash,  black  ash,  fringe-tree,  catalpa,  sassafras,  red  elm,  white  elm, 
rock  elm,  hackberry,  red  mulberry,  sycamore,  butternut,  walnut,  bitter- 
nut,  pignut,  kingnut,  shagbark,  white  hickory,  swamp  white  oak,  chest- 
nut oak,  yellow  oak,  red  oak,  shingle  oak,  chinquapin,  chestnut,  iron- 
wood,  leverwood,  beech,  gray  birch,  red  birch,  black  birch,  black  alder, 
speckled  alder,  black  willow,  sand-bar  willow,  almond-willow,  glaucous 
willow,  aspen,  two  varieties  of  soft  poplar,  two  varieties  of  cottonwood, 
two  varieties  of  necklace-poplar,  liriodendron  (incorrectly  called  poplar), 
white  cedar,  red  cedar,  white  pine,  hemlock,  balsam,  fir,  hickory,  pine, 
pitch-pine  or  yellow  pine,  red  pine,  Virginia  date,  and  forest  olive.  In 
addition  to  the  above  were  numerous  wild  berries,  vines,  etc. ' 

GEOLOGICAL   STRUCTURE. 

"  The  rocks  of  Jefferson  County  are  folded  in  a  regular  succession  of 
parallel  anticlinal  ridges  and  synclinal  basins,  stretching  from  southwest 

190 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  northeast.  The  folds  are  not  all  equidistant  from  each  other.  Those 
west  of  Perrysville  anticlinical  are  nearly  so. 

"The  anticlinical  arches  are  low,  and  the  synclinal  basins  are  shal- 
low ;  and  while  they  are  not  equal  in  height  and  depth,  when  compared 
with  one  another,  the  difference  is  small,  although  of  considerable  im- 
portance in  its  effect  upon  mining  interests.  Some  idea  of  how  gently 
the  rocks  incline  from  the  horizontal  may  be  got  from  the  fact  that  the 
whole  thickness  of  strata  outcropping  at  the  surface  in  any  basin  does 
not  exceed  five  hundred  feet,  although  the  basin  is  in  some  cases  six 
miles  wide. 

"The  axes  of  the  rolls  and  troughs  being  parallel,  the  line  of  strike 
is  necessarily  uniform  in  all  parts  of  the  county ;  about  N.  40°  E.  (S. 
40°  W.). 

"  The  normal  dip,  therefore,  is  either  to  the  N.  50°  W.  or  S.  50°  E. 
But  the  real  dip  is  somewhat  different,  owing  to  the  plainly  marked  rise 
of  the  whole  region  (with  its  anticlinals  and  synclinals)  towards  the 
northeast." — Geological  Report  of  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania. 

"  AN  ACT  TO  ERECT  PARTS  OF  LYCOMING,  HUNTINGDON,  AND  SOMERSET 

COUNTIES  INTO  SEPARATE  COUNTY  DISTRICTS. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  same,  That  part  of  the  county  of  Lycoming,  included  within 
the  following  lines,  to  wit :  Beginning  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Venango 
County,  and  thence  east  thirty  miles  (part  along  the  line  of  Warren 
County),  and  thence  by  a  due  south  line  fifteen  miles,  thence  a  south- 
westerly course  to  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  where  Hunter's  district  line  crosses 
said  creek ;  thence  south  along  Hunter's  district  line  to  a  point  twelve 
miles  north  of  the  canoe-place,  on  the  west  branch  of  Susquehanna; 
thence  a  due  west  line  until  it  intersects  the  eastern  boundary  of  Arm- 
strong County  ;  thence  north  along  the  line  of  Armstrong  and  Venango 
Counties,  to  the  place  of  beginning,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected 
into  a  separate  county,  to  be  henceforth  called  Jefferson  County ;  and  the 
place  of  holding  the  courts  of  justice  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Legislature  at 
any  place  at  a  distance  not  greater  than  seven  miles  from  the  centre  of 
the  said  county,  which  may  be  most  beneficial  and  convenient  for  the 
said  county. 

"SECTION  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  Governor  shall,  as  soon  as  convenient,  appoint  three  Commissioners 
to  run  and  mark  the  boundary  lines  of  the  counties  of  Jefferson,  Clear- 
field,  and  Cambria,  and  shall  appoint  three  other  Commissioners  to  run 
and  mark  the  boundary  lines  of  the  counties  of  McKean,  Potter,  and 
Tioga,  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act ;  and  the 
said  Commissioners,  or  any  two  of  them,  shall  have  power  to  run  the 
aforesaid  lines,  and  shall  have,  for  their  services,  the  sum  of  two  dollars 

191 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

for  every  mile  so  run  and  marked,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  this 
Commonwealth. 

"  SECTION  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
as  soon  as  it  shall  appear  by  an  enumeration  of  the  taxable  inhabitants 
within  the  counties  of  Jefferson,  McKean,  Clearfield,  Potter,  Tioga,  and 
Cambria,  that  any  of  the  said  counties,  according  to  the  ratio  which  shall 
then  be  established  for  apportioning  the  representation  among  the  several 
counties  of  this  Commonwealth,  shall  be  entitled  to  a  separate  representa- 
tion, provision  shall  be  made  by  law  apportioning  the  said  representa- 
tion, and  enabling  such  county  to  be  represented  separately,  and  to  hold 
the  courts  of  justice  at  such  place  in  the  said  county  as  is  or  may  here- 
after be  fixed  for  holding  the  same  by  the  Legislature,  and  to  choose 
their  county  officers  in  like  manner  as  in  the  other  counties  of  this 
Commonwealth. 

"  SECTION  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  Governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  appoint 
three  suitable  persons  for  trustees  in  each  of  the  said  counties,  who  shall 
receive  proposals  in  writing  from  any  person  or  persons,  or  any  bodies 
corporate  or  politic,  for  the  grant  or  conveyance  of  any  lands  within  the 
said  counties  respectively,  and  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  this  act  for 
fixing  the  place  of  holding  courts  of  justice  in  said  counties  respectively, 
or  the  transfer  of  any  other  property,  or  payment  of  money  for  the  use  of 
said  counties,  and  transmit  to  the  Legislature  from  time  to  time  a  copy 
of  the  proposals  so  received  under  their  hands ;  and  when  the  place  of 
holding  courts  of  justice  in  the  said  counties  respectively  shall  be  fixed 
by  the  Legislature,  to  take  assurances  in  the  law  for  the  lands  and  other 
valuable  property,  or  money  contained  in  any  such  proposals,  which  shall 
or  may  be  accepted  of. 

"SECTION  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  for  the  present  convenience  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Jef- 
ferson, and  until  an  enumeration  of  the  taxable  inhabitants  of  said  county 
shall  be  made,  and  it  shall  be  otherwise  directed  by  law,  the  said  county 
of  Jefferson  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  annexed  to  the  county  of 
Westmoreland ;  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  several  courts  of  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  and  the  authority  of  the  judges  thereof,  shall  extend 
over  and  shall  operate  and  be  effectual  within  the  said  county  of  Jef- 
ferson. 

"SECTION  15.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  electors  within  the  counties  erected  by  this  act  shall  continue 
to  elect  at  the  same  places  and  with  the  same  counties  as  heretofore. 

"Approved — the  twenty-fifth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  and  eight  hundred  and  four. 

"THOMAS  McKEAN, 

"  Governor  of  the  Commowealth  of  Pennsylvania." 
192 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"AN  ACT  APPROVING  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  COMMISSIONERS  TO  FIX  UPON 
A  PROPER  SITE  FOR  THE  SEAT  OF  JUSTICE  IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

"  SECTION  i.  Beit  enacted,  etc.,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority 
of  the  same,  That  John  Mitchell,  of  the  county  of  Centre,  Alexander  Mc- 
Calmont,  of  the  county  of  Venango,  and  Robert  Orr,  Junior,  of  Arm- 
strong County,  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  Commissioners,  who,  or 
a  majority  of  whom,  shall  meet  at  the  house  of  Andrew  Barnett,  in  the 
county  of  Jefferson,  on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next,  and  from 
thence  proceed  to  view  and  determine  the  most  eligible  and  proper  situa- 
tion for  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  said  county  of  Jefferson,  and  make  report 
into  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  on  or  before  the 
first  Monday  of  December  next ;  and  each  of  said  Commissioners  shall 
receive  three  dollars  per  day  for  every  day  they  shall  be  necessarily  em- 
ployed in  the  duty  aforesaid,  to  be  paid  by  warrants  drawn  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Jefferson  County  on  the  treasurer  of  said  county  :  Provided,  That 
in  case  of  death,  resignation,  or  inability  of  any  one  or  more  of  the 
Commissioners  to  serve,  the  Governor  shall  be  authorized  and  required 
to  appoint  such  suitable  person  or  persons  to  fill  such  vacancy  or 
vacancies. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County  shall  have  power,  and  it  shall  be 
their  duty  to  take  assurances,  by  deed,  bond,  or  otherwise,  of  any  land, 
lots,  money,  or  other  property  which  hath  or  may  be  offered  for  the  use 
and  benefit  of  the  said  county,  either  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  public 
buildings,  or  for  the  support  of  an  academy  or  other  public  use. 

"  Approved — the  eighth  day  of  April,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine. 

"  J.  ANDW.  SHULZE." 


In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  these  men  met  at  the 
house  of  Joseph  Barnett  on  the  first  Monday  of  September,  1829,  and 
located  the  site  on  the  Waterford  and  Susquehanna  turnpike,  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Sandy  Lick  and  North  Fork,  where  they  form  the  Red 
Bank,  and  named  the  place  Brookville. 

The  boundaries  of  the  town  as  then  laid  out  were  as  follows  :  Butler 
Alley,  running  east  and  west,  north  of  the  second  (or  old  graveyard), 
thence  east,  taking  in  the  mills  and  dam  of  Robert  P.  Barr,  now  Heidrick, 
Matson  &  Co.  On  the  west  was  an  alley,  now  east  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  down  that  alley  to  Water  Street,  taking  in  or  including  "  Hunt's 
Point, ' '  thence  along  Water  Street  to  Pickering  Street,  and  across  Red 
Bank,  near  the  bridge,  and  out  Pickering  Street  to  lot  No.  25,  and  thence 
to  the  Sandy  Lick. 

193 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

'  AN  ACT  TO  AUTHORIZE  THE  PROVISIONAL  COUNTY  OF  JEFFERSON,  TO 
ELECT  COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS,  AND  FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

"  SECTION  i.  (The  citizens  to  elect  three  County  Commissioners  and 
three  Auditors  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October  next :) 

"Provided,  that  the  largest  in  vote  of  the  said  County  Commission- 
ers, and  also  the  lowest  in  vote  of  the  said  County  Auditors,  shall  only 
serve  one  year,  the  next  lowest  two  years,  whose  places  respectively  shall 
be  supplied  according  to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth.  Provided 
always,  That  all  and  singular  the  costs  and  expenses  in  laying  out  and 
opening  roads,  all  costs  chargeable  to  the  county  of  Jefferson,  arising 
from  criminal  prosecutions  instituted  against  persons  within  said  county, 
and  all  other  costs  and  expenses  incidental  to  said  county,  and  which  of 
right  should  be  paid  by  the  same,  on  account  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
several  Courts  of  Indiana  County,  and  the  authority  of  the  judges  thereof 
extending  over  the  said  county  of  Jefferson,  shall  be  paid  by  the  said 
county  of  Jefferson,  on  warrants  drawn  by  the  Commissioners  of  Indiana 
County,  and  countersigned  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  county  of  Jeffer- 
son. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  said  Commissioners  of  the  county  of  Jef- 
ferson, or  their  successors,  to  call  on  the  Commissioners  of  the  county  of 
Indiana  for  the  purpose  of  examining,  liquidating,  and  receiving  such 
balances  as  shall  be  found  due  to  the  said  county  of  Jefferson,  and  if,  on 
such  examination,  it  be  found  that  a  balance  is  due  from  the  county  of 
Jefferson  to  the  county  of  Indiana,  then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Indiana  County  to  call  on  the  Commissioners  of  Jefferson 
County  and  receive  said  balance. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  said  County  Commissioners  and  Auditors  so  elected  shall  hold  their 
office  and  transact  the  public  business  as  Commissioners  and  Auditors  of 
said  county  at  such  place  as  shall  be  fixed  upon  by  a  majority  of  the 
Commissioners  first  elected  in  said  county  of  Jefferson,  until  the  seat  of 
justice  is  ascertained,  and  thereafter  at  the  seat  of  justice. 

"  SECTION  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
so  much  of  any  act  or  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Common- 
wealth as  is  altered  or  supplied  by  this  act  be,  and  the  same  is,  hereby 
repealed. 

"  Passed  2ist  January,  1824." 

*  *  *  ***%.%.* 

PIONEER    COMMISSIONERS,   TREASUKERS,   AUDITORS,   COLLECTORS, 

AND  ASSESSORS— SATURDAY  AFTERNOON  A    TIME  TO   PREPARE 

FOR   SUNDAY. 

In  pursuance  of  this  act  of  Assembly,  approved  January  21,  1824, 
granting  to  the  provisional  county  of  Jefferson  the  privilege  of  electing 

194 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

its  own  commissioners,  auditors,  etc.,  an  election  was  held  the  i2th  day 
of  October,  1824.  Andrew  Barnett  was  duly  elected  commissioner  of 
Jefferson  County  for  three  years,  John  Lucas  was  duly  elected  for  two 
years,  and  John  W.  Jenks  was  elected  for  one  year,  the  election  of  these 
three  being  certified  to  by  Alexander  Taylor,  prothonotary  of  Indiana 
and  Jefferson  Counties.  Andrew  Barnett  and  John  Lucas  took  the  oath 
of  office  before  Joseph  McCullough,  of  Pine  Creek  township,  Friday, 
October  29,  and  John  W.  Jenks  before  John  Bell,  Esq.,  of  Perry  town- 
ship, on  the  3d  day  of  November,  1824. 

November  12,  1824,  Barnett,  Lucas,  and  Jenks  met  at  the  home  of 
Joseph  Barnett,  in  Pine  Creek  township,  and  organized  as  a  board.  Ira 
White  was  appointed  clerk  for  one  year  at  one  dollar  a  day  for  the  "  time 
employed  in  the  office."  A  room  was  rented  in  Barnett's  Inn  for  an 
office  "  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  a  week  for  the  time  occupied,"  "  and  a 
closet  in  said  room  to  be  in  the  use  of  the  county  continually." 

On  the  i6th  day  of  February,  1825,  John  Matson,  Sr.,  was  appointed 
county  treasurer. 

The  pioneer  county  auditors  were  elected  in  1825, — viz.,  Thomas 
Robinson,  James  Corbett,  and  Alonzo  Baldwin.  They  were  sworn  in 
before  Joseph  McCullough,  Esq.,  January  2,  1826. 

The  pioneer  assessors  and  collectors  under  the  commissioners  for 
Jefferson  County  were,  in  1825:  Pine  Creek — assessor,  James  Shields; 
collector,  John  Barnett ;  Perry — assessor,  Elijah  Heath  ;  collector,  Isaac 
McKinley. 

The  pioneer  contract  to  supply  the  public  buildings  with  wood  and 
coal  for  fuel  was  in  November,  1831,  for  one  year,  by  Joseph  Clements, 
for  thirty-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  As  the  county  buildings  had 
only  ten-plate  stoves,  wood,  three  feet  in  length,  and  no  coal,  was  sup- 
plied under  this  contract. 

Previous  to  and  as  late  as  1850  it  was  the  rule  for  mill-men,  woods- 
men, and  laboring  men  generally  to  stop  work  every  Saturday  at  noon. 
The  idea  was  to  better  prepare  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  As 
far  as  my  observation  reminds  me,  I  can  assure  you  that  spiritualizing  was 
practised  freely  on  these  Saturday  afternoons. 

COPY  OF  DEED   DELIVERING  GROUND  FOR  THE  PUBLIC  PURPOSES. 

"JOHN  PICKERING  et al.  ~\        Deed    dated    July   3ist,    1830. 

to  [-Recorded  in  Deed  Book  No.  i,  at 

COMMISSIONERS  OF  JEFFERSON  Co.  3  page  133. 

"  AND  WHEREAS,  The  said  John  Pickering,  with  the  approbation  and 
consent  of  a  majority  of  the  said  Company,  being  the  parties  of  the  sec- 
ond part  hereto,  which  consent  is  signified  by  their  becoming  parties  to 
this  indenture,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  seat  of  justice  for  Jefferson 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

County  being  established  upon  the  said  tract  of  land,  did  agree  (inter 
alia)  to  grant  and  convey  unto  the  said  parties  of  the  third  part,  and 
their  successors  in  office,  ground  for  the  public  buildings,  and  also  for 
churches  and  a  public  burying-ground,  as  also  ten  inlots  in  the  town  to 
be  laid  out  upon  said  tract  of  land. 

"AND  WHEREAS,  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  by  an  act  passed  on  the  second  day  of  April,  A.D.  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty,  did  establish  the  seat  of  justice  for 
said  county  of  Jefferson  at  the  town  of  Brookville,  to  be  laid  out  upon 
said  tract  of  land,  and  thereby  authorize  and  empower  the  said  parties  of 
the  third  part  to  receive  (inter  alia)  from  the  party  of  the  first  part  a  deed 
in  fee  simple  for  the  purposes  above  mentioned. 

"Now  this  Indenture  Witness eth,  That  the  said  John  Pickering,  as 
well  as  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  lawful  money 
of  the  United  States  to  him  in  hand  paid  by  the  said  Thomas  McKee, 
Thomas  Lucas,  and  Elijah  Heath,  Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County,  at 
and  before  the  ensealing  and  delivery  hereof,  the  receipt  whereof  is 
hereby  acknowledged,  hath  granted,  bargained,  and  sold,  aliened,  en- 
feofed,  released,  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  doth  grant,  bar- 
gain, and  sell,  alien,  enfeof,  release,  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Thomas 
McKee,  Thomas  Lucas,  and  Elijah  Heath,  Commissioners  of  Jefferson 
County,  and  their  successors  in  office,  all  that  square  or  piece  of  ground 
in  the  said  town  of  Brookville,  situated,  lying  between,  and  bounded  by 
Pickering  Street,  Market  Street,  Chestnut  Alley,  and  Court  Alley,  and 
marked  in  the  general  plan  of  said  town,  Public  Square,  and  also  the 
outlets  known  and  numbered  in  the  general  plan  of  the  same  by  the 
numbers  twelve  (12)  and  thirteen  (13).  And  also  all  those  ten  inlots  of 
ground  known  and  numbered  in  the  general  plan  of  said  town  by  the 
numbers  thirty-four  (34),  thirty-five  (35),  thirty-six  (36),  thirty-seven 
(37),  thirty-eight  (38),  sixty-four  (64),  sixty-five  (65),  sixty-six  (66), 
sixty-seven  (67),  and  sixty-eight  (68),  together  with  the  privileges  and 
appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining.  To 
have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  the  said  Thomas  McKee,  Thomas  Lucas, 
and  Elijah  Heath,  Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County,  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  office,  to  the  only  proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  Thomas 
McKee,  Thomas  Lucas,  and  Elijah  Heath,  Commissioners  of  Jefferson 
County,  and  their  successors  in  office,  forever.  In  trust,  nevertheless, 
and  to  and  for  the  uses  and  purposes  hereinafter  declared, — that  is  to 
say,  that  the  said  square  shall  be  and  remain  for  the  use  of  the  Public 
Buildings.  That  outlot  Number  twelve  (12)  shall  be  and  remain  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  churches  or  houses  of  public  worship  thereon  for  any 
denomination  that  sees  proper  to  build  thereon.  That  outlot  Number 
thirteen  (13)  shall  be  and  remain  a  public  burying-ground.  That  as  to 
the  said  ten  inlots  before  mentioned  and  described,  the  said  parties  of 

196 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  third  part  and  their  successors  in  office  shall  sell  and  dispose  of  the 
same  and  pay  the  proceeds  thereof  into  the  Treasury  of  said  county,  to 
be  applied  towards  the  erection  of  the  public  buildings  in  the  Town  of 
Brookville. 

"In  witness  whereof  the  said  parties  have  hereunto  set  their  hands 
and  seals  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

"JNO.  PICKERING,  Trustee.     [L.  S.] 
JNO.  PICKERING,  Executor.     [L.  S.] 
OCTAVIUS  PICKERING,  Executor.     [L.  S.] 
"  THOMAS  A.  DEXTER, 
SAMUEL  HUNT, 

"  Witnesses    to    the    signature    of    John    Pickering    and    Octavius 
Pickering. 

"NiCH's  FISH.     [L.  S.] 
LEONARD  KIP.     [L.  S.] 
MARIA  I.  KIP.     [L.  S.] 
"  DAVID  CLYDE,  Clerk. 

WM.  H.  MAXWELL,  Counsellor  and  Commissioner,  New  York. 
"Witnesses  to  the  signatures  of  Nich's  Fish  :  WM.  JOHNSON,  LEONARD 
KIP,  LEONARD  KIP,  as  attorney,  and  MARIA  I.  KIP,  his  wife. 

"  LEONARD  KIP.     [L.  S.] 

"  Attorney  for  all  the  heirs  of  Duncan  Ingraham. 
"  REDWOOD  FISHER,  Executor.     [L.  S.] 

"Witnesses  to  the  signature  of  Redwood  Fisher:  ANDREW  GEYER 
and  J.  C.  WIKOFF. 

"JABOY  M.  FISHER,  Executor.     [L.  S.] 

"  Witnesses  to  the  signature  of  Jaboy  M.  Fisher :  ANDREW  GEYER  and 
RALPH  SMITH.  9 

"ANN  WIKOFF.     [L.  S.] 

"Witnesses  to  the  signature  of  Ann  Wikoff :  ANDREW  GEYER  and 
J.  C.  WIKOFF." 

The  pioneer  court-house  was  contracted  for  in  1830  and  finished  in 
1833.  The  county  records  show  this  "Article  of  Agreement,  made  the 
1 4th  day  of  December,  1830,  between  Thomas  Lucas  and  Robert  Andrews, 
Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County,  of  the  first  part,  and  John  Lucas,  of 
Jefferson  County,  and  Robert  Barr,  of  the  county  of  Indiana,  of  the 
second  part.  The  party  of  the  second  part  agrees  to  build  court-house, 
two  offices,  one  fire-proof,  within  two  years  from  the  ist  day  of  January 
next.  The  Commissioners,  on  their  part,  agree  to  pay  contractors  the 
sum  of  three  thousand  dollars,  in  manner  as  follows :  two  thousand  dol- 
lars as  the  work  progresses,  and  one  thousand  dollars  in  full  on  the  ist 
day  of  January,  1833,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  funds  arising  from  the  sale 

197 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  lots  in  said  town  of  Brookville,  if  there  shall  be  sufficient ;  if  not,  to 
be  made  up  out  of  the  county  funds. 

(Signed)  "THOMAS  LUCAS, 

ROBERT  ANDREWS, 

"  Commissioners. 
"  JOHN  LUCAS, 
ROBERT  BARR, 

"  Contractors. 
"Witnesses: 

"  WILLIAM  M.  KENNEDY, 
JAMES  HALL." 

Our  first  jail  was  a  stone  structure,  built  of  common  stone,  in  1831. 
It  was  two  stories  high,  was  situated  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  public 
square  lot,  near  Joseph  Darr's  residence,  and  fronting  on  Pickering  Street. 
Daniel  Elgin  was  the  contractor.  The  building  was  divided  into  eight 
rooms,  two  down  stairs  and  two  up-stairs  for  jail  proper,  and  two  down- 
stairs and  two  up-stairs  for  the  sheriff's  residence  and  office.  The  sheriff 
occupied  the  north  part.  It  cost  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-four 
dollars  and  twenty-three  cents. 

The  pioneer  academy  in  Jefferson  County  was  authorized  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  approved  April  13,  1838.  This  act  authorized  the  treas- 
urer of  the  Commonwealth  to  subscribe  two  thousand  dollars,  to  be  ex- 
pended in  building  an  academy  building  in  Brookville,  Pennsylvania. 
The  trustees  appointed  by  said  act  were  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  C.  A. 
Alexander,  Thomas  Hastings,  Levi  G.  Clover,  John  Pierce,  and  Richard 
Arthurs.  In  1841  the  Legislature  authorized  the  commissioners  of  Jeffer- 
son County  to  subscribe  five  hundred  dollars,  and  five  hundred  dollars 
being  raised  by  subscription  of  citizens,  this  made  a  fund  of  three  thou- 
sand dollars  to  erect  the  building. 

The  site  selected  was  the  lot  on  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Barnett 
Streets,  and  the  lot  was  kindly  donated  for  this  purpose  by  John  Picker- 
ing. The  lot  was  in  a  state  of  nature  then,  being  covered  with  pine- 
trees.  The  contractors  were  Robert  P.  Barr,  Thomas  M.  Barr,  and 
Robert  Larrimer.  The  building  was  of  brick,  and  was  completed  in 
1843.  Professor  J.  M.  Coleman  was  the  first  to  teach  classics  and  high 
mathematics  in  this  institution. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   COMMON  SCHOOL   SYSTEM — ITS  INCEPTION — INTRODUCTION  INTO  AMER- 
ICA  STATE    EFFORT — HISTORY   OF   EDUCATION  IN  THE   STATE — SCHOOLS 

OF   JEFFERSON   COUNTY — PROGRESS   OF    EDUCATION,  ETC. 

As  an  introduction  to  this  chapter,  I  cannot  do  better  than  reproduce 
an  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by  myself  before  a  convention  of  Jef- 
ferson County  school  directors, — viz.  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION, — I  thank  you  for  this  honor.  I 
highly  appreciate  it.  As  the  representatives  of  thirty-two  school  districts, 
two  hundred  and  forty  schools,  and  twelve  thousand  pupils,  we  have  met 
this  day  to  consider  modes  and  methods  by  which  we  can  best  advance 
the  cause  of  education.  This  is  wise  and  patriotic.  Perhaps  it  might  be 
well  as  an  introduction  to  our  work  to  review  a  little  history  as  to  the 
origin  and  present  status  of  our  common  schools.  Martin  Luther,  a  Ger- 
man, was  the  first  to  advocate  the  public  school  system.  This  he  did  in 
1524,  ably,  vigorously,  and  boldly.  He  asserted  that  the  '  government,  as 
the  natural  guardian  of  all  the  young,  has  the  right  to  compel  the  people 
to  support  schools.'  He  further  said,  '  Now,  nothing  is  more  necessary 
than  the  training  of  those  who  are  to  come  after  us  and  bear  rule. '  The 
education  of  the  young  of  all  classes  in  free  schools  was  one  of  the  objects 
nearest  Luther's  heart.  Scotland  is  the  only  other  country  of  Europe 
that  took  an  early  interest  in  public  school  education.  In  1560,  John 
Knox  urged  the  necessity  of  schools  for  the  poor.  These  grand  humane 
impulses  of  John  Knox  and  other  Scotch  fathers  have  spread  abroad, 
'wide  as  the  waters  be,'  only  to  germinate,  bud,  and  bloom  into  the 
grandest  social,  theological,  and  political  conditions  ever  attained  by 
man.  But  it  remained  for  the  Puritan  fathers  of  New  England  (America) 
to  completely  develop  the  common  school  system  of  our  time.  In  New 
England  education  early  made  great  progress.  Under  the  eaves  of  their 
church  the  Puritans  always  built  a  school-house.  As  early  as  1635,  Boston 
had  a  school  for  'the  teaching  of  all  children  with  us.'  In  1647,  Massa- 
chusetts made  the  support  of  schools  compulsory  and  education  universal 
and  free  by  the  enactment  of  the  following  law, — viz.  :  '  It  is  therefore 
ordered  that  every  township  in  this  jurisdiction,  after  the  Lord  hath  in- 
creased them  to  the  number  of  fifty  householders,  shall  then  forthwith 
appoint  one  within  the  town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to 
him  to  write  and  read,  whose  wages  shall  be  paid  either  by  the  parents 
or  masters  of  such  children,  or  by  the  inhabitants  in  general  by  way  of 

199 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

supply,  as  the  major  part  of  those  who  order  the  prudentials  of  the  town 
shall  appoint,  provided  those  that  send  their  children  be  not  oppressed 
by  paying  much  more  than  they  can  have  them  taught  for  in  other  towns. ' 
In  Connecticut,  in  1665,  every  town  that  did  not  keep  a  school  for  three 
months  in  the  year  was  liable  to  a  fine.  On  April  i,  A.D.  1834,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven  years  later  than  the  enactment  of  the  common 
school  law  of  Massachusetts,  the  law  creating  the  common  school  system 
of  Pennsylvania  was  approved  by  George  Wolf,  governor.  Our  second 
State  superintendent  of  public  instruction  was  appointed  under  this  law. 
His  name  was  Thomas  H.  Burrowes. 

"  The  foundation  of  our  common  school  system  was  built  by  the 
convention  to  form  a  State  constitution  in  1790.  The  article  as  incor- 
porated in  that  document  reads  as  follows  : 

"  '  SECTION  i.  The  Legislature  shall,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be, 
provide  by  law  for  the  establishment  of  schools  throughout  the  State,  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  poor  may  be  taught  gratis. 

"'SECTION  2.  The  arts  and  sciences  shall  be  promoted  in  one  or 
more  seminaries  of  learning. ' 

"This  educational  article  was  also  incorporated  into  the  constitution 
of  1838.  But  little  effort  was  made  under  the  first  constitution  by  legis- 
lative bodies  to  establish  schools  under  the  first  section.  Their  only  aim 
seemed  to  be  to  aid  the  churches  and  neighborhood  schools  to  carry  on 
the  work  they  had  been  doing  for  a  hundred  years.  The  pioneer  effort 
by  the  Legislature  seems  to  have  been  in  1794,  when,  on  December  8, 
1794,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  House  to  report  a  proper  mode 
of  carrying  into  effect  that  part  of  the  governor's  message  in  regard  to 
schools.  The  committee  reported  as  follows : 

"  'Resolved,  That  schools  may  be  established  throughout  the  State, 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  poor  may  be  taught  gratis. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  one-fifth  part  of  the  expense  necessary  to  support 
the  masters  of  said  schools  be  paid  out  of  the  general  funds  of  the  State. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  remaining  four-fifths  of  the  said  expense  be 
paid  in  each  county,  respectively,  by  means  of  a  county  tax. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  said  schools  be  put  under  the  direction  of 
trustees  in  each  county,  subject  to  such  limitations  and  regulations,  as  to 
the  distribution  of  their  funds,  the  appointment  of  masters,  and  their 
general  arrangements,  as  shall  be  provided  by  law. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  schools  thus  established  shall  be  free  schools, 
and  that  at  least  spelling,  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  shall  be  taught 
therein. 

"  'Resolved,  That  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  be  appropriated  out  of 
the  funds  of  this  Commonwealth  to  encourage  the  establishment  of  acad- 
emies, in  which  grammar,  the  elements  of  mathematics,  geography,  and 
history  shall  be  taught. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  said  sum  be  apportioned  amongst  the  city  and 
several  counties  of  the  State  in  proportion  to  their  respective  population. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  whenever  a  sum  sufficient,  with  the  addition  of  the 
sums  proposed  to  be  given  by  the  public,  to  support  an  academy  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid  shall  have  been  subscribed,  or  contributed,  the  addi- 
tional sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  a.  year  shall  be  given  out  of  the  public 
treasury  in  aid  of  such  academy. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  when  the  number  of  academies  in  any  county  shall 
be  so  great  that  the  sum  to  which  such  county  is  entitled  becomes  insuffi- 
cient to  afford  one  hundred  dollars  to  each,  it  shall  be  divided  by  the 
trustees  aforesaid  among  the  whole  of  such  academies,  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  masters  employed  and  scholars  taught,  and  the  length  of 
time  in  each  during  which  each  academy  is  so  kept  and  supported. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  whenever  a  sum  is  subscribed  and  contributed  suf- 
ficient, if  added  to  the  income  of  any  of  the  inferior  schools,  to  procure 
the  instruction  contemplated  to  be  given  in  the  academies,  such  school 
shall  become  an  academy  and  receive  the  additional  bounty  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars  as  aforesaid,  subject  to  a  reduction  in  the  manner  aforesaid.' 

"  A  bill  was  prepared  in  accordance  with  these  resolutions  and  passed 
both  branches,  but  was  lost  in  conference  committee.  This  was  forty 
years  before  the  enactment  of  1834." 

THE   PIONEER   ACT. 

On  the  ist  day  of  March,  1802,  Governor  McKean  approved  the 
pioneer  law  of  this  State  making  a  provision  for  the  education  of  the  poor, 
the  title  being  "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  Education  of  Poor  Children 
gratis." 

"  WHEREAS,  By  the  first  section  of  the  seventh  article  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  this  Commonwealth  it  is  directed  '  That  the  Legislature  shall  as 
soon  as  conveniently  may  be  provide  by  law  for  the  establishment  of 
schools  throughout  the  State,  in  such  manner  as  that  the  poor  may  be 
taught  gratis ;'  therefore, 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  from  and  after  the  passing  of 
this  act  the  Guardians  and  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the  City  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  District  of  Southwark,  and  Townships  and  Boroughs  within  this 
Commonwealth,  shall  ascertain  the  names  of  all  those  children  whose 
parents  or  guardians  they  shall  judge  to  be  unable  to  pay  for  their  school- 
ing, to  give  notice  in  writing  to  such  parent  or  guardian  that  provision  is 
made  by  law  for  the  education  of  their  children  or  the  children  under 
their  care,  and  that  they  have  a  full  and  free  right  to  subscribe  at  the 
usual  rates  and  send  them  to  any  school  in  their  neighborhood,  giving 
notice  thereof  as  soon  as  may  be  to  the  Guardians  or  Overseers  of  the 
term  for  which  they  have  subscribed,  the  number  of  scholars  and  the 
rate  of  tuition ;  and  in  those  Townships  where  there  are  no  Guardians  or 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Overseers  of  the  Poor,  the  Supervisors  of  the  Highways  shall  perform  the 
duties  herein  required  to  be  done  by  the  Guardians  or  Overseers  of  the 
Poor. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
every  Guardian  or  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  or  Supervisor  of  the  Highways, 
as  the  case  may  be,  in  any  township  or  place  where  any  such  child  or 
children  shall  be  sent  to  school  as  aforesaid,  shall  enter  in  a  book  the 
name  or  names,  age,  and  length  of  time  such  child  or  children  shall  have 
been  so  sent  to  school,  together  with  the  amount  of  schooling,  school- 
books,  and  stationery,  and  shall  levy  and  collect  in  the  same  way  and  man- 
ner and  under  the  same  regulations  as  poor  taxes  or  road  taxes  are  levied 
and  collected  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  from  their  respective  townships, 
boroughs,  wards,  or  districts  to  discharge  such  expenses,  together  with 
the  sum  of  five  per  cent,  for  their  trouble. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  Guardians  or  Overseers  of  the  Poor  for  the  time  being,  or  Supervisors 
of  the  Highways,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  use  all  diligence  and  prudence 
in  carrying  this  act  into  effect,  and  shall  settle  their  accounts  in  the  same 
way  and  manner  as  by  the  existing  laws  of  the  State,  the  Guardians,  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor,  and  Supervisors  of  the  Poor,  and  Supervisors  of  the 
Highways  are  authorized  and  required  to  settle  their  accounts. 

"  SECTION  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
this  act  shall  continue  in  force  for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  from  thence 
to  the  end  of  the  next  sitting  of  the  General  Assembly  and  no  longer." 

It  was  found  that  the  act  of  1802  was  unsatisfactory,  and,  in  the  hope 
of  betterment,  this  act  of  1 804  was  passed  : 

"AN  ACT  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  MORE  EFFECTUAL  EDUCATION  OF  THE 
CHILDREN  OF  THE  POOR  GRATIS. 

"WHEREAS,  The  law  passed  the  first  day  of  March,  Anno  Domini 
one  thousand  and  eight  hundred  and  two,  entitled  '  An  Act  to  provide  for 
the  Education  of  Poor  Children  gratis,'  has  not  been  found  by  experi- 
ence to  answer  the  constitutional  purposes  intended  by  it ;  therefore, 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  from  and  after  the  passing  of 
this  act  it  shall  be  enjoined  as  a  duty  on  all  school -masters  and  school- 
mistresses teaching  reading  and  writing  in  the  English  or  German  lan- 
guages and  arithmetic  to  receive  into  their  schools  and  teach  as  aforesaid 
all  such  poor  children  as  shall  be  recommended  to  them  by  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor,  or  where  there  are  no  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  by  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace  and  two  respectable  freeholders  of  the  city,  district,  or  town- 
ship where  such  school  is  kept. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  upon  the  performance  of  any  such  service  by  any  school-master  or 
school -mistress  as  aforesaid,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  or  Justices  of  the 

202 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Peace  and  freeholders  who  have  recommended  as  aforesaid,  shall  certify 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  proper  county  or  city  the  names  of  such 
poor  children,  the  time  they  have  been  respectively  taught,  and  the  usual 
rate  of  schooling  paid  for  other  children  at  the  same  school,  who  shall 
examine  such  certificate,  and,  finding  it  correct,  shall  draw  an  order 
in  favor  of  such  school-master  or  school-mistress  for  the  amount  on  the 
treasurer  of  the  proper  county  or  city,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county 
stock. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  this  act  shall  continue  in  force  for  three  years,  and  from  thence  to 
the  end  of  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly  and  no  longer,  and 
the  act  entitled  '  An  Act  to  provide  for  the  Education  of  Poor  Children 
gratis,'  shall  be  and  hereby  is  repealed." 

That  this  act  also  was  considered  an  incomplete  fulfilment  of  the  con- 
stitution appears  from  the  message  of  the  governor  the  next  year  after  its 
passage. 

Agitation  and  discussion  over  the  law  resulted  in  the  act  of  1809, 
better  drawn,  with  the  same  title  and  aim. 

THE   LAW   OF    1809. 
"AN   ACT   TO   PROVIDE   FOR   THE    EDUCATION   OF   THE    POOR    GRATIS. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  Commissioners  of  the  several  counties  within  this  Commonwealth,  at 
the  time  of  issuing  their  precepts  to  the  assessors,  annually  to  direct  and 
require  the  assessor  of  each  and  every  township,  ward,  and  district  to  re- 
ceive from  the  parents  the  names  of  all  the  children  between  the  ages  of 
five  and  twelve  years  who  reside  therein,  and  whose  parents  are  unable  to 
pay  for  their  schooling ;  and  the  Commissioners  when  they  hold  appeals 
shall  hear  all  persons  who  may  apply  for  alterations  or  additions  of  names 
in  the  said  list,  and  make  all  such  alterations  as  to  them  shall  appear  just 
and  reasonable,  and  agreeably  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act ; 
and  after  adjustment  they  shall  transmit  a  correct  copy  thereof  to  the  re- 
spective assessor,  requiring  him  to  inform  the  parents  of  the  children 
therein  contained  that  they  are  at  liberty  to  send  them  to  the  most  con- 
venient school  free  of  expense  ;  and  the  said  assessor,  for  any  neglect  of 
the  above  duty,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  five  dollars,  to  be  sued 
for  by  any  person,  and  recovered  as  debts  of  that  amount  are  now  recov- 
erable, and  to  be  paid  into  the  county  treasury,  for  county  purposes: 
Provided  always,  That  the  names  of  no  children  whose  education  is 
otherwise  provided  for  shall  be  received  by  the  assessors  of  any  township 
or  district. 

203 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  said  assessor  shall  send  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  children  aforesaid  to 
the  teachers  of  schools  within  his  township,  ward,  or  district,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  teach  all  such  children  as  may  come  to  their  schools  in  the 
same  manner  as  other  children  are  taught,  and  each  teacher  shall  keep  a 
day-book,  in  which  he  shall  enter  the  number  of  days  each  child  entitled 
to  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  taught,  and  he  shall  also  enter  in 
said  book  the  amount  of  all  stationery  furnished  for  the  use  of  said  child, 
from  which  book  he  shall  make  out  his  account  against  the  county,  on 
oath  or  affirmation,  agreeably  to  the  usual  rates  of  charging  for  tuition  in 
the  said  school,  subject  to  the  examination  and  revision  of  the  trustees  of 
the  school  where  there  are  any ;  but  where  there  are  no  trustees,  to  three 
reputable  subscribers  to  the  school ;  which  account,  after  being  so  exam- 
ined or  revised,  he  shall  present  to  the  County  Commissioners,  who,  if 
they  approve  thereof,  shall  draw  their  order  on  the  county  treasurer  for 
the  amount,  which  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  pay  of  any 
moneys  in  the  treasury. 

"Approved — the  fourth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  nine. 

"  SIMON  SNYDER." 

Each  of  these  acts  compelled  parents  to  publish  to  the  world  their 
poverty  and  to  send  their  children  to  school  as  paupers. 

The  method  of  organizing  schools  and  hiring  masters  under  these 
laws  was  as  follows  :  A  school-meeting  was  called  by  a  notice  posted  in 
the  district.  The  inhabitants  then  met  and  elected  in  their  own  way 
three  of  their  number  to  act  as  a  committee  or  as  trustees  with  power  to 
hire  a  master  or  mistress,  and  this  committee  executed  a  supervision 
over  the  school.  A  rate  bill  was  always  made  out  by  the  master  and 
handed  to  the  committee,  who  collected  the  moneys  and  paid  it  to  the 
master. 

The  pioneer  and  early  modes  of  school  discipline  were  the  cat-o'- 
nine-tails  and  the  rod,  carrying  the  offender  on  the  back  of  a  pupil  and 
then  flogging  him,  setting  the  boys  with  the  girls  and  the  girls  with  the 
boys,  fastening  a  split  stick  to  the  ear  or  the  nose,  laying  the  scholar 
over  the  knee  and  applying  the  ferule  to  the  part  on  which  he  sat.  These 
punishments  lasted  for  years  after  the  common  schools  came  into  use. 
For  the  benefit  of  young  teachers  I  will  give  the  mode  of  correction. 
The  masters  invariably  kept  what  was  called  toms,  or,  more  vulgarly, 
cat-o'- nine-tails,  all  luck  being  in  odd  numbers.  This  instrument  of  tor- 
ture was  an  oaken  stick  about  twelve  inches  long  to  which  was  attached 
a  piece  of  raw-hide  cut  in  strips,  twisted  while  wet,  and  then  dried.  It 
was  freely  used  for  correction,  and  those  who  were  thus  corrected  did 
not  soon  forget  it,  and  not  a  few  carried  the  marks  during  life.  Another 

204 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  no  less  cruel  instrument  was  a  green  cow-hide.  Comment  upon  the 
above  is  useless,  as  the  words  cruelty  and  barbarity  will  suggest  them- 
selves to  the  minds  of  all  who  read  it.  For  our  text-books  we  had 
Dilworth's  and  the  "  United  States  Speller,"  and  our  readers  were  the 
good  old  Bible  and  Testament.  The  "  Western  Calculator"  was  all  the 
arithmetic  that  was  in  use,  and  the  one  who  got  through  the  "rule  of 
three"  was  called  tolerably  good  in  figures,  and  the  lucky  wight  who  got 
through  the  book  was  considered  a  graduate  in  mathematics.  Grammar 


Governor  Joseph  Ritner. 

and  geography  were  not  taught  in  common  schools,  being  considered 
higher  branches. 

Not  one  of  the  governors  of  the  State  during  the  time  the  law  of  1809 
was  in  force  believed  it  met  the  requirements  of  the  constitution,  hence 
in  1824  an  act  was  passed  repealing  it  and  another  one  substituted.  The 
new  act  was  violently  opposed,  never  went  into  effect,  was  repealed  in 
1826,  and  the  act  of  1809  was  re-enacted.  The  policy  enforced  in  our 
State  for  fifty  years  after  the  Revolutionary  War  was  the  endowment  of 
academies  and  the  free  instruction  of  poor  children  in  church  and  neigh- 
borhood schools. 

Governor  Wolf,  in  1833-34,  made  education  the  leading  topic  of  his 
message.  Among  other  things  he  said, — 

"To  provide  by  law  '  for  the  establishment  of  schools  throughout  the 
State,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  the  poor  may  be  taught  gratis,'  is  one 

205 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  the  public  measures  to  which  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  now  to  call  your 
attention,  and  most  solemnly  to  press  upon  your  consideration.  Our 
apathy  and  indifference  in  reference  to  this  subject  becomes  the  more 
conspicuous  when  we  reflect  that  whilst  we  are  expending  millions  for 
the  physical  condition  of  the  State,  we  have  not  hitherto  appropriated  a 
single  dollar  that  is  available  for  the  intellectual  improvement  of  its  youth, 
which,  in  a  moral  and  political  point  of  view,  is  of  tenfold  more  conse- 
quence, either  as  respects  the  moral  influence  of  the  State  or  its  political 
power  and  safety. 


Governor  George  Wolf. 

"According  to  the  returns  of  the  last  census,  we  have  in  Pennsyl- 
vania five  hundred  and  eighty-one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty 
children  under  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-nine 
thousand  and  eighty-nine  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty  years, 
forming  an  aggregate  of  seven  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  two  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  juvenile  persons  of  both  sexes  under  the  age  of  twenty 
years,  most  of  them  requiring  more  or  less  instruction.  And  yet  with  all 
this  numerous  youthful  population  growing  up  around  us,  who,  in  a  few 
years,  are  to  be  our  rulers  and  our  law-givers,  the  defenders  of  our  country 
and  the  pillars  of  the  State,  and  upon  whose  education  will  depend  in 
great  measure  the  preservation  of  our  liberties  and  the  safety  of  the  re- 
public, we  have  neither  schools  established  for  their  instruction  nor 
provision  made  by  law  for  establishing  them  as  enjoined  by  the  con- 
stitution." 

206 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1827,  William  Audenreid,  then  a  senator  from  Schuylkill  County, 
introduced  a  bill  into  the  Senate,  the  title  of  which  was,  "  To  provide  a 
Fund  in  support  of  a  General  System  of  Education  in  Pennsylvania." 
This  bill  passed  the  Senate  that  session,  but  was  defeated  in  the  House, 
but  being  urged  and  pressed  every  season  it  became  a  law  April  2,  1831. 
This  law  entitled  Senator  Audenreid  to  be  called  the  author  of  our  school 
system.  The  law  reads  as  follows  : 

"SECTION  i.  That  there  shall  be  and  there  hereby  is  established  a 
fund,  to  be  denominated  a  Common  School  Fund,  and  the  Secretary  of 
the  Commonwealth,  the  Auditor- General,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Land- 
Office  shall  be  Commissioners  thereof,  who,  or  a  majority  of  them,  in 
addition  to  the  duties  they  now  perform,  shall  receive  and  manage  such 
moneys  and  other  things  as  shall  pertain  to  such  fund,  in  the  most  advan- 
tageous manner,  and  shall  receive  and  hold  to  the  use  of  said  fund  all 
such  gifts,  grants,  and  donations  as  may  be  made ;  and  that  said  Com- 
missioners shall  keep  a  correct  record  of  their  proceedings,  which,  to- 
gether with  all  papers  and  documents  relative  to  said  fund,  shall  be  kept 
and  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  Auditor-General. 

"  SECTION  2.  That  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  all  moneys 
due  and  owing  this  Commonwealth  by  the  holders  of  all  unpatented 
lands ;  also  all  moneys  secured  to  the  Commonwealth  by  mortgages  or 
liens  on  land  for  the  purchase- money  of  the  same ;  also  all  moneys  paid 
to  the  State  Treasurer  on  any  application  hereafter  entered,  or  any  war- 
rant hereafter  granted  for  land,  as  also  fees  received  in  the  land-office,  as 
well  as  all  moneys  received  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the  fourth 
section  of  an  act  entitled  '  An  Act  to  increase  the  County  Rates  and 
Levies  for  the  Use  of  the  Commonwealth,'  approved  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  March,  1831,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  transferred  and  assigned  to 
the  Common  School  Fund ;  and  that  at  the  expiration  of  twelve  months 
after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  regularly  at  the  expiration  of  every 
twelve  months  thereafter,  the  State  Treasurer  shall  report  to  the  said 
Commissioners  the  amount  of  money  thus  received  by  him  during  the 
twelve  months  last  preceding,  together  with  a  certificate  of  the  amount 
thereof,  and  that  the  same  is  held  by  the  Commonwealth  for  the  use  of 
the  Common  School  Fund,  at  an  interest  of  five  per  cent. 

"  SECTION  3.  That  the  interest  of  the  moneys  belonging  to  said  fund 
shall  be  added  to  the  principal  as  it  becomes  due,  and  the  whole  amount 
thereof  shall  be  held  by  the  Commonwealth,  and  remain  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  an  act  entitled  '  An  Act  relative  to  the  Pennsylvania  Canal 
and  Railroad,'  approved  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1829,  until  the  in- 
terest thereof  shall  amount  to  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
annually,  after  which  the  interest  shall  be  annually  distributed  and  ap- 
plied to  the  support  of  common  schools  throughout  this  Commonwealth, 
in  such  a  manner  as  shall  hereafter  be  provided  by  law." 

207 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

THE   PIONEER   SCHOOLS— SCHOOL-MASTERS   AND   SCHOOL- 
HOUSES. 

"The  pioneer  school  house  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  was 
built  of  logs,  in  the  fall  of  1820,  near  John  Bell's,  a  little  more  than  a 
mile  northeast  of  where  Perrysville  stands.  It  was  built  after  the  fashion 
of  the  first  school-house  in  the  county,  with  paper  instead  of  window- 


Pioneer  school-house. 

glass,  boards  pinned  to  the  wall  for  desks,  floors  and  seats  made  of 
puncheons,  and  fireplace  along  one  end.  John  Postlethwait,  Sr.,  John 
Bell,  Archibald  Hadden,  Hugh  McKee,  and  James  Stewart  were  the  prin- 
cipal citizens  engaged  in  organizing  and  starting  the  school.  John  B. 
Henderson,  of  Indiana  County,  taught  the  school  in  this  part  of  the 
county,  in  that  pioneer  house,  the  first  winter  after  it  was  built.  The 
Testament,  Bible,  Catechism,  and  the  '  United  States  Spelling- Book' 
were  used  as  text-books  in  the  school.  Ira  White,  a  Yankee  from  the 
State  of  New  York,  succeeded  Mr.  Henderson  as  master.  Some  time 
afterwards  a  school  was  taught  by  Crawford  Gibson,  in  a  house  near  the 
county  line.  Some  parties  claim  that  Gibson  taught  before  Henderson, 
about  a  mile  south  of  Perrysville.  Somewhat  later  a  school  was  taught 
by  John  Knox,  in  a  log  house  across  the  creek,  southeast  of  Perrysville. 
They  paid  him  with  grain,  in  part  at  least.  James  C.  Neal,  Sr.,  then  a 
young  man,  hauled  a  load  of  grain  with  a  yoke  of  oxen,  to  pay  Mr.  Knox 
for  teaching,  from  Perrysville  to  some  place  near  Troy,  a  distance  of  about 
twenty  miles,  through  the  woods. 

"The  pioneer  school  held  in  Punxsutawney  was  opened  by  Andrew 
Bowman,  about  1823,  in  a  house  then  owned  by  John  B.  Henderson. 
Dr.  Jenks,  Charles  Barclay,  Judge  Heath,  Rev.  David  Barclay,  Mr.  Black, 
and  others  took  an  active  part  in  starting  the  school.  They  hired  a  mas- 
ter by  the  year.  The  tuition  for  the  small  pupils  was  twelve  dollars  each, 
and  for  the  large  ones  fifty  dollars  a  year.  The  first  school- house  was 

208 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

built  in  Punxsutawney  by  the  above-named  gentlemen  about  1827,  where 
the  Baptist  church  stands.  Hugh  Kemvorthy  was  the  first  man  who  was 
well  educated  that  was  employed  as  a  master  there.  The  next  master 
was  Dr.  Robert  Cunningham.  After  him  came  Thomas  Cunningham, 
since  Judge  Cunningham. 

"  The  pioneer  master  in  Rose  township  was  Robert  Knox.  When  he 
taught  the  house  was  not  floored  and  the  pupils  sat  on  the  sleepers.  The 
venerable  Joseph  Magifen,  still  living,  taught  a  six  months'  term  in  1827. 
Tuition,  fifty  cents  a  month  per  scholar  and  to  board  with  the  scholars. 

"A  school  was  taught  in  the  vicinity  of  Brockwayville  in  1828, — 
then  Ridgway  township, — for  which  the  master  was  to  receive  twelve 
dollars  per  month  in  maple-sugar. 

"  Alexander  Cochran  taught  the  pioneer  school  in  what  is  now  Wash- 
ington township,  in  1831,  in  a  school-house  near  the  Beechwoods  grave- 
yard. Messrs  Cooper,  Keys,  Mclntosh,  and  the  Smiths  were  instrumental 
in  organizing  the  school. 

"  Brookville's  pioneer  school  was  taught  by  Alexander  McKnight, 
father  of  Dr.  McKnight,  in  a  small  brick  school-house  in  1832-33. 

"  A  pioneer  school  was  commenced  within  the  present  limits  of  Union 
township  about  1834  or  1835.  James  Barr  taught  first,  in  the  summer. 
There  were  about  twenty  pupils,  and  the  tuition  was  fifty  cents  a  month 
for  each  pupil.  Samuel  Davison,  Robert  McFarland,  John  W.  Monks, 
John  Hughes,  and  Robert  Tweedy  were  prominent  in  organizing  the 
school. 

"  In  every  locality  in  the  county  in  which  the  population  was  dense 
enough  to  support  a  school  one  seems  to  have  been  organized  previous 
to  the  common  school  system." — Blose. 

The  creation  of  the  common  schools  in  Pennsylvania  was  not  the 
work  of  any  one  man  or  set  of  men,  nor  was  it  imported  from  any  other 
State.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of  freedom.  In  a  book  like  mine  I  cannot 
enumerate  all  the  glorious  workers  in  the  fight.  The  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety for  the  Promotion  of  Public  Schools,  organized  in  Philadelphia  in 
1827,  was  a  great  factor  in  the  work.  Senator  Audenreid,  Dr.  Anderson, 
and  Senator  Smith,  of  Delaware  County;  N.  B.  Fetterman,  of  Bedford; 
Samuel  Breck,  a  senator  from  Philadelphia ;  and  Thaddeus  Stevens,  all 
deserve  to  be  forever  remembered  for  their  able  and  untiring  labor  in 
this  direction. 

The  pioneer  school  in  the  United  States  for  the  education  of  teachers 
was  the  model  school  of  Philadelphia,  established  and  opened  in  1838. 
The  finest  and  most  costly  educational  structures  in  the  world  are  the 
Girard  College  buildings  in  Philadelphia. 

In  the  session  of  1834,  Samuel  Breck,  a  senator  from  Philadelphia, 
was  made  chairman  of  a  joint  committee  on  education.  The  members  of 
this  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  were  Samuel  Breck,  Charles  B. 

209 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Penrose,  William  Jackson,  Almon  H.  Read,  and  William  Boyd ;  of  the 
House,  Samuel  Anderson,  William  Patterson,  James  Thompson,  James 
Clarke.  John  Wiegand,  Thomas  H.  Crawford,  and  Wilmer  Worthington. 
This  committee  secured  all  possible  information  on  the  subject  from  all 
sources.  The  author  of  the  bill  as  passed  was  Samuel  Breck.  It  was  but 
little  discussed  and  met  with  but  little  opposition  in  the  Legislature. 

THE   LAW   OF    1834  AND   ITS   WORKINGS   IN  JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

"  WHEREAS,  It  is  enjoined  by  the  constitution,  as  a  solemn  duty  which 
cannot  be  neglected  without  a  disregard  of  the  moral  and  political  safety 
of  the  people ;  and 

"  WHEREAS,  The  fund  for  the  common  school  purposes,  under  the  act 
of  the  2d  of  April,  1831,  will,  on  the  4th  of  April  next,  amount  to  the 
sum  of  $546,563.72,  and  will  soon  reach  the  sum  of  $2,000,000,  when  it 
will  produce  at  five  per  cent,  an  increase  of  $100,000,  which,  by  said  act, 
is  to  be  paid  for  the  support  of  common  schools ;  and 

"WHEREAS,  Provisions  should  be  made  by  law  for  the  distribution  of 
the  benefits  of  this  fund  to  the  people  of  the  respective  counties  of  the 
Commonwealth ;  therefore, 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  city  and  county  of 
Philadelphia,  and  every  other  county  in  this  Commonwealth,  shall  each 
form  a  school  division,  and  that  every  ward,  township,  and  borough, 
within  the  several  school  divisions,  shall  each  form  a  school  district. 

"SECTION  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  of  each  county,  thirty 
days  previous  to  the  third  Friday  in  September  of  the  current  year,  1834, 
to  give  notice,  by  proclamation,  to  the  citizens  of  each  school  district  to 
hold  elections  in  their  respective  townships,  wards,  and  boroughs  at  the 
places  where  they  hold  their  elections  for  supervisors,  town  councils,  and 
constables,  to  choose  six  citizens,  of  each  school  district,  to  serve  as 
school  directors  of  said  districts  respectively ;  which  elections  shall,  on 
the  said  day,  be  conducted  and  held  in  the  same  manner  as  elections  for 
supervisors  and  constables  are  by  law  held  and  conducted ;  and  on  the 
day  of  the  next  annual  election  of  supervisors  in  the  respective  townships, 
and  of  constables  in  the  respective  cities  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  new 
election  for  directors  shall  take  place  in  the  said  townships,  boroughs, 
and  cities,  at  which  election,  and  annually  thereafter  at  that  time,  and  in 
manner  and  form  aforesaid,  two  directors  shall  be  chosen,  who  shall  serve 
for  three  years ;  the  sheriff  giving  thirty  days'  notice  previous  to  such 
election." 

OF   MANUAL   SCHOOLS. 

"  SECTION  10.  WHEREAS,  Manual  labor  may  be  advantageously  con- 
nected with  intellectual  moral  instruction  in  some  or  all  of  the  schools,  it 

210 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

shall  be  the  duty  of  the  school  directors  to  decide  whether  such  connec- 
tion in  their  respective  districts  shall  take  place  or  not ;  and  if  decided 
affirmatively,  they  shall  have  power  to  purchase  materials  and  employ 
artisans  for  the  instruction  of  the  pupils  in  the  useful  branches  of  the 
mechanic  arts,  and  where  practicable,  in  agricultural  pursuits :  Provided, 
nevertheless,  That  no  such  connection  shall  take  place  in  any  common 
school,  unless  four  out  of  the  six  directors  shall  agree  thereto." 

Many  of  the  sections  were  found  to  contain  requirements  that  were 
crude,  hence  they  were  repealed  in  1836  and  perfected.  These  referred 
to  the  building  of  school-houses,  employing  masters,  locating  houses,  etc. 
No  pay  was  allowed  a  director  other  than  as  a  delegate  to  the  county 

convention. 

PROCLAMATION— COMMON   SCHOOLS. 

"WHEREAS,  The  act  of  Assembly  approved  ist  April,  1834,  and  en- 
titled '  An  Act  to  establish  a  General  System  of  Education  by  Common 
Schools,'  provides  'that  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  and  every 
other  county  in  this  Commonwealth,  shall  each  form  a  school  division,  and 
that  every  ward,  township,  and  borough  within  the  several  school  divisions 
shall  each  form  a  school  district :  Provided,  That  any  borough  which  is 
or  may  be  connected  with  a  township  in  the  assessments  of  county  rates 
and  levies  shall,  with  the  same  township,  so  long  as  it  remains  so  con- 
nected, form  a  district,  and  each  of  said  districts  shall  contain  a  com- 
petent number  of  common  schools  for  the  education  of  every  child  within 
the  limits  thereof,  who  shall  apply  either  in  person,  or  by  his  or  her 
parents,  guardian,  or  next  friend,  for  admission  and  instruction.' 

"AND  WHEREAS,  The  said  act  further  directs,  'that  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  sheriff  of  each  county  to  give  notice  by  proclamation  to  the 
citizens  of  each  school  district  to  hold  elections  in  their  respective  town- 
ships, wards,  and  boroughs,  on  the  third  Friday  of  September  next,  at 
the  places  where  they  hold  their  elections  for  supervisors,  town  council, 
and  constables  are  by  law  held  and  conducted.' 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  William  Clark,  High  Sheriff  of  the  county  of 
Jefferson,  in  pursuance  of  the  duty  enjoined  on  me  by  the  above  recited 
act,  do  issue  this,  my  proclamation,  giving  notice  to  the  citizens  of  said 
county,  qualified  as  aforesaid,  that  an  election  will  be  held  on  the  third 
Friday  of  September  next,  to  choose  six  citizens  residing  therein,  to  serve 
as  school  directors  of  said  districts  respectively. 

"  The  electors  of  the  borough  of  Brookville  are  to  meet  at  the  Court- 
House  in  said  borough. 

"  The  electors  of  Rose  township  are  to  meet  at  John  Lucas'. 

"The  electors  of  the  township  of  Pine  Creek  are  to  meet  at  Joseph 
Barnett's. 

"The  electors  of  Barnett  township  are  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Wil- 
liam Armstrong. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  electors  of  Perry  township  are  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Chris- 
topher Heterick. 

"The  electors  of  Young  township  are  to  meet  in  Punxsutawney. 

"The  electors  of  Ridgeway  township  are  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
James  Gallagher. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  at  Brookville,  this  fifth  day  of  August,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four,  and  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  the  fifty-eighth. 

"WILLIAM  CLARK, 

"  Sheriff. 
"  SHERIFF'S  OFFICE,  August  5,  1834." 

PIONEER    SCHOOL   DIRECTORS   IN  THE  COUNTY. 

Those  elected  under  this  proclamation  and  the  law  of  1834  were: 

Rose  township  and  Brookville  borough — Alexander  McKnight,  James 
Green,  James  Linn,  Robert  Andrews,  Irwin  Robinson,  Darius  Carrier. 

Barnett  township — Cyrus  Blood,  William  Armstrong,  Edwin  For- 
sythe,  Trumble  Hunt,  Alexander  Murray,  John  Hunt. 

Pine  Creek  township — David  Butler,  John  Lattimer,  Andrew  Barnett, 
William  Cooper,  Samuel  Jones. 

Young  township — John  W.  Jenks,  William  Campbell,  Jos.  Winslow. 

Perry  township — John  Philliber,  William  Postlethwait,  Martin  Shoff, 
Esq.,  William  Marshall,  Andrew  Gibson,  David  Lewis. 

Ridgeway  township — L.  Wilmarth,  James  Gallagher,  J.  L.  Gillis. 

As  soon  as  these  proclamations  were  made  by  the  sheriff  the  liveliest 
discussion  took  place  for  and  against  the  system.  The  majority  of  the 
citizens  in  most  of  the  counties  were  against  it.  It  was  not  so,  however, 
in  Jefferson,  six  of  the  districts  adopting  it.  Nearly  half  of  the  nine 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  districts  in  the  State  rejected  it.  Families 
quarrelled  over  and  about  it.  In  some  districts  a  free-school  man  was 
ostracized.  Life-long  enmities  were  engendered.  Several  religious  de- 
nominations placed  themselves  against  this  law, — Catholics,  Episco- 
palians, Mennonites,  Friends,  and  Lutherans.  These  were  not  opposed 
to  education,  but  they  believed  in  religious  instruction  and  secular  edu- 
cation, and  that  the  two  should  go  hand  in  hand,  as  their  fathers  had  it. 
The  Germans  opposed  it  on  account  of  a  change  in  language.  But  the 
ignorant,  the  penurious,  and  the  narrow-minded  fought  against  it  most 
bitterly,  on  account  of  supposed  increased  taxation.  James  Findlay  was 
the  pioneer  superintendent  of  common  schools. 

The  school  question  entered  into  the  nomination  and  election  of 
members  for  the  session  of  1834-35,  and  perhaps  a  majority  of  those 
elected  were  anti-school.  But  Governor  Wolf  and  friends  of  the  com- 
mon school  were  undismayed,  bold,  and  able,  and  braved  the  tempest 
of  that  session.  Competent  judges  who  witnessed  that  struggle  in  the 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Legislature  agree  that  had  it  not  been  for  Thaddeus  Stevens,  a  young 
member  from  Adams  County,  the  law  of  1834  would  have  been  repealed, 
or  only  saved  by  a  veto  from  the  governor.  This  session  ended  the  last 
bitter  and  great  fight  in  the  State  and  Legislature  for  common  schools. 


Thaddeus  Stevens. 

The  ablest  and  most  determined  leaders  of  the  anti-school  were  William 
Hopkins,  of  Washington  County,  and  Henry  W.  Conrad,  of  Schuylkill. 
Children  as  late  as  1842  were  admitted  to  the  schools  at  the  age  of 
four  years. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  SCHOOL  INSPECTORS  UNDER  THE   LAW   OF   1834. 

"  SECTION  12.  The  several  courts  of  quarter  sessions  of  this  Common- 
wealth shall  annually,  at  their  first  session,  after  the  election  of  school 
directors,  within  their  respective  counties  or  divisions,  appoint  two  com- 
petent citizens  of  each  school  district  to  be  inspectors  of  the  public  school 
therein,  established  by  this  act,  who  shall  be  exempt  during  the  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  of  their  said  office  from  militia  duty,  and  from  serving 
in  any  township  or  borough  office. 

"SECTION  13.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  school  inspectors  to  visit 
every  three  months,  and  as  much  oftener  as  they  may  think  proper,  to 
inquire  into  the  moral  character,  learning,  and  ability  of  the  several 
teachers  employed  therein ;  they  shall  have  power  to  examine  any  per- 
sons wishing  to  be  employed  as  a  teacher,  and  of  good  moral  character, 

213 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

shall  give  him  or  her  a  certificate  to  that  effect,  naming  therein  the 
branches  which  he  or  she  is  found  qualified  to  teach,  certificates  shall  be 
valid  for  one  year  from  the  date  thereof,  and  no  longer ;  and  no  person 
who  shall  not  have  obtained  such  certificate  shall  receive  from  the  county 
treasury,  or  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth,  any  compensation  for  his 
services. 

"SECTION  14.  The  inspectors  of  any  school  division  may  meet  at 
such  times  and  places  as  they  may  deem  expedient,  and  adopt  such  rules 
for  the  examination  of  teachers  and  schools,  and  prescribe  such  form  or 
certificates,  as  they  may  deem  necessary  to  produce  uniformity  in  such 
examinations  and  certificates  throughout  the  school  division,  and  they 
may,  if  they  deem  it  expedient,  appoint  days  for  the  public  examination 
of  teachers  to  be  examined  in  public,  and  said  inspectors,  or  any  one  of 
them,  may  visit  all  district  schools  in  their  school  division  and  examine 
the  same. 

"SECTION*  15.  Whenever  the  inspectors  meet  together,  as  they  are 
empowered  by  the  preceding  section,  they  shall  organize  themselves  for 
the  proper  transaction  of  business,  and  each  inspector  shall  be  governed 
by  the  rules  then  adopted  in  his  examinations  and  observe  such  forms  in 
his  certificates  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  the  majority  of  the  inspectors  of 
the  school  division  thus  assembled,  and  no  certificate  of  qualification 
shall  be  given  by  the  inspectors,  or  any  of  them,  to  any  teacher  unless  he 
or  she  shall  be  found  qualified  to  teach  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 

"SECTION  16.  The  school  inspectors  shall  minutely  examine  into  the 
state  and  condition  of  the  schools,  both  as  respects  the  progress  of  the 
scholars  in  learning  and  the  good  order  of  the  schools,  and  make  an 
annual  report  to  the  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  on  or  before  the 
first  Monday  in  November  of  the  situation  of  the  schools  in  their  respec- 
tive districts,  founded  on  their  own  observation  and  the  report  of  the  re- 
spective school  directors ;  to  include  the  characters  of  the  teachers ;  the 
number  of  scholars  admitted  during  the  year  in  the  several  schools  under 
their  inspection ;  the  branches  of  study  taught  in  each  school ;  the  num- 
ber of  days  in  the  year  during  which  each  school  shall  have  been  kept 
open  ;  the  cost  of  the  school-house  for  either  building,  renting,  or  repair- 
ing, and  all  other  costs  that  may  have  been  incurred  in  maintaining  the 
several  schools  in  their  respective  districts,  and  also  shall  cause  the  same 
to  be  published  in  the  school  division,  at  the  expense  of  the  respective 

city  or  county." 

PIONEER   STATE   AID. 

"  The  first  money  received  from  the  State  for  school  purposes,  by  this 
county,  was  by  an  order  drawn  August  5,  1836,  on  the  State  Treasurer, 
Joseph  Lawrence,  Esq.,  to  the  Treasurer  of  Jefferson  County,  by  Thomas 
H.  Burrowes,  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  under  an  act  entitled 
'  An  Act  to  establish  a  General  System  of  Education  by  Common  Schools, ' 

214 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


passed  on  the  ist  of  April,  1834,  and  a  supplement  thereto  passed  April 
15,  1835,  for  one  hundred  and  four  dollars  and  ninety-four  cents,  for  the 
year  1835.  Also,  on  the  same  date,  one  hundred  and  four  dollars  and 
ninety-four  cents,  for  the  year  1836. 


State 
Aid. 


76  $49-20 


Thomas  H.  Burrowes. 

"The  following  table  will  show  the  townships  receiving  the  State  aid, 
the  officers  of  their  school  boards,  the  number  of  the  warrants,  and  the 
amounts  received  : 

No.  of 
Warrant. 
Barnett  township — W.  P.  Armstrong,  President;  Cyrus 

Blood,  Treasurer  and  Secretary 

Eldred   township — Thomas    Hall,  President;    Wm.   M. 

Hindman,  Treasurer ;  John  W.  Monks,  Secretary  .    . 
Perry    township — Thomas   Williams,   President;     Isaac 

Lewis,  Treasurer;  John  Philliber,  Secretary    .... 
Pine  Creek  township — Wm.  Cooper,  President;  Samuel 

Jones,  Treasurer;  A.  Barnett,  Secretary 

Ridgeway  township  — J.  Gallagher,  President ;    L.  Wil- 

marth,  Treasurer  and  Secretary 

Rose  township — Wm.  Kelso,  President;   B.  McCreight, 

Treasurer;  C.  A.  Alexander,  Secretary 

Snyder   township — A.    Brockway,   President;    A.   Ross, 

Treasurer;  Wm.  Shaw,  Secretary 4' 

Young    township — Wm.    Campbell,    President;     J.    W. 

Jenks,  Treasurer ;  J.  Winslow,  Secretary 146 


37 


209 


40 


252 


23-95 
35-31 
66.68 

25.89 

163.14 

26.54 


94-52 
1485.23 


215 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  It  would  seem  from  the  above  table  that  it  includes  the  appropria- 
tion of  1837  also." 

ORGANIZATION   UNDER   THE   COMMON   SCHOOL   SYSTEM    IN 
JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

"  From  the  best  information  to  be  had,  it  appears  that  in  1837  Cyrus 
Crouch  taught  the  first  school  in  Brookville  under  the  common  school 
system.  He  taught  two  terms,  and  was  followed  by  Jesse  Smith,  Craig- 
head,  and  Hannibal. 

"As  early  as  the  fall  of  1835  a  man  by  tne  name  of  Timblin  made 
application  for  the  school  in  Punxsutawney.  He  was  examined  by  the 
Board  of  Directors,  and  was  the  first  master  under  the  new  school  system. 
The  members  of  the  Board  were  C.  C.  Gaskill,  James  Winslow,  and 
James  Torrence.  Mr.  Gaskill  attended  to  the  examination  of  the  mas- 
ters. It  was  held  in  an  old  log  house  in  which  Mr.  Torrence  lived.  The 
house  known  as  the  old  farm-house  of  Dr.  Jenks  was  the  first  house  built 
in  Punxsutawney.  The  master  was  examined  in  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  The  'United  States  Speller,'  the  'English  Reader,'  and 
the  '  Western  Calculator'  were  the  text-books  used  in  the  school.  At 
that  time  Young  township  included  Bell,  McCalmont,  Gaskill,  Hender- 
son, and  parts  of  Winslow  and  Oliver. 

"  There  was  a  great  deal  of  hostility  to  the  school  system  at  first  in 
Punxsutawney.  Four  schools  were  organized,  under  the  common  school 
system,  in  the  fall  of  1835  in  Pine  Creek  township, — one  near  where 
Nathaniel  Butler  lives,  another  near  the  Bowers  school,  then  called  the 
Frederick  school,  another  near  Richardsville,  and  the  other  in  the  school- 
house  near  the  Beechwoods  graveyard.  The  directors  were  John  Latti- 
mer,  William  Cooper,  and  Andrew  Barnett.  A  school-master  of  the  time 
says  that  David  Butler,  John  Lattimer,  and  Andrew  Barnett  examined  the 
masters  at  Andrew  Barnett's  house.  Mr.  Thomas  Kirkman  taught  first 
under  the  school  system  at  the  Butler  school-house.  Mrs.  Mary  McKnight 
taught  the  summer  term  in  this  house  in  1840.  Mr.  Kirkman  taught 
thirty  days  for  a  month,  receiving  fourteen  dollars  a  month  and  boarding 
himself.  They  used  the  '  English  Reader'  and  the  '  United  States  Spell- 
ing-Book.'  The  schools  began  some  time  in  November,  and  continued 
three  months.  Thomas  Reynolds  taught  the  Waite  school  in  Beech- 
woods  first  under  the  school  system.  He  received  twelve  dollars  a 
month  and  '  boarded  round'  with  the  scholars.  They  had  a  ten-plate 
stove  in  the  school-house,  and  their  fuel  consisted  entirely  of  chestnut 
and  hemlock  bark,  which  the  large  pupils  helped  the  master  to  pull  from 
dead  trees  in  the  vicinity.  There  were  about  twenty-eight  pupils  attend- 
ing the  school,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  eighteen.  Judge 
Andrew  Barnett,  John  Lattimer,  and  William  Cooper  were  the  principal 
citizens  who  took  part  in  having  the  schools  started.  John  Wilson  was 

216 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

probably  the   first  master  at   Richardsville.      They  had   about   fifteen 
pupils  there." 

PAUL   DARLING,  A   PIONEER   SCHOOL-MASTER. 

Dr.  George  Darling  located  in  Brookville  in  1834  and  was  the  father 
of  Paul.     When  still  young,  about  thirteen  years  old,  Paul  was  obliged 


Paul  Darling. 

to  help  himself.     In  the  year  1836  Paul  taught  a  school  in  Pine  Creek 
township.     His  certificate  read  as  follows : 

"  We,  the  undersigned  School  Directors  of  Pine  Creek  township,  do 
hereby  certify  that  we  have  examined  Paul  Darling,  and  have  found  him 

15  2I7 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

qualified  to  teach  Reading,  Writing,  and  Arithmetic  and  the  principal 

rules  of  Grammar  and  Geography. 

(Signed)  "JAMES  MOORE, 

ARCHD.  MCMURRAY, 

JOHN  LONG, 

GEO.  S.  MATTHEWS." 

From  a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  Paul  Darling,  I  can 
truthfully  say  that  he  was  a  type  of  the  truest  men  of  his  time ;  he  was 
modest,  yet  determined,  honest  in  deeds  as  well  as  in  words,  indus- 
trious and  intelligent,  frugal  and  liberal,  kind-hearted,  friendly  and 
charitable,  social  and  poetic,  yet  prudent  and  just.  As  a  financier  he 
was  eminently  successful,  as  his  large  estate  of  over  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  fully  attested. 

"In  1836  a  school-house  was  built  above  Mr.  Prescott's,  at  Prescott- 
ville,  called  the  Fuller  school-house.  Mr.  Thomas  Reynolds  taught  the 
first  school  in  it.  During  the  summer  of  the  same  year  a  contract  for 
building  a  hewed  log  school-house  near  Mr.  Dickey's,  in  Henderson 
township,  was  given  to  Mr.  Caufman,  and  a  school  was  commenced  the 
following  winter,  under  a  Mr.  Heisy  as  master.  From  the  best  informa- 
tion to  be  had,  a  school  appears  to  have  been  organized  in  the  Bowers 
settlement  some  time  before  that.  About  1836  a  school  was  organized 
under  the  school  system  in  Perry  township,  and  taught  in  one  of  the  old 
log  dwelling-houses  in  the  vicinity  of  Perrysville.  No  one  remembers 
who  the  master  was. 

"In  the  winter  of  1835  or  1837  a  school  was  kept  in  an  old  house 
near  Frederick  Stears',  by  a  Mr.  Travis.  That  was  the  first  school  in 
that  locality  under  the  school  system.  A  Mrs.  Travis  taught  a  summer 
school  in  the  same  place.  It  was  then  in  Perry,  but  was  included  in 
Porter  township  when  it  was  organized.  About  the  year  1839  a  frame 
school-house  was  built  just  above  Perrysville.  T.  S.  Smith,  Sr.,  furnished 
the  nails  and  spikes,  and  some  other  citizens  furnished  other  material 
and  built  the  house.  The  same  year  a  hewed  log  school-house  was  built 
near  George  Blose,  Sr. 's.  Wm.  Postlethwait,  George  Blose,  Sr.,  Youngs, 
and  some  others  were  prominent  in  having  the  school  organized. 

"  The  first  common  school  was  commenced  in  what  is  now  Eldred 
township  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1837.  The  house  was  built 
the  same  fall,  near  where  the  Hall  school-house  now  stands.  It  was  a 
hewed  log  house,  and  was  built  by  the  citizens.  John  Lucas  taught  the 
first  school  in  it.  There  were  about  forty  scholars.  About  1837  or  1838 
a  round  log  school-house,  called  the  Milliron  school,  was  built  a  short 
distance  northwest  of  where  Ringgold  now  is.  Samuel  Hice  was  the  first 
master  there.  He  received  not  more  than  ten  dollars  a  month.  They 
used  '  Cobb's  Spellers'  as  text-books.  Henry  Freas,  John  Hice,  Ben- 

218 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

jamin  Campbell,  and  others  were  the  principal  citizens  in  having  the 
school  organized.  A  school-house  was  built  in  Rose  township,  near 
Mr.  Spyker's,  in  1836.  They  previously  rented  a  house  on  what  is 
now  the  Pleasantville  road,  near  John  J.  Miller's.  The  first  school  in 
Union  township  under  the  school  system  was  taught  by  Jesse  or  Theoph- 
ilus  Smith,  about  1838,  in  a  log  school-house,  with  a  wooden  chimney 
along  one  end.  The  house  was  about  two  miles  from  Corsica,  near 
Dallas  Monks'.  The  pupils  studied  their  lessons  out  loud.  The  teacher 
was  paid  sixteen  or  eighteen  dollars  a  month,  and  boarded  himself. 
Some  of  the  citizens  who  took  part  in  starting  the  school  were  John 
Fitzsimmons,  the  Barrs,  Hindmans,  Mr.  Kennedy,  and  Mr.  Monks. 
John  Kahle  taught  the  first  school  in  Kahletown,  Eldred  township,  about 
1837  or  1838,  in  one  end  of  his  father's  house.  That  was  the  first  school 
in  that  part  of  the  county.  Clover  township  was  organized  into  a  sepa- 
rate school  district  in  1842.  The  first  board  of  directors  was  organized 
May  24,  1842.  Rev.  C.  Fogle  was  President,  John  Shields,  Secretary, 
and  D.  Carrier,  Treasurer.  The  wages  of  male  teachers  were  from  eigh- 
teen to  twenty-five  dollars  a  month,  and  of  female  teachers  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  dollars  a  month,  and  board  themselves  and  make  their  own 
fires."— Blose. 

PIONEER   SCHOOL   INSPECTORS. 

Pioneer  school  inspectors  appointed  by  the  court  December  8,  1834, 
under  the  act  of  1834: 

Rose  township — Dr.  George  Darling,  Rev.  John  Shoap. 
Young  township — Charles  C.  Gaskill,  Charles  R.  Barclay. 
Perry  township — David  Lewis,  Parlen  White. 
Pine  Creek  township — Andrew  Barnett,  John  Lattimer. 
Ridgeway  township — Lyman  Wilmarth,  Reuben  A.  Aylesworth. 
Barnett  township — Cyrus  Blood,  William  Armstrong. 

EXTRACT   FROM   COMMON   SCHOOL  LAW   OF   1834. 

"  SECTION  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  school  directors,  within 
ten  days  after  the  period  of  their  election,  annually  to  meet  in  their  re- 
spective school  districts,  when  such  board  shall  choose,  out  of  their  own 
body,  a  president  and  secretary,  and  a  delegate  to  join  the  delegate 
meeting  provided  for  in  the  following  section ;  they  shall  appoint  a 
treasurer  for  the  district  where  no  township  or  borough  treasurer  shall  be 
otherwise  appointed  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  board,  on  the  day 
of  their  first  assembling  as  aforesaid,  to  divide  themselves  into  three 
classes,  the  first  of  which  shall  serve  until  the  next  election,  the  second 
until  the  second  election,  and  the  third  until  the  third  election  follow- 
ing, so  that  one-third  of  each  board  may  be  chosen  annually ;  and  if  any 
vacancy  shall  occur,  by  death  or  otherwise,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 

219 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

body  in  which  such  vacancy  may  occur  to  fill  the  same  until  the  next 
election. 

"  SECTION  4.  On  the  first  Tuesday  of  November,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four,  and  the  first  Monday  in  May  in 
each  year  thereafter,  there  shall  be  held,  at  the  county  court-house  in 
each  division,  a  joint  meeting  of  the  county  commissioners  and  one  dele- 
gate from  each  board  of  school  directors  within  said  county  or  school 
division,  in  which  it  shall  be  decided  whether  or  not  a  tax  for  the  expen- 
diture of  each  district  be  levied ;  and  if  a  tax  be  authorized  by  a  major- 
ity of  the  joint  meeting,  it  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  dis- 
tricts as  county  levies  are  now  by  law  apportioned.  Each  delegate  to 
the  joint  meeting  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  one  dollar  per  day  for  each 
day's  attendance  spent  by  him  in  travelling  to  and  from  and  attending 
said  meeting,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury." 

PIONEER   SCHOOL   CONVENTION   UNDER   THE   COMMON   SCHOOL 

LAW  OF    1834. 

From  The  Jeffersonian,  Brookville,  Pennsylvania,  Thursday,  Novem- 
ber 6,  1834: 

"The  delegates  appointed  by  the  several  boards  of  school  directors 
in  the  respective  districts  of  Jefferson  County,  together  with  the  commis- 
sioners of  said  county,  met  agreeably  to  law  at  the  court-house,  in  the 
borough  of  Brookville,  on  Tuesday,  the  4th  of  November,  inst.  (being 
the  first  Tuesday  of  the  month).  The  following  delegates  were  in 
attendance  : 

"County  Commissioners — Levi  G.  Clover,  James  Corbett. 

"  Rose — Robert  Andrews. 

"  Barnett — Cyrus  Blood. 

"Pine  Creek — Andrew  Barnett. 

"Young — John  Hoover. 

"  Perry— John  Philliber. 

"  Ridgeway — James  L.  Gillis. 

"  The  above  delegates  met  the  4th  of  November  and  adjourned  until 
the  5th  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  some  delegates. 

"They  met  the  5th  of  November  in  pursuance  to  previous  adjourn- 
ment, and  proceeded  to  business. 

"  On  motion,  the  convention  was  organized  by  calling  Robert 
Andrews  to  the  chair  and  appointing  John  Beck  secretary. 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Andrew  Barnett,  and  seconded,  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  that  an  appropriation  for  common  schools  be  made. 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  tax  be  levied  and  raised  of  double  the  amount  of 
the  appropriation  made  by  the  Commonwealth  for  common  schools. ' 

"  The  following  shows  the  proportionable  share  due  each  township 
out  of  the  money  appropriated  by  the  Commonwealth, — viz. :  Barnett 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

township,  $6.13;  Ridgevvay  township,  $7.06;  Perry  township,  $21.86; 
Pine  Creek  township,  $13.20  ;  Rose  township,  $37.60;  Young  township, 
$19.20;  total,  $105.05. 

"  The  tax  to  be  raised  off  the  people,  for  the  pupose  of  carrying  into 
effect  the  '  free  school'  system,  is  estimated  at  double  the  amount  appro- 
priated by  the  Commonwealth. 

"  '  SECTION  17.  The  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  shall  be  super- 
intendent of  all  the  public  schools  established  by  virtue  of  this  act.'  ' 

COMMON   SCHOOL   NOTICE. 

"  For  the  purpose  of  settling  controversies,  of  collecting  and  impart- 
ing information  connected  with  the  Common  School  System,  so  as  to 
produce  harmony  and  vigor  in  every  department  of  its  operations,  the 
Superintendent  will  be  at  the  county  towns  mentioned  in  the  following 
lists  on  the  days  therein  designated  at  10  o'clock  A.M. 

"  Directors,  Teachers,  and  all  others  who  may  have  business  to  trans- 
act with  the  Superintendent,  under  the  4th  paragraph  of  loth  section  of 
the  school  law,  will  meet  him  at  their  proper  county  towns  on  the  days 
respectively  named.  As  the  chain  of  appointments  noAv  made  will  not 
admit  of  more  than  one  day's  delay  at  each  place,  early  and  punctual 
attendance  is  earnestly  requested. 

Town.  County.  Date. 

Brookville.  Jefferson.  Saturday,  Sept.  2. 

jfc^^^Hc^^^Hs 

"  THOS.  H.  BURROWES, 
' '  Superintendent  Common  Schools. 
"  SECRETARY'S  OFFICE,  HARRISBURG,  July  18,  1837." 

"  SECTION  19.  Seventy-five  thousand  dollars  are  hereby  appropriated 
out  of  the  school  fund  for  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-five,  which  amount  shall  be  annually  thereafter  appropriated  and 
paid  as  hereinafter  directed  until  the  year  when  the  school  fund  shall 
yield  an  interest  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually,  when  that 
sum  shall  be  distributed  in  each  year  amongst  the  school  divisions  created 
by  the  adoption  of  this  act  in  manner  following  :  The  superintendent  of 
common  schools  shall  give  notice  in  at  least  one  public  newspaper  in 
every  division  in  this  Commonwealth  for  the  space  of  three  weeks  of  the 
sum  to  which  such  division  may  be  entitled,  having  reference  in  such 
distribution  to  the  number  of  taxable  inhabitants  in  said  division,  and 
these  funds  shall  again  be  distributed  to  the  different  districts  according 
to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  as  soon  as  practicable  thereafter  the 
said  superintendent  shall  cause  the  distributive  share  of  each  school 
division  entitled  thereto  to  be  paid  to  the  county  treasurer,  which  share 

221 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

shairbe  appointed  amongst  the  respective  districts  of  the  several  divisions 
according  to  the  said  principle  of  distribution  prescribed  for  the  superin- 
tendent ;  and  the  same  rule  shall  be  observed  in  the  distribution  of  the 
proceeds  of  the  tax  imposed  upon  the  county  for  the  same  purpose  by  the 
delegate  meeting  hereinbefore  provided  for." 

The  law  of  1831  of  Senator  Audenreid  is  the  foundation-stone,  and 
that  of  1834  and  the  act  of  1837  completed  our  common  school  system, 
erroneously  called  "  the  free  school  system." 

I  cannot  do  better  than  to  reproduce  here  a  little  speech  of  mine  in 
response  to  the  toast  "  Our  Free  Schools"  : 

"  The  free  school  is  our  nation's  hope.  It  is  education  that  forms  the 
common  mind,  and  the  continuance  of  our  free  institutions  requires  an 
educated  common  mind.  To  thoroughly  educate  the  common  people  our 
schools  should  be  free  and  equal.  No  special  privileges  or  conditions 
should  be  permitted  in  them,  either  for  the  rich  or  the  poor.  We  pride 
ourselves  on  our  common  schools,  and  well  we  may ;  but  the  schools  are 
not  equal,  and  only  partially  free.  Before  they  can  become  either  we 
must  emancipate  them  from  favoritism  and  unequal  burdens.  The  con- 
ditions are  unequal  because  the  rich  can  buy  all  needful  books  to  make 
the  schools  thorough  and  efficient  for  them,  but  the  widow,  the  day 
laborer,  and  the  mechanic  cannot.  True,  we  have  free  houses,  free 
desks,  free  fuel,  free  black-boards,  free  maps,  and  free  teachers,  every- 
thing free  except  the  most  important,  the  one  thing  needful, — books. 
It  is  our  duty,  then,  to  perfect  the  school  system  by  furnishing  free 
books,  free  paper,  free  pens,  free  ink,  free  slates,  free  pencils,  and  free 
sponges.  For  it  must  be  plain  to  all  that  with  this  heavy  burden  yet  re- 
maining on  the  shoulders  of  poor  parents  and  pupils  the  word  free  schools 
is  a  misnomer  and  a  mockery.  Give  us,  then,  by  legislation  equal  privi- 
leges in  the  schools,  and  free  text-books  for  all. 

"  Hasten  the  day,  just  Heaven, 

Accomplish  Thy  design, 
And  let  the  blessings  of  the  school  Thou  hast  given  us 

On  all  men  and  women  shine, 

Until  free  schools  be  everywhere  and  equally  enjoyed, 
And  human  power  be  for  human  good  employed." 

For  much  of  the  local  information  in  this  chapter,  and  which  I  quote, 
I  am  indebted  to  the  writings  of  Professor  G.  Ament  Blose. 

PIONEER   LICENSES  IN  JEFFERSON   COUNTY   FROM    1812   TO    1830.* 
Name.  Place.  Date. 

Joseph  Barnett  .....    Bald  Eagle  road December  16,  1812. 

John  Matson Bellefonte  road Issued. 

Joseph  Barnett Residence March  6,  1819. 

*  Copied  from  the  records  of  Indiana  County  by  J.  N.  Banks,  Esq. 

222 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Name.  Place.  Date. 

Joseph  Barnett Residence September  27,  1820. 

Henry  Feye Sandy  Lick  settlement December  15,  1812. 

Joseph  Barnett Residence  on  State  Road     .    .    .  December  12,  1814. 

Isaac  Packer Where    Northern     pike    crosses 

Sandy  Lick  Creek December  12,  1823. 

Joseph  Barnett  ......    Continued December  24,  1821. 

Joseph  Barnett "  March  23,  1823. 

Elijah  Heath Punxsutawney December  25,  1822. 

Elizabeth  Winslow  ....  "  March  24,  1829. 

Joseph  Long "  "          " 

William  Vasbinder  ....    Rose  township March  23,  1829. 

Joseph  Potter On  Turnpike  road "          " 

John  W.  McAnulty  ....    Bellefonte  road March  25,  1825. 

Joseph  Barnett Dated  Sept.  27,  1824. 

Elijah  Heath Punxsutawney March  22,  1824. 

Alexander  Powers    ....    Pine  Creek  township December  26,  1824. 

Isaac  Packer "         "          "  March  30,  1824. 

John  Barnett House   formerly   owned   by  Jo- 
seph Barnett Granted. 

Joseph  Barnett Port  Barnett September  22,  1822. 

Andrew  Vasbinder  ....    Pine  Creek  township June  25,  1827. 

Joseph  Barnett Port  Barnett March  27,  1827. 

Isaac  Packer .    At  his  residence "         " 

Elijah  Heath Punxsutawney Marked  granted. 

Alexander  Powers    ....    Pine  Creek  township June  27,  1827. 

PIONEER   CONSTABLES   IN  JEFFERSON   COUNTY   FROM  1811  TO  1830. 

Name.  Place.  Date  of  Election. 

Freedom  Styles Pine  Creek March  15,  1811. 

Freedom  Styles "  March  20,  1812. 

Joseph  Barnett "  March  18,  1814. 

Freedom  Styles "  March  17,  1815. 

Elijah  Graham %  •    •  "  March  15,  1816. 

Elijah  Graham "  March  15,  1817. 

Freedom  Styles "  March  20,  1818. 

David  Hamilton Perry "          " 

Jesse  Armstrong "        March  19,  1819. 

Jacob  Mason Pine  Creek "          " 

Jacob  Hoover Perry March  17,  1820. 

John  Dixon Pine  Creek March  18,  1820. 

Moses  Knapp "  March  16,  1821. 

James  Wachob Perry "          " 

David  McDonald "        March  15,  1822. 

Silas  Sally Pine  Creek "          " 

Elijah  Heath Perry March  14,  1823. 

James  Diven Pine  Creek  .    .    .    .  , "          " 

Isaac  McHenry Perry March  19,  1824. 

Stephen  Reed Pine  Creek "          " 

Thomas  Robison "  March  18,  1825. 

Charles  R.  Barclay Perry "  " 

223 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Name.  Place.  Date  of  Election. 

Thomas  Robison Pine  Creek March  17,  1826. 

Thomas  McKee Perry "          " 

James  Park Pine  Creek March  16,  1827. 

Joseph  Lowry Young "          " 

Nehemiah  Bryant Ridgeway "          " 

William  McAndrish Perry "          " 

James  Wachob "       March  20,  1829. 

Peter  Ostrander Pine  Creek "          " 

William  Love Rose "          " 

Clark  Eggleston Ridgeway "          " 

William  Bowers Young March  19,  1830. 

William  Smith Perry "          " 

James  McCollough Pine  Creek "           " 

James  M.  Brockway Ridgeway "          " 

Herbert  Smith Rose "           " 

William  Bowers Young "           " 

EARLY  CONSTABLES  IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY   FROM    1831    TO    1843. 

Date  of 
Election. 

John  George Rose 1831. 

Stephen  Tibbets Ridgeway " 

John  B.  Williams Young " 

Joseph  Cochran Perry " 

Adam  George   .  f  Rose'  Tievote-  Adam  George  •> 

John  George j      acted  as  constable,  no  doubt  V     1832. 

I      by  appointment  of  court.      J 

James  Wachob.  f  Perry-    Tie  vote'    James  Wa' ) 

Alvah  Payne      .  j      chob  evidently  appointed  by  I 

*•     the  court.  J 

John  George Pine  Creek " 

Henry  Walburn         Ridgeway " 

Wiliam  Clark Rose 1833. 

John  Dixon,  Sr Pine  Creek " 

Caleb  Dill Ridgeway " 

John  Maize Barnett " 

John  Drum Young " 

William  M.  Cochran Perry " 

John  Smith Rose 1834. 

George  Newcomb Perry " 

William  Clawson Young " 

Jacob  Dobbins Ridgeway " 

Edwin  Forsythe Barnett " 

James  K.  Hoffman Pine  Creek " 

John  Christy Rose 

Joseph  Sharp Brookville 

George  Newcomb Perry 

Nathan  Phipps Barnett 

Thomas  W.  Barber Ridgeway 

John  Wilson Pine  Creek 

William  Clawson Young 

224 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Date  of 


Name.  Place. 


Election. 


Miram  Gibbs Snyder 1835. 

Joseph  Sharp Brookville 1836. 

Joseph  Chitister Rose " 

Joseph  Cochran Young " 

Andrew  Alcorn Perry " 

Thomas  W.  Barber Ridgeway " 

Miram  Gibbs Snyder " 

John  Wilson Pine  Creek " 

Elijah  M.  Graham Eldred " 

James  Aharrah Barnett " 

John  McLaughlin Brookville 1837. 

William  Kelso Rose " 

Henry  Smith Young " 

Henry  Philliber Perry " 

John  McGhee Washington " 

Edward  Adams Pine  Creek " 

Elijah  M.  Graham Eldred " 

Henry  Shaffer    , Snyder " 

George  Dickinson Ridgeway " 

James  Aharrah Barnett " 

John  McLaughlin Brookville 1838. 

William  Kelso Rose " 

William  Robinson Young " 

James  R.  Postlethwait Perry " 

John  McGhee Washington " 

Henry  Shaffer Snyder " 

Thomas  Dixon Pine  Creek " 

T.  B.  Maize Barnett " 

Cyrus  Blood Jenks " 

John  Gallagher Brookville 1839. 

Samuel  Newcomb Rose " 

David  Barnett Young " 

Robert  E.  Kennedy Perry " 

Robert  Mclntosh Washington " 

George  S.  Matthews Pine  Creek " 

Galbraith  Wilson Snyder " 

Christ.  McNeil Eldred " 

Matthew  L.  Ross Ridgeway " 

James  Aharrah Barnett " 

George  R.  James Rose 1840. 

William  Long Young .  " 

Andrew  Gibson Perry " 

John  Hice Porter " 

George  Matthews Pine  Creek " 

David  Riggs Washington " 

Christ.  McNeil Eldred " 

Peter  Rickard,  Jr Snyder " 

Robert  Huling Barnett " 

David  Thayer Ridgeway " 

John  Dougherty Brookville " 

225 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Date  of 
Election. 

George  R.  James Rose 1841. 

James  St.  Clair Young • " 

Michael  Palmer Perry " 

John  Hice      Porter " 

Michael  Elliott .    Washington " 

Nicholas  McQuiston Pine  Creek " 

James  Wilkins Snyder " 

Joseph  Winslow Gaskill " 

Charles  Gillis Ridgeway " 

James  Steele Eldred " 

James  Aharrah Barnett " 

William  Rodgers Brookville " 

William  McGarey Rose 1842. 

David  L.  Moore Clover " 

Absalom  De  Haven Young " 

Michael  Palmer Perry " 

James  Dickey Paradise " 

John  McAninch Porter " 

Michael  Elliott Washington " 

Peter  Rickard Snyder " 

Nicholas  McQuiston Pine  Creek " 

David  Thayer Ridgeway " 

John  D.  Kahle Eldred " 

Robert  Wallace Barnett " 

Oran  Bennett Jenks " 

John  Brownlee Brookville ...  " 

Isaac  Hughes Rose 1843. 

William  E.  Gillespie Young ......  " 

Nicholas  McQuiston Pine  Creek " 

De  Witt  C.  White Snyder 

David  C.  Riggs Warsaw " 

John  McAninch Porter " 

Samuel  Kyle Washington " 

Charles  Jacox Clover " 

David  Thayer Ridgeway " 

John  Reynolds Barnett " 

Job  M.  Carley Eldred 

John  Coffman Gaskill " 

James  H.  Ames Jenks " 

M.  Palmer Perry " 

William  Rodgers Brookville <; 

"PIONEER   CENSUS   OF   LYCOMING   AND   JEFFERSON   COUNTIES. 

Total.      Negro  Slaves. 
"  Lycoming  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1800  .    .    .  54*4  39 

Whites.          Colored.  Slaves. 
'Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1810    .    .    .             161                I 

'•              "                   "               in  1820    .    .    .             561              10  . .  j    ' 

"             "                  "              in  1830    .    .    .          2003             21  i 

«•              "                  "              in  1840    .    .    .          7196             57  .;, 

226 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Taxable  list  of  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  from  1807  up  to 
and  including  1842  :  1807,23;  1814,35;  1821,161;  1828,356;  1835, 
904;  1842,  1788. 

"  Receipts  and  expenditures  of  Jefferson  County  from  January  2,  1816, 
to  January  i,  1817,  both  days  inclusive: 

"John  Taylor,  Esq.,  Treasurer. 

"DR. 
"To  cash  of  Joseph   Barnett,  Collector  of  Pine  Creek  township  for  1813, 

in  full ^  .    .        $17-43% 

Received  on  unseated  lands 2475.61^ 

"  land  sold 101.92 

#2594.97 

List  of  outstanding  debts  due  from  the  collectors  for  1815      &7-7O/4 

On  unseated  lands  before  1816,  for  which  the  lands  have  been  sold  to  the 

Commissioners 2140.27 

County  tax,  1816 790.92 

$2938.89^ 
"CR. 

"  By  cash  paid  on  sundry  road  orders $1626.76 

"        "     on  election  orders 34-OO 

"       "     on  wolf  orders I57-37^ 

"        "     to  road  viewers 18.00 

"        "     on  contingent  expenses 102.00 

Paid  to  Indiana  County  the  proportionate  part  of  the  general  expenses    .  298.56 

Treasurer's  fees  of  sixty-five  tracts  of  land  sold  to  Commissioners     .    .    .  182.92 

Treasurer's  fees  on  $1933.13^  at  2  per  cent 38.66 

Balance  in  treasury 136.69^ 

#2594.97 

"  GARWIN  SUTTON, 
THOMAS  SHARP, 
THOMAS  LAUGHLIN, 

' '  Commissioners. 
"Attest: 

"  DANIEL  STANARD, 

"  Clerk." 
— Indiana  American,  February  10,  1817. 

INCIDENTS. 

On  October  23,  1819,  was  the  "dark  day."  Between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  darkness  was  so  great  that  the  pioneer  had  to 
light  his  old  lamp  or  blaze  his  pitch-pine  knot. 

In  January,  1828,  there  was  a  great  flood  in  Jefferson  County,  and 
also  a  great  one  on  February  10,  1832. 

1816,  or  the  year  without  a  summer.  Frost  occurred  in  every  month 
in  1816.  Ice  formed  half  an  inch  thick  in  May.  Snow  fell  to  the 

227 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

depth  of  three  inches  in  June.  Ice  was  formed  to  the  thickness  of  a 
common  window-glass  on  the  5th  day  of  July.  Indian  corn  was  so 
frozen  that  the  greater  part  was  cut  in  August  and  dried  for  fodder,  and 
the  pioneers  supplied  from  the  corn  of  1815  for  the  seeding  of  the  spring 
of  1817. 

In  1809,  Fulton  patented  the  steamboat. 

The  pioneer  steam-vessels  that  made  regular  trips  across  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  were  the  "Sirius"  and  "  Great  Western"  in  the  year  1830. 

The  pioneer  use  of  gas  for  practical  illumination  was  in  1802. 

The  pioneer  mill  to  make  finished  cloth  from  raw  cotton  was  erected 
in  Waltham,  Massachusetts,  in  1813. 

In  1807  wooden  clocks  were  made  by  machinery. 

The  anthracite  coal  business  was  established  about  1820. 

In  1836  matches  were  patented. 

"  The  first  practical  friction  matches  were  made  in  1827  by  an  Eng- 
lish apothecary  named  Walker,  who  coated  splints  of  card-board  with 
sulphur  and  tipped  them  with  a  mixture  of  sulphate  of  antimony,  chlo- 
rate of  potash,  and  gum.  A  box  of  eighty-four  matches  sold  for  one 
cent,  a  piece  of  glass-paper  being  furnished  with  it  for  obtaining  ignition. 
In  1830  a  London  man  named  Jones  devised  a  species  of  match  which 
was  a  little  roll  of  paper  soaked  in  chlorate  of  potash  and  sugar,  with  a 
thin  glass  globule  filled  with  sulphuric  acid  attached  to  one  end.  The 
globule  being  broken,  the  acid  acted  upon  the  potash  and  sugar,  pro- 
ducing fire.  Phosphorus  matches  were  first  introduced  on  a  commercial 
scale  in  1833,  and  after  that  improvements  were  rapid. 

"The  modern  lucifer  match  combines  in  one  instrument  arrange- 
ments for  creating  a  spark,  catching  it  on  tinder,  and  starting  a  blaze, — 
steps  requiring  separate  operations  in  primitive  contrivances.  It  was  in 
1836  that  the  first  United  States  patent  for  friction  matches  was  issued. 
Splints  for  them  were  made  by  sawing  or  splitting  blocks  of  wood  into 
slivers  slightly  attached  at  the  base.  These  were  known  as  '  slab'  or 
'  block'  matches,  and  they  are  in  use  in  parts  of  this  country  to-day." 

The  pioneer  strike  in  America  was  that  of  the  journeymen  boot- 
makers of  Philadelphia  in  1796.  The  men  struck,  or  "  turned  out,"  as 
they  phrased  it,  for  an  increase  of  wages.  After  two  weeks'  suspension 
of  trade  their  demands  were  granted,  and  this  success  gained  them 
greater  strength  and  popularity,  so  that  when  they  "  turned  out  in  1798, 
and  again  in  1799,  for  further  increases,  they  were  still  successful  and 
escaped  indictment. 

Vulcanized  rubber  was  patented  in  1838. 

In  1840,  Daguerre  first  made  his  pictures. 

The  express  business  was  started  about  1840. 

The  pioneer  telegram  was  sent  in  1845. 

The  pioneer  steamer  to  cross  the  Atlantic  was  built  in  New  York  in 

228 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1818  by  Francis  Picket.  The  vessel  was  called  the  "Savannah."  In 
the  trip  she  carried  seventy-five  tons  of  coal  and  twenty-five  cords  of 
wood.  She  left  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  May,  1819,  and  arrived  at  Liver- 
pool in  June,  1819.  She  used  steam  eighteen  of  the  twenty-six  days. 

James  Piles  was  the  pioneer  blacksmith,  in  1808,  in  Jefferson  County. 
Joseph  McCullough  was  the  second  blacksmith,  in  1819.  Before  "  stocks" 
were  invented  oxen  had  to  be  thrown  and  tied  and  the  shoes  nailed  on 
while  down.  McCullough  did  this. 

In  1811  a  furious  tornado  swept  across  this  county. 

In  1828,  March  9,  an  earthquake  shock  was  felt  in  Jefferson  County. 

The  earliest  recorded  tornado  in  the  United  States  was  in  1794.  It 
passed  north  of  Brookville,  in  what  is  now  Heath  and  other  townships, 
and  extended  to  Northford,  Connecticut. 

PIONEER   THANKSGIVING   DAYS. 

The  first  recorded  Thanksgiving  was  the  Hebrew  feast  of  the  Taber- 
nacles. 

The  New  England  Thanksgiving  dates  from  1633,  when  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  colony  set  apart  a  day  for  thanksgiving. 

The  first  national  Thanksgiving  proclamations  were  by  Congress 
during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  first  great  American  Thanksgiving  day  was  in  1784,  for  the 
declaration  of  peace.  There  was  one  more  national  Thanksgiving  in 
1789,  and  no  other  till  1862,  when  President  Lincoln  issued  a  national 
proclamation  for  a  day  of  thanksgiving. 

The  pioneer  Thanksgiving  day  in  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania, 
was  on  the  last  Thursday  of  November,  1819,  by  proclamation  of 
Governor  Findlay. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

PIONEER   MISSIONARY   WORK THE   FIRST  WHITE   MAN  TO   TRAVEL  THE   SOIL 

OF   JEFFERSON    COUNTY — REVS.  POST,  HECKEWELDER,  AND    OTHERS. 

THE  pioneer  minister  to  travel  through  what  is  now  Jefferson  County 
was  a  Moravian  missionary  or  a  preacher  of  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
the  Rev.  Christian  Frederic  Post.  He  travelled  from  Philadelphia  to  the 
Ohio  (Allegheny)  River  in  1758  on  a  mission  from  the  government  of 
Pennsylvania  to  the  Delaware,  Shawanese,  and  Mingo  Indians.  These 
Indians  were  then  in  alliance  with  the  French,  and  Rev.  Post's  mission 
was  to  prevail  on  them  to  withdraw  from  that  alliance.  Post  passed 
through  what  is  now  Jefferson  County,  from  Clearfield,  over  Boone's 
Mountain,  crossed  Little  Tobec  (Little  Toby),  and  then  over  Big  Tobec 
(Big  Toby)  Creek. 

229 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

From  Post's  journal  I  quote  the  following  extract : 

"  August  2nd — We  came  across  several  places  where  two  poles,  painted 
red,  were  stuck  in  the  ground  by  the  Indians,  to  which  they  tye  the  pris- 
oners, when  they  stop  at  night,  in  their  return  from  their  incursions.  We 
arrived  this  night  at  Shinglimuce,  where  was  another  of  the  same  posts. 
It  is  a  disagreeable  and  melancholy  sight,  to  see  the  means  they  make 
use  of,  according  to  their  savage  way,  to  distress  others. 

"  jrd — We  came  to  a  part  of  a  river  called  Tobeco,  over  the  moun- 
tains, a  very  bad  road. 

"4th — We  lost  one  of  our  horses,  and  with  much  difficulty  found  him, 
but  were  detained  a  whole  day  on  that  account  [at  what  is  now  Brock- 
way  ville].  I  had  much  conversation  with  Pisquetumen  [an  Indian  chief 
that  travelled  with  him]  ;  of  which  I  think  to  inform  myself  further  when 
I  get  to  my  journey's  end. 

"^th — We  set  out  early  this  day,  and  made  a  good  long  stretch, 
crossing  the  big  river  Tobeco,  and  lodged  between  two  mountains.  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  my  pocket  book  with  three  pounds  five  shil- 
lings, and  sundry  other  things.  What  writings  it  contained  were  illegi- 
ble to  any  body  but  myself. 

"6th — We  passed  all  the  mountains,  and  the  big  river,  Weshawaucks, 
and  crossed  a  fine  meadow  two  miles  in  length,  where  we  slept  that  night, 
having  nothing  to  eat. 

"ft/i — We  came  in  sight  of  fort  Venango,  belonging  to  the  French, 
situate  between  two  mountains,  in  a  fork  of  the  Ohio  [Allegheny]  river. 
I  prayed  the  Lord  to  blind  them,  as  he  did  the  enemies  of  Lot  and  Elisha, 
that  I  might  pass  unknown.  When  we  arrived,  the  fort  being  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  we  hallooed,  and  desired  them  to  fetch  us  over : 
which  they  were  afraid  to  do ;  but  showed  us  a  place  where  we  might 
ford.  We  slept  that  night  within  half  gun  shot  of  the  fort." 

"  Christian  Frederic  Post  accompanied  by  several  friendly  Indians, 
set  out  from  Bethlehem  on  the  igth  of  July,  for  Fort  Augusta  (Sunbury). 
There  he  took  the  path  along  the  right  bank  of  the  West  Branch,  leading 
over  the  Chillisquaque,  over  Muncy,  Loyalsock,  and  Pine  Creeks,  crossed 
the  Susquehanna  at  the  Great  Island,  and  then  struck  one  of  the  main 
Indian  thoroughfares  to  the  West.  On  the  3rd  of  July  he  forded  Beech 
Creek,  on  whose  left  bank  he  came  to  the  forks  of  the  road.  One  branch 
led  southwest  along  the  Bald  Eagle,  past  the  Nest  to  Frankstown,  and 
thence  to  the  Ohio  country ;  the  other  due  west  to  Chinklacamoose.  Post 
took  the  latter.  It  led  over  the  Moshannon,  which  he  crossed  on  the  ist 
of  August.  Next  day  he  arrived  at  the  village  of  Chinklacamoose  in  the 
'Clear  Fields.'  Hence  the  travellers  struck  a  trail  to  the  northwest, 
crossed  Toby's  Creek  (Clarion  River),  and  on  the  yth  of  August  reached 
Fort  Venango,  built  by  the  French  in  1753,  in  the  forks  of  the  Alle- 

230 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,   PENNA. 

gheny.     'I  prayed  the  Lord,'  writes  Post,  'to  blind  the  French,  as  he 
did  the  enemies  of  Lot  and  Elisha,  that  I  might  pass  unknown. ' 

"  Leaving  Venango,  Post  and  his  companions  turned  their  horses'  heads 
to  the  southwest,  struck  the  Conequenessing  on  the  i2th  of  August, 
crossed  the  Big  Beaver,  and  next  day  arrived  at  Kaskadkie,  the  terminus 
of  their  journey  and  the  head-quarters  of  'the  Beavers'  and  'Shingas,' 
war-chiefs  of  the  western  Delawares. "  Post  was,  therefore,  the  first  Mora- 
vian west  of  the  Alleghenies.  He  closes  his  interesting  journal  with  these 
words : 

"  Thirty-two  days  that  I  lay  in  the  woods,  the  heavens  were  my  cov- 
ering, and  the  dew  fell  so  hard  sometimes  that  it  pricked  close  to  the  skin. 
During  this  time  nothing  lay  so  heavily  on  my  heart  as  the  man  who  went 
along  with  me  [Shamokin  Daniel],  for  he  thwarted  me  in  everything  I 
said  or  did  ;  not  that  he  did  it  against  me,  but  against  the  country  on 
whose  business  I  was  sent.  When  he  was  with  the  French  he  would  speak 
against  the  English,  and  when  he  was  with  the  English  he  would  speak 
against  the  French.  The  Indians  observed  that  he  was  unreliable, 
and  desired  me  not  to  bring  him  any  more  to  transact  business  between 
them  and  the  prisoners.  But  praise  and  glory  be  to  the  lamb  that  was 
slain,  who  brought  me  through  a  country  of  dreadful  jealousy  and  mis- 
trust, where  the  Prince  of  this  world  holds  rule  and  government  over  the 
children  of  disobedience.  It  was  my  Lord  who  preserved  me  amid  all 
difficulties  and  dangers,  and  his  Holy  Spirit  directed  me.  I  had  no  one 
to  commune  with,  but  Him ;  and  it  was  he  who  brought  me  from  under 
a  thick,  heavy  and  dark  cloud  into  the  open  air,  for  which  I  adore,  and 
praise  and  worship  him.  I  know  and  confess  that  He,  the  Lord  my  God, 
the  same  who  forgave  my  sins  and  washed  my  heart  in  his  most  precious 
blood,  grasped  me  in  his  almighty  hand  and  held  me  safe, — and  hence  I 
live  no  longer  for  myself,  but  for  Him,  whose  holy  will  to  do  is  my 
chiefest  pleasure." 

"  Christian  Frederic  Post,  the  most  adventurous  of  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries employed  among  the  North  American  Indians,  was  born  at 
Conitz,  Polish  Prussia,  in  1710.  He  immigrated  to  this  country  in  June, 
1742.  Between  1743  and  1749  he  was  a  missionary  to  the  Moravian  In- 
dians in  New  York  and  Connecticut.  He  first  married  Rachel,  a  Wam- 
panoag,  and  after  her  death,  Agnes,  a  Delaware.  Having  become  a 
widower  a  second  time,  he,  in  1 75 1 ,  returned  to  Europe  :  hence  he  sailed 
for  Labrador  in  1752,  engaging  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  bring  the 
gospel  to  the  Esquimaux.  Having  returned  to  Bethlehem  in  1754,  he 
was  sent  to  Wyoming,  where  he  preached  to  the  Indians  until  in  Novem- 
ber of  1755.  I*1  tne  summer  of  1758,  Post  undertook  an  embassy  in  be- 
half of  government  to  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese  of  the  Ohio  country, 
which  resulted  in  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Duquesne  by  the  French  and 
the  restoration  of  peace.  In  September  of  1761  he  engaged  in  an  inde- 

231 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

pendent  mission  to  the  Indians  of  that  distant  region,  and  built  him  a  hut 
on  the  Tuscarawas,  near  Bolivar,  in  Stark  County,  Ohio.  John  Hecke- 
welder  joined  him  in  the  spring  of  1762.  But  the  Pontiac  war  drove  the 
missionaries  back  to  the  settlements,  and  the  project  was  abandoned.  Im- 
pelled by  his  ruling  passion,  Post  now  sought  a  new  field  of  activity  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  continent,  and  in  January  of  1 764  sailed  from  Charles- 
ton, via  Jamaica,  for  the  Mosquito  coast.  Here  he  preached  to  the  natives 
for  upward  of  two  years.  He  visited  Bethlehem  in  July  of  1767,  returned 
to  Mosquito,  and  was  in  Bethlehem,  for  the  last  time,  in  1784.  At  this 
date  he  was  residing  with  his  third  wife,  who  was  an  Episcopalian,  in 
Germantown.  Here  he  deceased  April  29,  1785.  On  the  5th  of  May 
his  remains  were  interred  in  the  Lower  Graveyard  of  that  place,  Rev. 
William  White,  of  Christ  Church,  conducting  the  funeral  service.  A 
marble  slab,  bearing  an  appropriate  obituary  record,  was  placed,  some 
thirty  years  ago,  upon  the  veteran  missionary's  grave." — Transactions  of 
the  Moravian  Historical  Society,  vol.  i. 

The  second  minister  to  cry  aloud  in  this  wilderness  was  the  Rev.  John 
Heckewelder  in  1 762.  He  came  from  Bethlehem  over  the  Chinklacamoose 
trail  to  Punxsutawney.  He  was  a  Moravian  missionary,  and  travelled 
some  thirty  thousand  miles  in  Indian  missionary  work  between  the  years 
1762  and  1814. 

The  third  preacher  to  penetrate  this  wilderness  was  a  Moravian  min- 
ister, the  Rev.  David  Zeisberger,  and  he  passed  through  or  near  Brock- 
wayville  over  the  northwest  trail  to  what  was  then  the  Ohio,  now  the 
Allegheny  (in  what  is  now  Forest  County)  River. 

I  quote  as  follows  from  "  Day's  Collections"  : 

"  In  the  year  1767  an  unarmed  man  of  short  stature,  remarkably  plain 
in  his  dress,  and  humble  and  peaceable  in  his  demeanor,  emerged  from 
the  thick  forest  upon  the  Allegheny  River,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Seneca  towns.  This  was  the  Moravian  missionary,  Rev.  David  Zeis- 
berger, who,  led  by  Anthony  and  John  Papanhunk,  Indian  guides  and 
assistants  in  his  pious  labors,  had  penetrated  the  dense  wilderness  of 
Northern  Pennsylvania,  from  Wyalusing,  on  the  Susquehanna,  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  Indians  in  this  region.  His  intended  station  was  at 
Goshgoshunk,  which  appears  to  have  been  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Alle- 
gheny, not  far  from  the  mouth  of  Tionesta.  Possibly  Goshgoshunk  was 
the  same  as  the  Indian  name  Cush-cush. 

"  The  Seneca  chief,  believing  Brother  Zeisberger  to  be  a  spy,  received 
him  roughly  at  first ;  but,  softened  by  his  mild  demeanor,  or  perhaps  by 
the  holy  truths  which  he  declared  to  the  chief,  he  at  length  bade  him 
welcome,  and  permitted  him  to  go  to  Goshgoshunk.  He  warned  him, 
however,  not  to  trust  the  people  there,  for  they  had  not  their  equals  in 
wickedness  and  thirst  for  blood.  This  was  but  another  incentive  to  him 
who  came  to  preach  '  not  to  the  righteous,  but  to  sinners.'  However,  on 

232 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

his  arrival  he  was  well  received,  and  shared  the  hospitality  of  a  relative 
of  one  of  his  guides.  '  Goshgoshunk,  a  town  of  the  Delawares,  consisted 
of  three  villages  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  [Allegheny].  The  whole  town 
seemed  to  rejoice  at  the  novelty  of  this  visit.  The  missionary  found, 
however,  that  the  Seneca  chief  had  told  him  truly.  He  was  shocked  at 
their  heathenish  and  diabolical  rites,  and  especially  by  their  abuse  of  the 
holy  name  of  God.  An  Indian  preacher,  called  Wangomen,  strenuously 
resisted  the  new  doctrines  of  the  missionaries,  especially  that  of  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Deity,  and  instigated  the  jealousy  of  his  people ;  but  the 
truth,  preached  in  its  simplicity  and  power,  by  the  missionaries,  over- 
came him,  and  he  yielded  his  opposition  so  far  as  to  join  the  other  In- 
dians in  an  invitation  to  the  missionaries  to  settle  among  them.  The  old 
blind  chief,  Allemewi,  was  awakened,  and  afterwards  baptized,  with  the 
Christian  name  of  Solomon.  The  missionary  went  home  to  report  his 
progress  to  his  friends  in  Bethlehem.  The  following  year  Zeisberger  re- 
turned, accompanied  by  Brother  Gottlob  Senseman  and  several  Moravian 
Indian  families  from  the  Susquehanna,  to  establish  a  regular  mission  at 
Goshgoshunk.  They  built  a  block-house,  planted  corn,  and,  gathering 
round  their  block-house  several  huts  of  believing  Indians,  they  formed  a 
small  hamlet,  a  little  separated  from  the  other  towns.  '  To  this  a  great 
number  resorted,  and  there  the  brethren  ceased  not,  by  day  and  night,  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus,  and  God  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself.'  These  meetings  were  fully  attended,  '  and  it  was  curious  to  see 
so  many  of  the  audience  with  their  faces  painted  black  and  vermilion  and 
heads  decorated  with  clusters  of  feathers  and  fox-tails. '  A  violent  oppo- 
sition, however,  succeeded,  occasioned  by  the  malicious  lies  of  the  ma- 
gicians and  old  women, — '  the  corn  was  blasted,  the  deer  and  game  began 
to  retire  from  the  woods,  no  chestnuts  nor  bilberries  would  grow  any 
more,  merely  because  the  missonaries  preached  a  strange  doctrine,  and 
the  Indians  were  changing  their  way  of  life.'  Added  to  this,  the  grand 
council  at  Onondaga  and  Zeneschio  (Ischua)  looked  with  extreme  jealousy 
upon  this  new  encroachment  of  white  men  upon  their  territories  and  dis- 
countenanced the  establishment.  In  consequence  of  these  things  the  mis- 
sionaries left  Goshgoshunk,  and  retired  fifteen  miles  farther  up  the  river, 
to  a  place  called  Lawanakanuck,  on  the  opposite  bank,  probably  near 
Hickorytown.  Here  they  again  started  a  new  settlement,  built  at  first  a 
hunting-den,  and  afterwards  a  chapel  and  a  dwelling-house,  '  and  a  bell, 
which  they  received  from  Bethlehem,  was  hung  in  a  convenient  place.' 

"About  the  year  1765  the  Moravian  missionary  David  Zeisberger 
established  the  mission  of  Friedenschnetten,  near  the  present  town  of 
Wyalusing,  in  Bradford  County.  This  town,  the  name  of  which  signifies 
'tents  of  peace,'  contained  'thirteen  Indian  huts,  and  upward  of  forty 
frame  houses,  shingled,  and  provided  with  chimneys  and  windows.' 
There  was  another  mission  about  thirty  miles  above  Friedenschnetten, — 
16  233 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

'  Tschechsehequanink,'  or,  as  it  was  translated,  '  where  a  great  awakening 
had  taken  place.'  This  latter  mission  was  under  the  charge  of  Brother 
Roth. 

"  These  missions  prospered  greatly,  and  much  good  was  done  among 
the  Indians,  until  1 768,  when  the  Six  Nations,  by  the  treaty  made  that 
year,  'sold  the  land  from  under  their  feet,'  and  the  missionaries  en- 
countered so  much  trouble  from  both  the  Indians  and  whites,  that  in 
1772  the  brethren  decided  to  abandon  these  missions  and  remove  to  the 
new  field  which  had  been  planted  by  the  indefatigable  Zeisberger  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio.  They  therefore  started  from  Wyalusing  on  the  1 2th 
day  of  June,  1772,  in  number  two  hundred  and  forty-one  souls,  mostly 
Indians,  of  all  ages,  with  their  cattle  and  horses.  Their  destination  was 
Friedenstadt,*  near  the  present  site  of  Beaver,  Pennsylvania.  They  were 
under  the  guidance  of  Brothers  Roth  and  Ettewein,  and  their  course  was 
from  the  North  Branch  across  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  by  way  of  Bald 
Eagle,  to  the  Ohio  River.  Brother  Roth  conducted  those  who  went  by 
water  and  Brother  Ettewein  those  who  travelled  by  land.  In  1886  the 
Moravian,  published  at  Bethlehem,  gave  the  journal  of  Rev.  John  Ette- 
wein, and  we  give  the  extracts  from  it  of  the  progress  of  the  party  through 
the  territory  now  comprised  by  southern  Jefferson  County,  with  the 
explanatory  foot-notes  in  the  Moravian,  translated  by  Mr.  Jordan : 

"'  1772. 

"  '  Tuesday,  July  14. — Reached  Clearfield  Creek,  where  the  buffalos 
formerly  cleared  large  tracts  of  undergrowth,  so  as  to  give  the  appearance 
of  cleared  fields.  Hence,  the  Indians  called  the  creek  'Clearfield.' 
Here  at  night  and  next  morning,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  hungry,  nine 
deer  were  shot.  Whoever  shoots  a  deer  has  for  his  private  portion,  the 
skin  and  inside ;  the  meat  he  must  bring  into  camp  and  deliver  to  the 
distributors.  John  and  Cornelius  acted  in  this  capacity  in  our  division. 
It  proved  advantageous  for  us  not  to  keep  so  closely  together,  as  we  had 
at  first  designed ;  for  if  the  number  of  families  in  a  camp  be  large,  one 
or  two  deer,  when  cut  up,  afford  but  a  scanty  meal  to  each  individual. 
So  it  happened  that  scarce  a  day  passed  without  there  being  a  distribu- 
tion of  venison  in  the  advance,  the  centre  and  the  rear  camp.  (On  the 
route  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  deer  and  but  three  bears  shot.) 
In  this  way  our  Heavenly  Father  provided  for  us ;  and  I  often  prayed  for 
our  hunters,  and  returned  thanks  for  their  success. 

" '  Thursday,  July  16. —  ...  I  journeyed  on,  with  a  few  of  the  brethren, 
two  miles  in  a  falling  rain,  to  the  site  of  Chinklacamoose,  where  we  found 


*  "  The  Annals  of  Friedenschnetten,  on  the  Susquehanna,  with  John  Ettewein's 
Journal  of  the  Removal  of  the  Mission  to  Friedenstadt,  1765  and  1772,  by  John  W. 
Jordan." 

234 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

but  three  huts,  and  a  few  patches  of  Indian  corn.  The  name  signifies 
'  No  one  tarries  here  willingly.'  It  may,  perhaps,  be  traced  to  the  cir- 
cumstance that  some  thirty  years  ago  an  Indian  resided  here  as  a  hermit, 
upon  a  rock,  who  was  wont  to  appear  to  the  Indian  hunters,  in  frightful 
shapes.  Some  of  these,  too,  he  killed,  others  he  robbed  of  their  skins ; 
and  this  he  did  for  many  years.  We  moved  on  four  miles,  and  were 
obliged  to  wade  the  West  Branch  three  times,  which  is  here  like  the 
Lehigh  at  Bethlehem,  between  the  island  and  the  mountain,  rapid  and 
full  of  ripples. 

"  '  Friday,  July  77. — Advanced  only  four  miles  to  a  creek  that  comes 
down  from  the  northwest.*  Had  a  narrow  and  stony  spot  for  our  camp. 

"  '  Satiirday,  July  18, — Moved  on  without  awaiting  Roth  and  his 
division,  who  on  account  of  the  rain  had  remained  in  camp.  To-day 
Shebosch  lost  a  colt  from  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake.  Here  we  left  the 
West  Branch  three  miles  to  the  Northwest,  up  the  creek,  crossing  it  five 
times.  Here,  too,  the  path  went  precipitately  up  the  mountain,  and  four 
or  five  miles  up  and  up  to  the  summit — to  a  spring  the  head-waters  of  the 
Ohio.f  Here  I  lifted  up  my  heart  in  prayer  as  I  looked  westward,  that 
the  Son  of  Grace  might  rise  over  the  heathen  nations  that  dwell  beyond 
the  distant  horizon. 

"  ' Sunday,  July  /p.— As  yesterday,  but  two  families  kept  with  me,  be- 
cause of  the  rain,  we  had  a  quiet  Sunday,  but  enough  to  do  drying  our 
effects.  In  the  evening  all  joined  me,  but  we  could  hold  no  service  as 
the  Ponkis  were  so  excessively  annoying  that  the  cattle  pressed  towards 
and  into  our  camp,  to  escape  their  persecutors  in  the  smoke  of  the  fires. 
This  vermin  is  a  plague  to  man  and  beast,  both  by  day  and  night.  But 
in  the  swamp  through  which  we  are  now  passing,  their  name  is  legion. 
Hence  the  Indians  call  it  the  Ponksutenink,  i.e.,  the  town  of  the  Ponkis. \ 
The  word  is  equivalent  to  living  dust  and  ashes,  the  vermin  being  so 
small  as  not  to  be  seen,  and  their  bite  being  hot  as  sparks  of  fire,  or  hot 
ashes.  The  brethren  here  related  an  Indian  myth,  to  wit :  That  the  afore- 
cited Indian  hermit  and  sorcerer,  after  having  been  for  so  many  years  a 
terror  to  all  Indians,  had  been  killed  by  one  who  had  burned  his  bones, 
but  the  ashes  he  blew  into  the  swamp,  and  they  became  living  things,  and 
hence  the  Ponkis. 

"  '  Monday,  July  20. — After  discoursing  on  the  daily  word — '  The  Lord 

*  "Anderson's  Creek,  in  Clearfield  County,  which  they  struck  at  a  point  near  the 
present  Curwensville. " 

f  "  Probably  the  source  of  the  North  Branch  of  the  Mahoning,  which  rises  in 
Brady  township,  Clearfield  County,  and  empties  into  the  Allegheny,  in  Armstrong 
County,  ten  miles  above  Kittanning." 

J  "  Kept  down  the  valley  of  the  Mahoning,  into  Jefferson  County.  Punxsutawney 
is  a  village  in  Young  township,  Jefferson  County.  The  swamp  lies  in  Gaskill  and 
Young  townships." 

235 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

our  God  be  with  us,  may  he  not  forsake  us' — we  traveled  on  through  the 
swamp,  and  after  five  miles  crossed  the  path  that  leads  from  Frankstown* 
to  Goshgoshunk,  and  two  miles  from  that  point  encamped  at  a  run.  At 
5  P.M.,  came  Brethren  Peter,  Boaz,  and  Michael,  with  fourteen  unbap- 
tized  Indians,  from  Lagundontenink,  to  meet  us  with  four  horses,  and 
five  bushels  of  Indian  corn,  also  Nathaniel's  wife  from  Sheningat  with  a 
letter  from  Brother  Jungman.  I  thought  had  I  but  milk  or  meat,  I  would 
add  rice,  and  prepare  a  supper  for  the  new-comers.  But  two  of  them 
went  to  hunt,  and  in  half  an  hour  Michael  brought  in  a  deer  to  my  fire. 
My  eyes  moistened  with  tears.  Sister  Esther  hunted  up  the  large  camp 
kettle,  and  all  had  their  fill  of  rice  and  venison,  and  were  much  pleased. 
That  night  and  the  following  morning  there  were  four  deer  shot  by  the 
company. 

"  '  Tuesday,  July  21. — The  rear  division  came  up,  and  the  destitute, 
viz.,  such  as  had  lived  solely  upon  meat  and  milk,  were  supplied  each 
with  one  pint  of  Indian  corn.  We  proceeded  six  miles  to  the  first  creek. 
In  the  evening  a  number  of  the  brethren  came  to  my  fire,  and  we  sat  to- 
gether right  cheerful  until  midnight.  Once  when  asleep  I  was  awakened 
by  the  singing  of  the  brethren  who  had  gathered  around  the  fire  of  the 
friends  from  Lagundontenink.  It  refreshed  my  inmost  soul. 

"  '  Wednesday,  July  22. — We  journeyed  on  four  miles,  to  the  first  fork  \ 
where  a  small  creek  comes  down  from  the  mouth. 

"  '  Thursday,  July  23. — Also  four  miles  to  the  second  fork,  to  the  creek, 
coming  in  from  the  south-east.  §  As  a  number  of  us  met  here  in  good 
time  we  had  a  meeting.  Corneliu's  brother-in-law  stated  that  he  was 
desirous  of  being  the  Lord's ;  therefore  he  had  left  his  friends  so  as  to 
live  with  the  brethren,  and  to  hear  of  the  Saviour. 

"  '  Friday,  July  24. — The  path  soon  left  the  creek,  over  valleys  and 
heights  to  a  spring.  Now  we  were  out  of  the  swamp,  and  free  from  the 
plague  of  the  Ponkis.  Also  found  huckleberries,  which  were  very  grate- 
ful. Our  to-day's  station  was  five  miles,  and  about  so  far  we  advanced  on. 

"  '  Saturday,  July  25. — On  which  day  we  encamped  at  a  Salt  Lick,  and 
kept  Sunday  some  three  miles  from  the  large  creek,  which  has  so  many 
curves,  like  a  horseshoe,  so  that  if  one  goes  per  canoe,  when  the  water  is 
high,  four  days  are  consumed  in  reaching  the  Ohio,  whereas,  by  land, 
the  point  can  be  reached  in  one  day.  1 1  Our  youngsters  went  to  the  creek 

*  "  Near  Hollidaysburg.     See  Scull's  map  of  1759  for  this  path." 
^  "  Sheninga  is  a  township  in  Lawrence  County,  just  above  Friedenstadt." 
J  "  A  branch  of  the  Mahoning." 

\  "  Query. — The  creek  that  comes  in  and  up  below  Punxsutawney." 

||  "  The  Mahoning,  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  East  and  South  Branch,  which 

meets  at  Nicholsburg,  in  Indiana  County.     This  route  to  the  Allegheny  was  the  same 

path  taken  by  Post  in  1758,  when  returning  from  his  second  visit  to  the  Ohio  Indians 

in  that  year,  and  between  Chinklacamoose  and  the  Allegheny,  over  the  same  path 

236 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  fish,  and  others  to  hunt ;  and  at  sunset  they  came  in  with  two  deer, 
and  four  strings  of  fish.'  ' 

"John  Roth  was  born  in  Brandenburg,  February  3,  1726,  of  Catholic 
parents,  and  was  brought  up  a  locksmith.  In  1748  he  united  with  the 
Moravians  and  emigrated  to  America,  arriving  at  Bethlehem  in  June  of 
1756.  He  deceased  at  York,  Pennsylvania,  July  22,  1791. 

"John  Ettewein  was  born  2pth  of  June,  1721,  in  Freudenstadt,  Wiir- 
temberg.  He  united  with  the  Moravians  in  1740,  and  came  to  Bethle- 
hem in  April  of  1754.  Here  he  was  set  apart  for  service  in  the  schools 
of  his  adopted  church,  when,  in  1758,  a  new  field  of  labor  was  assigned 
him  at  the  Brethren's  settlements  in  Western  North  Carolina  (Forsyth  and 
adjacent  counties).  During  his  residence  in  Wachovia  he  itinerated 
among  the  spiritually  destitute  Germans  of  South  Carolina  (1762),  and 
visited  the  Salzburgers  and  Swiss  of  Ebenezer  (in  Georgia)  in  1765. 
The  following  year  he  was  recalled  to  Bethlehem.  This  place  was  the 
scene  of  his  greatest  activity,  as  here,  under  God,  he  led  the  Moravian 
Church  in  safety  through  the  stormy  times  of  the  Revolution.  He  was 
ordained  a  bishop  in  1784.  In  1789  he  sailed  for  Europe,  and  attended 
a  general  synod  convened  at  Herrnhut.  John  Ettewein  was  one  of  the 
remarkable  men  of  the  Brethren's  Church  in  North  America.  He  deceased 
at  Bethlehem,  ad  of  January,  1802." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

PIONEER   AND    EARLY   CHURCHES — PRESBYTERIAN  THE    PIONEER    CHURCH  IN 
THE   COUNTY — THE   PIONEER   PREACHER   AND    CHURCH. 

THE  pioneer  Presbyterian  preaching  in  Pennsylvania  was  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1698.  In  1704  they  erected  a  frame  church  on  Market  Street 
and  called  it  "  Buttonwood." 

I  quote  from  Rev.  Fields  as  to  the  organization  of  the  pioneer  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Jefferson  County  : 

"Its  first  name  was  Bethel,  and  continued  to  be  for  many  years. 
The  records  of  the  church  are  not  to  be  found  farther  back  than  Septem- 
ber 20,  1851.  Records  were  in  existence  as  far  back  as  1832,  but  where 
they  are  or  who  has  them  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  The  church  had 
its  beginning  in  Port  Barnett.  Preaching  seems  to  have  been  in  the  set- 
tlement in  June,  1809.  -^  tnat  time  a  communion  service  was  held  in 
the  house  of  Peter  Jones,  near  where  John  McCullough  now  lives.  Robert 

travelled  by  Barbara  Leininger  in  1755,  when  Chinklacamoose  and  Punxsutawney  were 
villages." 

237 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

McGarraugh  administered  the  supper.  He  was  then  pastor  of  Licking 
and  New  Rehoboth,  now  in  Clarion  County.  He  had  come  to  the 
Clarion  region  as  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Redstone  in  the  fall  of 
1803.  Whether  he  visited  Port  Barnett  settlement  at  that  time  cannot 
now  be  ascertained.  At  all  events,  when  he  returned  from  Fayette 
County  with  his  family,  June,  1804,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  Licking 
and  New  Rehoboth  churches,  November  12,  1807,  he  seems  to  have 
taken  the  Port  Barnett  settlement  under  his  care.  When  he  '  held  the 
communion,'  June,  1809,  certain  persons  were  received  into  the  church 
in  such  a  way  that  he  baptized  their  children.  This  much  is  plain  from 
the  memory  and  Bible  record  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Graham,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Barnett. ' ' 

A  word  here  with  regard  to  that  good  and  God-fearing  man.  He  was 
highly  educated  and  able  in  prayer,  yet,  like  Moses,  slow  of  speech,  often 
taking  two  and  three  hours  to  deliver  a  sermon.  He  preached  without 
notes,  and  with  great  earnestness  pleaded  with  his  hearers  to  forsake 
their  sins  and  the  errors  of  their  ways  and  turn  to  the  Lord.  So  earnest 
would  he  become  at  times  that  the  great  tears  would  roll  from  his  eyes  to 
the  floor.  It  was  often  said  that  he  preached  more  eloquently  by  his  tears 
than  by  the  power  of  his  voice.  He  lived  poor  and  died  poor,  and 
preached  in  the  clothes  in  which  he  worked. 

"  How  long  Robert  McGarraugh  continued  to  preach  in  the  house  of 
Peter  Jones  remains  uncertain.  After  some  years  religious  services  were 
held  in  the  house  of  Samuel  Jones,  five  miles  west  of  Brookville.  The 
church  was  fully  organized  in  a  school-house,  near  the  present  site  of  the 
L'nited  Presbyterian  Jefferson  Church  on  the  Andrews  farm.  That  seems 
to  have  been  in  1824.  The  Allegheny  Presbytery  reported  to  the  Synod 
of  Pittsburg  twenty-three  churches  in  1823.  In  1824  the  Presbytery 
reported  twenty-five  churches,  and  among  them  Bethel  and  Zelienople, 
so  that  the  record  of  the  Synod  establishes  conclusively  the  fact  that  in 
that  year  (1824)  Bethel  for  the  first  time  was  recognized  as  a  separate 
congregation.  The  next  record  is  in  the  minutes  of  the  Allegheny  Pres- 
bytery, April,  1825.  It  there  appears  as  vacant,  and,  shortly  afterwards, 
as  connected  with  Red  Bank,  both  having  sixty-eight  members. 

"Bethel  Church,  as  organized  in  the  Jefferson  school-house,  was  re- 
moved, in  the  fall  of  1824,  to  a  farm  on  the  road  from  Brookville  to 
Clarion.  The  farm  was  owned  by  Joseph  Hughes  (the  father  of  Isaac 
D.  Hughes,  of  Brookville),  and  was  distant  from  Brookville  three  miles. 
There  they  built  a  church,  and  dedicated  it  The  Bethel  of  Jefferson 
County.  The  church  was  built  of  logs,  small  and  closely  notched  to- 
gether. It  stood  to  the  right  of  the  road  as  one  goes  towards  Clarion, 
near  the  pike,  and  on  a  line  between  it  and  the  '  Old  Graveyard.'  The 
latter  is  still  in  existence,  but  all  traces  of  the  old  meeting-house  are  gone. 
The  floor  was  genuine  mother-earth,  and  the  seats  slabs  or  boards  on 

238 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

logs.  A  board  on  two  posts  constituted  the  '  pulpit-stand,'  and  a  seat 
was  made  out  of  a  slab  or  a  block  of  wood.  The  first  stated  preacher  in 
that  log  church  was  Rev.  William  Kennedy.  His  name  appears  as  a 
stated  supply  October  13, 1825  ;  also  April,  1827.  Bethel  was  then  con- 
nected with  Red  Bank.  He  ceased  to  be  a  member  of  the  Allegheny 
Presbytery  after  April,  1827.  He  was  dismissed  to  Salem  Presbytery, 
Indiana  Synod.  He  became  a  member  of  Clarion  Presbytery  January 
17,  1843,  and  died  November  2,  1846,  aged  sixty-seven  years  and  four 
months.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  the  congregations  of 
Mount  Tabor  and  Mill  Creek. 

"The  next  record  concerning  Bethel. is  that  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Riggs 
was  appointed  to  supply  at  Bethel  on  the  second  Sabbath  of  July,  1827. 
Bethel  and  Red  Bank  were  marked  vacant  April,  1828.  Mr.  Riggs  was 
appointed  April,  1829,  to  supply  one  Sabbath  at  discretion.  Rev.  John 
Core  and  Rev.  John  Munson  were  selected  to  '  administer  the  Lord's 
Supper  at  Bethel  on  the  fifth  Sabbath  of  August,  1829.'  Bethel  and  Red 
Bank  were  still  vacant  April,  1831.  '  Rev.  Cyrus  Riggs  and  Rev.  John 
Core  were  appointed  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  on  the  third  Sab- 
bath of  August,  1831.'  Mr.  Core  afterwards  preached  that  same  year  at 
discretion. 

"The  first  jail  building  in  Brookville  was  of  stone,  two  stories  in 
height.  It  was  built  before  the  first  court-house,  and  for  that  reason  be- 
came the  first  place  of  preaching,  in  the  second  story.  Bethel  Church 
seems  to  have  renewed  its  youth  in  the  summer  of  1831.  No  further 
trace  of  preaching  in  '  the  old  log  church'  is  found  after  that  date.  In 
the  summer  of  1832  the  first  court-house  was  erected,  and  religious  ser- 
vices were  then  held  in  it.  Bethel  does  not  appear  in  the  minutes  of 
April,  1832.  In  1833,  Mr.  Riggs  was  appointed  to  supply  Bethel  on  the 
fifth  Sabbath  of  June,  and  Messrs.  McGarraugh  and  Riggs  to  administer 
the  Lord's  Supper  the  fourth  Sabbath  of  August.  On  the  ist  of  July, 
1833,  the  following  persons  were  dismissed  to  form  the  organization  of 
Pisgah, — viz.  :  Samuel  Davidson  and  wife,  Samuel  Lucas  and  wife,  Philip 
Corbett  and  wife,  John  Wilson  and  wife,  William  Corbett  and  wife,  John 
Hindman  and  wife,  John  M.  Flemming  and  wife,  David  Lamb  and  wife, 
Christwell  Whitehill  and  wife,  and  William  Douglass.  They  were  organ- 
ized the  next  day  by  Mr.  Riggs,  in  the  house  of  Philip  Corbett,  a  short 
distance  west  of  Corsica,  where  his  son,  Robert  Corbett,  now  resides. 

"  The  next  record  of  Presbytery  is  August  24,  1834 :  '  The  congrega- 
tions of  Bethel,  Pisgah,  and  Beechwoods  requested  by  their  commissioners 
that  Mr.  John  Shoap,  a  licentiate  of  Allegheny  Presbytery,  be  appointed 
to  preach  steadily  in  those  congregations  until  the  spring  meeting  of 
Presbytery.'  The  request  was  granted,  and  Mr.  Shoap  accepted  the  call, 
October  8,  1834,  from  the  churches  of  Bethel  and  Pisgah.  The  conditions 
of  the  call  were,  '  Each  half-time  and  two  hundred  dollars  by  each.'  '  To 

239 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


be  paid/  as  one  lady  remarked,  'in  pork  and  maple-sugar.'     Mr.  Shoap 
was  never  ordained,  never  installed.     He  died  March  13,  1835,  °f  con~ 


The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Brookville.     Erected  in  18^,9. 

sumption.  His  body  was  interred  in  the  'Old  Graveyard'  in  Brookville, 
and  perhaps  but  one  person  can  identify  his  grave.  Rev.  Gara  Bishop, 
M.D.,  came  to  Brookville  June  23,  1835.  He  supplied  in  that  year 

240 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Beechwoods  more  frequently  than  either  Bethel  or  Pisgah.  April  3, 
1838,  Bethel  requested  the  one- half  of  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  Gara 
Bishop  as  a  stated  supply.  One-fourth  of  his  labors  were  given  to  Beech- 
woods.  He  remained  until  the  spring  of  1840.  Rev.  David  Polk,  a 
cousin  of  President  James  K.  Polk,  was  then  invited  to  give  one-half  of 
his  labors  to  Bethel.  On  the  22d  of  October  Clarion  Presbytery  was 
formed  from  Allegheny,  and  Bethel's  history  henceforward  was  a  part  of 
the  records  of  Clarion.  Rev.  Bishop  died  in  Brookville,  October  17, 
1852,  and  was  buried  in  the  'Old  Graveyard.'  In  1841  a  small  frame 
church  (contract  price  being  eleven  hundred  dollars)  was  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  present  edifice,  and  was  dedicated  in  August,  1842.  Rev. 
Polk  remained  until  December  24,  1845." — Fields. 

Bethel  Church  was  changed  to  "  The  Bethel  Congregation  of  the 
Brookville  Presbyterian  Church"  by  articles  and  charter  of  incorporation 
May  13,  1842.  The  trustees  named  in  the  articles  were  James  Corbett, 
Samuel  Craig,  and  Andrew  Barnett.  On  May  13,  1842,  the  court  de- 
cided that  the  persons  associated  in  the  articles  should  "become  a  cor- 
poration and  a  body  politic,"  and  that  the  charter  be  entered  in  the  office 
for  recording  deeds  in  the  said  county  of  Jefferson.  In  accordance  with 
this  decree  the  articles  were  recorded  in  Deed  Book  No.  3,  pages  521,  522. 

On  August  18,  1843,  at  a  meeting  held  for  that  purpose,  Jameson 
Hendricks,  W.  A.  Sloan,  and  Thomas  M.  Barr  were  duly  elected  elders. 

The  pioneer  regular  preacher  for  Bethel  was  the  Rev.  William  Ken- 
nedy,— viz.,  from  October,  1825,  to  April,  1827,  one-half  of  his  time. 
The  membership  then  was  sixty-eight.  When  Bethel  removed  to  Brook- 
ville in  1830,  all  west  of  the  old  log  church  moved  west,  thus  forming 
two  churches  out  of  one.  On  July  2,  1833,  tne  members  of  the  western 
division  were  organized  into  Pisgah  Church  (the  third  organization)  by 
a  committee  from  the  Allegheny  Presbytery,  Rev.  Cyrus  Riggs,  chair- 
man, and  on  that  date  the  organization  was  completed  in  Philip  Corbett's 
barn,  one  mile  west  of  where  Corsica  now  stands.  In  this  society  there 
were  twenty-five  members, — twelve  men  and  their  wives  and  one  widower. 
The  elders  elected  at  that  time  were  William  Corbett,  William  Douglass, 
Samuel  Lucas,  Samuel  Davison,  James  Hindman,  and  John  M.  Flem- 
ming.  Two  meetings  preliminary  to  the  organization  were  held  at  the 
house  of  Robert  Barr,  Sr.,  one  mile  east  of  where  Corsica  now  stands, — 
viz.,  February  22,  1833,  and  April  13,  1833.  On  February  22  it  was  re- 
solved that  the  congregational  name  be  Pisgah,  and  that  the  edifice  for 
worship  be  erected  on  the  hill  south  of  McAnulty's,  close  to  the  Olean 
road.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  purchase  the  land,  and  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  present  the  petition  of  the  church  people  to  Presby- 
tery for  an  organization.  At  the  April  meeting  the  committee  reported 
the  purchase  of  ten  acres  of  ground  on  the  west  side  of  the  Olean  road 
for  the  sum  of  fifteen  dollars  and  a  deed  of  trust  received.  It  was  also 

241 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

resolved  that  Philip  Corbett's  barn,  in  Clarion  County,  be  the  place  for 
worship  that  summer.  The  pioneer  house  of  worship  was  built  on  that 
hill  in  1841,  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars. 

Pisgah  was  first  regularly  supplied  by  Rev.  John  Shoap  in  connection 
with  Bethel  (Brookville)  in  1834  and  1835.  Rev.  Shoap  was  a  married 
man,  and  lived  in  Brookville,  where  Judge  John  Mills  now  resides. 
Rev.  Gara  Bishop  was  put  in  for  one-third  time,  from  May,  1835,  to 
May,  1836.  During  the  next  four  years  only  supplies.  The  first  installed 
minister  was  Rev.  David  Polk,  one- half  time,  from  1840  to  1845. 

THE   BEECHWOODS    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Filson,  in  his  history  of  this  church,  says,  "The  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Beechwoods  was  organized  December  2,  1832,  and  is, 
therefore,  nine  years  younger  than  the  settlement.  In  1826,  Rev.  Cyrus 
Riggs  visited  the  settlement,  and  the  same  year  a  Sunday-school  was 
started,  and  at  its  close  a  sermon  was  read.  Andrew  Smith  was  the  first 
reader.  Rev.  Riggs  frequently  visited  these  people  between  1826  and 
1832.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  minutes  as  found  on  the  sessional 
records : 

"  '  On  the  first  day  of  December,  1832,  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Riggs,  accom- 
panied by  three  elders  of  Bethel  (Brookville)  Church,  arrived  in  Beech- 
woods,  and  having  preached  on  Sabbath,  the  second,  after  sermon  gave 
public  notice  that  they  would  proceed  at  the  house  of  Matthew  Keys,  on 
Monday,  the  third  of  December,  to  organize  a  church,  and  hold  an  elec- 
tion for  elders  in  this  congregation.  At  the  time  appointed  the  following 
persons,  having  presented  certificates  or  given  other  satisfaction  of  their 
standing  and  right  to  membership  in  the  church,  did  publicly  agree  and 
covenant  to  and  with  each  other  that  they  would  walk  together  as  a 
church  of  Christ,  according  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America ;  and,  further,  that  they 
would  love,  watch  over  each  other,  and  not  suffer  sin  on  any  brother,  but 
would  faithfully,  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  only,  exhort  and  admonish 
one  another,  wherever  they  saw  or  knew  of  any  one  overtaken,  or  in  dan- 
ger of  being  overtaken,  with  evil,  and  that  they  would  endeavor  to  pro- 
voke each  other  to  love  and  good  works.  An  election  was  then  held  for 
ruling  elders,  and  Robert  Mclntosh,  William  McConnell,  and  Robert 
Morrison  were  duly  elected.'  Then  following  is  a  list  of  members  :  Wil- 
liam McConnell,  Robert  Mclntosh,  William  Cooper,  Martha  Cooper, 
David  Dennison,  Martha  Dennison,  Susan  Keys.  The  first  communion 
was  held  in  the  hewed  log  house  of  William  Cooper,  and  was  conducted 
by  Rev.  Robert  McGarraugh,  of  Clarion  County.  The  only  person  re- 
ceived into  membership  at  that  time  was  James  Smith,  the  father  of 
Elder  William  Smith. 

"Rev.  Riggs  was  born  in  Morris  County,  New  Jersey,  October  15, 

242 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1774.  While  yet  a  boy  his  father  emigrated  to  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Rev.  Riggs  studied  theology  under  Dr.  McMillen.  He 
graduated  from  Jefferson  College  in  1803,  and  was  licensed  to  preach 
October  7,  1805.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ross,  of  New  Jersey, 
July  25,  1797.  He  died  in  Illinois  in  1849. 

"In  1835,  Rev.  Gara  Bishop,  M.D.,  pastor  at  Brookville,  began  to 
preach  for  them,  and  continued  to  do  so  for  eleven  years.  During  his 
ministry  Joseph  McCurdy,  John  Hunter,  and  John  Millen  were  elected 
elders  and  thirty-three  members  added  to  the  church.  During  all  this 
time  the  congregation  had  worshipped  in  the  log  school-house  on  the 
farm  of  James  Wait." 

THE    PERRY   CHURCH   IN   PERRY   TOWNSHIP. 

"  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Perry  stands  tenth  in  order  of  age  in 
Clarion  Presbytery.  The  older  churches  were  organized  as  follows : 
New  Rehoboth  and  Licking,  1802;  Concord,  1807;  Rockland,  1822; 
Richland,  1823;  Brookville,  1824;  Beechwoods,  1832;  Pisgah,  at  Cor- 
sica, 1833;  Bethesda,  at  Rimersburg,  1836. 

"  This  church  of  Perry,  so  called  from  the  name  of  the  township,  was 
organized  September  4,  1836,  by  Revs.  John  Reed  and  E.  D.  Barret,  a 
committee  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Blairsville.  It  was  composed 
of  the  following  twenty-four  members  :  William  Stunkard,  Stephen  Lewis, 
and  Samuel  Kelly,  elders,  and  their  wives,  Ruth  Stunkard,  Ann  Lewis, 
and  Elizabeth  Kelly,  James  and  Sarah  Chambers,  John  and  Mary  Framp- 
ton,  Thomas  and  Eleanor  Gourley,  Elizabeth  and  Margaret  Kelly,  David 
and  Elizabeth  Lewis,  William  and  Rebecca  Marshall,  Joseph  and  Jane 
Manners,  Margaret  McKinstry,  and  Elizabeth  McKee.  All  of  these 
were  received  by  letter,  and  Robert  Gaston  and  Sarah  Wachob  on  exami- 
nation. 

"  The  original  members  brought  their  letters  from  churches  in  In- 
diana and  Armstrong  Counties.  The  Gourley  family  came  from  Sinking 
Valley,  though  John  Gourley,  a  brother  of  Thomas,  was  elected  an  elder 
in  this  church  in  1841  while  residing  at  Covode,  and  George  Gourley 
(the  first)  came  here  from  Smicksburg. 

"  John  Perry  was  precentor.  Isaac  Lewis,  and  after  him  David 
Harl,  lined  out  the  hymns.  The  precentor  and  outliner  stood  in  an  ele- 
vated box,  and  the  pulpit  was  high  over  the  heads  of  the  people,  as  is 
still  the  case  in  some  instances  in  modern  times. 

"'PASTORS. 

"  This  church  has  had  six  pastors.  For  four  years  after  its  organiza- 
tion its  pulpit  was  filled  by  supplies,  during  which  time  thirty-two  mem- 
bers were  received  by  letter  and  nineteen  on  examination,  or  fifty-one 
in  all. 

243 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Carothers,  who  was  ordained  and 
installed  June  4,  1840,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Blairsville  as  pastor  of  the 
churches  of  Gilgal  and  Perry. 

"  During  this  pastorate  additions  to  the  eldership  were  received  at 
three  different  times.  May  8,  1841,  Joseph  Manners  and  John  Gourley 
were  ordained  and  installed,  and  James  Chambers  installed.  May  13, 
1842,  John  Sprankle;  May  6,  1848,  Wm.  M.  Johnston,  Wm.  Newcomb, 
and  Isaac  Me  Henry." 

THE    CUMBERLAND   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

This  denomination  has  five  congregations  within  the  limits  of  Jeffer- 
son County.  The  first  society  was  organized  in  a  log  school-house,  in 
the  borough  of  Punxsutawney,  February  i,  1836,  and  is  called  the  Jeffer- 
son Congregation.  At  the  time  of  the  organization  there  were  seventeen 
communicants  and  two  elders, — Alex.  Jordan  and  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks. 
Their  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Charles  R.  Barclay. 

Writing  under  date  of  March  5,  1895,  J-  B.  Morris,  Sr.,  of  Punxsu- 
tawney, Pennsylvania,  says, — 

"This  organization  continued  to  worship  in  the  same  house  until 
about  the  year  1834.  In  the  fall  of  1833  they  began  the  erection  of  a 
brick  church  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Public  Square. 

"History  tells  us  that  the  first  organization  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  Church  was  in  the  old  log  school-house  above  men- 
tioned. This  is  an  error  in  history,  for  reasons  which  can  be  ex- 
plained. The  first  organization  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church 
was  formed  in  the  home  of  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  now  the  City  Hotel, 
in  the  room  now  used  as  a  dining-hall,  during  the  afternoon  of  Feb- 
ruary i,  1836,  with  the  following-named  members,  as  recorded  in  the 
minutes  of  the  meeting  taken  from  the  session-book  :  John  Hutchinson, 
Isabella  Hutchinson,  Obed  Morris,  Mary  Morris,  Alexander  Jordan, 
Flora  Jordan,  John  White,  Kesiah  White,  Richard  Kendall,  William 
Shields,  Eleanor  Shields,  John  W.  Jenks,  Mary  D.  Jenks,  Elizabeth  Bar- 
clay, Mary  Barclay,  Rev.  David  Barclay,  and  Rachel  Williams.  At  the 
meeting  above  mentioned  Obed  Morris  was  called  to  preside,  with  Charles 
R.  Barclay  as  clerk.  Resolutions  were  adopted  as  follows  :  '  Dissolving 
our  connection  with  the  Presbytery  of  Blairsville,  we  seek  to  unite  our- 
selves with  the  Pennsylvania  Presbytery  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church ;  also  that  Charles  R.  Barclay  is  hereby  appointed  commissioner 
of  this  congregation  to  meet  the  Pennsylvania  Presbytery  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  Church  at  its  next  meeting,'  which  convened  at  Car- 
michael's,  Greene  County,  Pennsylvania,  April  7,  1836.  The  moderator 
and  clerk  were  to  sign  the  resolutions,  attested  by  the  two  elders,  John 
W.  Jenks  and  Alexander  Jordan.  Upon  presentation  of  the  resolutions 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Presbytery  by  the  commissioner,  the  request  of  the 

244 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

congregation  Avas  granted,  and  so  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the  Presby- 
tery. At  this  meeting  of  Presbytery,  Charles  R.  Barclay  was  examined 
as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  was  ordained,  and  on  his  return  preached 
his  first  sermon  in  April,  1836,  in  the  old  brick  church,  and  was  pastor 
of  the  congregation  until  the  fall  of  1841.  During  about  six  months  of 
this  pastorate,  while  the  pastor  was  absent,  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  McCol- 
lum,  occupied  the  pulpit.  The  pastor  was  also  frequently  assisted  by  such 
men  as  John  Morgan,  Milton  Bird,  and  A.  M.  Bryan,  from  all  of  whom 
the  writer  remembers  hearing  noble  gospel  sermons. 

' '  A  regular  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  formed  in  Punxsutawney 
in  1826,  and  in  about  1833  they  built  a  brick  church  in  the  Public  Square, 
but  the  feeble  organization  was  not  permanent. 

' '  A  brief  sketch  of  the  old  brick  church  erected  on  the  Public  Square 
might  not  be  out  of  place.  The  bricks  were  prepared  and  delivered  on 
the  ground  by  John  Hunt,  familiarly  known  as  '  Old  Pappy'  Hunt,  in 
the  summer  of  1833,  at  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  thousand,  and  late 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  perhaps  October  or  November,  they  were 
laid.  The  carpenter-work  was  managed  by  John  Drum,  father  of  Mrs. 
Evans  and  Mrs.  Winslow,  and  perhaps  there  are  now  none  living  who 
worked  on  the  building,  except  Mr.  Ephraim  Bair  and  Mr.  Daniel 
Rishel.  The  house  was  not  finished  for  years  afterwards,  although  used 
for  religious  and  school  purposes. 

"  Early  ruling  elders  of  the  Punxsutawney  congregation  in  the  order 
of  their  ordination  :  John  W.  Jenks,  Alexander  Jordan,  James  E.  Cooper, 
Thomas  McKee,  Edward  Means,  John  McHenry,  Sr. ,  John  Couch,  Charles 
R.  White,  C.  R.  B.  Morris,  John  Hutchinson." 

UNITED   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

This  church  is  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  Presbyterian  bodies  in 
America,  but  the  history  of  its  antecedents  extends  back  more  than  a 
century.  Its  original  antecedents  were  the  Associate  and  Reformed 
Presbyterian  bodies.  The  former  body  was  composed  of  Presbyterians 
who  seceded  from  the  General  Assembly  of  Scotland  in  1733  and  formed 
themselves  into  what  was  known  as  the  "Associate  Presbytery,"  or,  as 
the  masses  knew  them,  "  the  Seceders."  The  first  minister  of  that  de- 
nomination to  arrive  in  America  was  Rev.  Alexander  Gellatly,  who  set- 
tled at  Octoraro,  Pennsylvania,  in  1753,  where  he  labored  for  eight 
years.  Many  members  of  the  body  had  preceded  him  to  this  country, 
settling  along  the  seaboard,  and  some  of  them  going  as  far  south  as  the 
Carolinas.  The  church  was  largely  increased  by  immigration  from  year 
to  year,  and  the  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania  was  organized  in  1758. 

The  first  minister  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  or  Covenanter  Church 
to  arrive  in  America  was  Rev.  John  Cuthbertson,  who  came  in  1752. 

245 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Soon  after  he  was  joined  by  two  other  ministers  from  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland. 

A  Presbytery  was  formed  in  1774,  and  the  church,  as  a  body,  obtained 
a  foothold  in  the  New  World.  The  subject  of  union  between  these  bodies 
was  agitated  before  either  was  many  years  old,  the  leading  ministers  be- 
lieving that  such  an  alliance  would  add  to  the  efficiency  of  both.  During 
the  Revolutionary  War  several  meetings  of  ministers  of  the  two  denomi- 
nations were  held,  at  which  the  matter  was  thoroughly  discussed.  In 
1782  three  Presbyteries  met  in  Philadelphia,  and  a  union  was  consum- 
mated. The  new  organization  took  the  name  of  the  "Associate  Re- 
formed Synod  of  North  America. ' '  A  few  of  the  ministers  of  both  bodies 
refused  to  enter  into  the  alliance,  and  the  original  bodies  maintained  a 
separate  existence. 

The  Associate  Reformed  Church  flourished.  It  spread  rapidly  to  the 
westward,  and  was  largely  and  steadily  increased  by  immigration.  In 
1793  it  had  a  firm  hold  on  the  territory  now  known  as  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  that  year  the  original  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania  was  divided 
into  two, — the  First  and  Second  Associate  Reformed  Presbyteries  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  Second,  by  order  of  the  Synod,  took  the  name  of  the 
Monongahela.  It  was  composed  of  four  ministers, — Revs.  John  Jamison, 
Henderson,  Warwick,  and  Rankin,  with  their  elders.  This  was  the  first 
Presbytery  organized  in  connection  with  any  of  the  Reformed  Churches 
west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  Its  boundary  lines  were  the  Allegheny 
Mountains  on  the  east  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west. 

The  prosperity  of  the  new  body  in  Western  Pennsylvania  was  remark- 
able. Soon  it  became  necessary  to  form  new  Presbyteries  in  the  territory 
originally  covered  by  the  Presbytery  of  the  Monongahela,  and  the  church 
commanded  the  attention  of  the  entire  country. 

A  union  of  the  Associate  with  the  Associate  Reformed  Churches  of 
North  America  had  been  for  a  long  time  considered  desirable  by  the  lead- 
ing ministers  of  both  denominations,  and  it  was  accomplished  in  1858. 
The  consummation  took  place  in  Old  City  Hall,  Pittsburg,  and  was  the 
occasion  of  general  rejoicing  among  the  ministers  and  members  of  both 
bodies.  It  was  in  this  city  of  ecclesiastical  reunions  that  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  as  a  distinct  Presbyterian  body  was  born. 

The  Rev.  John  Jamison  mentioned  as  one  of  the  original  four  in  the 
Second  or  Monongahela  Presbytery  was  my  maternal  great-grandfather.* 
He  was  born  at  Ellerslie,  Renfrewshire,  Scotland.  His  mother  was  a 
Wallace,  of  Sir  William's  clan.  He  read  theology  with  John  Brown, 
of  Haddington.  He  migrated  to  America,  landing  in  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  November,  1782.  He  came  from  the  Associated  Burgher 
Synod  of  Scotland.  He  moved  from  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  to 

*  Dr.  McKnight. 
246 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Cumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  purchased  a  grist-mill  and 
six  hundred  acres  of  land,  including  what  is  known  as  Big  Springs.  He 
was  for  some  years  pastor  of  a  Shippensburg  church.  Mentally,  he 
was  able  and  educated ;  physically,  he  was  six  feet  two  inches  high, 
possessing  wonderful  energy  and  powerful  endurance.  In  the  year  1 790 
he  crossed  the  mountains  with  his  wife  and  three  children,  locating 
near  Blairsville,  Pennsylvania,  being  the  first  minister  to  locate  in  In- 
diana County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1791  he  was  installed  pastor  of  Brush 
Creek,  Hannahstown,  and  Conemaugh  Churches.  In  1793  his  time  was 
given  to  New  Alexandria  and  Conemaugh.  Rev.  Jamison  travelled  as  a 
supply  for  his  church  from  New  York  to  Georgia,  organizing  churches. 
In  May,  1795,  ne  was  charged  with  misconstruing  the  action  of  Synod  in 
reference  to  the  use  of  Watts's  hymns,  days  of  fasting,  the  use  of  tokens, 
etc.,  in  connection  with  the  Lord's  Supper,  being  opposed  to  innova- 
tions. He  was  hyper-Calvinistic  in  his  views.  These  charges  were  sus- 
tained in  Philadelphia  at  the  trial,  and  he  was  suspended.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  wrote  a  book,  defending  his  views  and  the  old-time  customs  of 
his  church.  Also  he  continued  to  preach  as  an  Independent  till  the  day 
of  his  death.  The  country  being  new,  he  preached  from  settlement  to  set- 
tlement, in  the  cabins,  barns,  and  in  tents  in  the  woods.  For  roads  he  had 
forest-paths,  bridges  there  were  none,  and,  in  devotion  to  duty,  he  braved 
alike  the  beasts  of  the  forests,  the  summer's  heat,  and  the  winter's  cold. 
Rev.  John  Jamison  married  Nancy  Gibb  in  Scotland.  He  died  in 
1821,  aged  seventy-six  years.  He  is  buried  in  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  graveyard  at  Crete,  Indiana  County,  Pennsylvania.  Nancy,  his 
wife,  died  in  1841,  aged  ninety-one  years. 

"The  pioneer  church  organized  in  Jefferson  County  was  the  Jeffer- 
son, now  United  Presbyterian,  Congregation. 

"About  the  year  1820  a  number  of  families  of  like  faith  settled  in 
Jefferson  County.  These  had  most  of  them  been  settled  in  Huntingdon 
County,  in  this  State,  for  a  few  years  (some  more,  some  less),  but  were 
originally  from  the  same  neighborhood  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  Drawn 
together  by  a  common  faith,  as  they  had  all  been  educated  in  the  seces- 
sion church,  and  stimulated  by  the  laudable  enterprise  of  securing  homes 
for  themselves  and  for  their  families,  they  struck  for  this  country,  then  an 
almost  unbroken  wilderness,  covered  mostly  with  pine  forests. 

"  The  place  selected  for  their  settlement  is  north  of  the  Red  Bank  and 
southwest  of  what  is  now  Brookville,  the  county  seat.  At  that  time  jus- 
tice for  them  was  administered  in  Indiana,  some  forty-five  miles  south. 
This  arrangement  for  the  administration  of  justice  continued  for  some 
ten  years  after  their  location  here. 

"From  the  circumstance  adverted  to, — of  these  people  being  emi- 
grants from  Ireland, — the  neighborhood  was  long  known  as  the  Irish 
Settlement. 

247 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  names  of  the  founders  were  John  Kelso  and  Isabella,  his  wife ; 
John  Kennedy  and  Ann,  his  wife ;  James  Shields  and  Elizabeth,  his 
wife ;  William  Morrison  and  Nancy,  his  wife ;  Samuel  McGill  and  Mar- 
garet, his  wife ;  James  McGiffin  and  Sarah,  his  wife ;  Matthew  Dickey 
and  Elizabeth,  his  wife ;  James  Ferguson  and  Margaret  Bratton,  his 
wife ;  Robert  Andrews  and  Jane  Lucas,  his  wife ;  Alexander  Smith  and 
Annie  Knapp,  his  wife ;  Christopher  Barr  and  Sarah  Lucas,  his  wife ; 
also,  by  subsequent  marriage,  Elizabeth  McGiffin,  widow  of  Joseph 
Thompson ;  Clement  McGarey  and  Mary,  his  wife ;  Hugh  Millen  and 
Esther,  his  wife ;  Joseph  Millen  and  Polly  Brown,  his  wife.  These  last 
three  settled  south  of  Red  Bank,  and  constituted  the  nucleus  of  what 
became  Beaver  Run  Congregation. 

"  Then  there  were  Moses  Knapp  and  Susanna,  his  wife ;  none  of  that 
name  are  now  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  here. 

"  There  were  also  a  William  Ferguson  and  family  south  of  Red  Bank ; 
none  of  that  family  are  now  in  the  county  or  members  of  this  church. 

"ORGANIZATION. 

"As  nearly  as  I  can  ascertain,  the  first  dispensation  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  this  congregation  was  in  the  autumn  of  1828.  The  ministers 
officiating  were  Revs.  Joseph  Scroggs  and  Thomas  Terrier.  James  Fulton, 
an  elder  from  Piney  Congregation,  which  seems  to  have  been  organized 
some  time  previous,  was  present  at  this  communion.  He  and  James 
McGiffin  were  the  officiating  elders  on  that  occasion.  About  that  time 
John  Kelso  was  elected  and  ordained  to  the  eldership.  These  two, 
Kelso  and  McGiffin,  were  the  only  elders,  as  would  appear,  until  after 
their  first  pastoral  settlement. 

"  Matthew  Dickey  and  his  family  moved  into  these  bounds  in  1832, 
and  the  first  recorded  minutes  of  Jefferson  Session  which  has  come  into 
my  hands  is  dated  August  31,  1833,  an<^  ^s  said  to  be  in  the  handwriting 
of  Mr.  Dickey.  The  Session  as  then  constituted  consisted  of  Rev.  James 
McCarrell,  moderator ;  James  McGiffin,  John  Kelso,  Matthew  Dickey,  and 
John  Shields. 

"The  next  minute  of  Session  is  dated  July  14,  1838.  At  this  meet- 
ing the  name  of  Solomon  Chambers  appears  as  a  member  of  the  court. 
It  is  probable  he  was  elected  at  the  same  time  with  the  others  mentioned 
in  the  pastorate  of  Brother  McCarrell. 

"  The  next  recorded  minute  is  dated  July  3,  1842,  and  is  in  a  different 
handwriting,  without  any  name  subscribed.  Changes  had  taken  place, 
which  are  not  noticed  in  these  records.  Rev.  McCarrell  had  left  (when 
or  for  what  cause  does  not  appear),  and  Rev.  John  McAuley  appears,  who 
at  that  time  examined  three  applicants  for  admission, — viz.,  John  Thomp- 
son, Joseph  Millen,  and  John  Millen.  These  three  men  are  elders  in  the 
church, — one  in  Brookville,  the  others  in  Beaver  Run.  At  the  same  time 

248 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

eight  children  were  baptized, — William  T.  Love,  Mary  A.  Ferguson,  Eliza- 
beth Campbell,  Martha  Chambers,  Margaret  Lucas,  Chambers  Millen, 
Joseph  K.  Gibson,  and  Hugh  McGill. 

"The  next  date  in  the  minute-book,  May  16,  1843,  states  that  Rev. 
John  Hindman,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  moderation  of  a  call,  moderated 
the  Session,  and  baptized  two  children, — John  Kelso  Moore  and  Rebecca 
McGiffin.  Rev.  John  McAuley  disappears  as  unceremoniously  as  did  his 
predecessor,  and  we  are  left  to  infer  that  the  call  moderated  at  this  time 
by  Brother  Hindman  was  for  Mr.  John  Tod,  as  the  next  minute,  dated 
October  15,  1843,  represents  the  same  Rev.  Tod  administering  an  admo- 
nition as  the  organ  of  a  constituted  court. 

"PASTORS   AND    PASTORAL   CHANGES. 

"  No  one  with  whom  I  have  conversed  in  this  vicinity  is  able  to  in- 
form me  who  first  ministered  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  these  people  of 
Jefferson.  When  last  I  met  our  aged  father,  Rev.  David  Blair,  in  1872, 
he  informed  me  that  he,  first  of  all  his  ministerial  brethren,  visited  and 
preached  to  this  people.  Then,  as  a  result,  he  supplied  them  to  some 
extent,  as  he  and  they  were  long  in  the  same  Presbytery,  and,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  I  am  disposed  to  admit  his  claim.  One 
circumstance,  however,  renders  it  doubtful.  When  the  first  of  these 
people  came  here,  Rev.  John  Dickey  was  ministering  as  the  settled  pas- 
tor of  Piney,  Cherry  Run,  and  Rich  Hill ;  this  last  is  where  he  spent 
most  of  his  ministerial  service  and  ended  his  life.  But  Piney  is  so  near, 
and  the  relations  were  so  intimate,  it  seems  improbable  that  they  should 
enjoy  a  regular  dispensation  of  gospel  ordinances  and  Jefferson  not  even 
have  any  supply. 

"  The  names  of  Thomas  McClintock,  Daniel  McLean,  Joseph  Scroggs, 
David  Blair,  Thomas  Ferrier,  and  some  others  have  been  mentioned  to 
me  as  having  preached  here  at  an  early  day,  some  before  the  congregation 
organized  and  some  afterwards. 

"The  first  communion  was  held  in  1828,  as  has  been  before  men- 
tioned, and  it  would  seem  that  measures  were  taken  soon  afterwards  to 
call  a  pastor.  It  is  not  possible  from  any  data  within  my  reach  to  deter- 
mine the  date  of  the  settlement  of  the  first  pastor.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  man  was  Rev.  James  McCarrell  and  that  his  settlement  was 
about  1830. 

"In  the  minute-book  of  this  Session  there  are  only  two  recorded 
minutes  under  his  pastorate, — the  first,  August  31,  1833,  and  the  second, 
May  24,  1834. 

"  I  remember  having  seen  Mr.  McCarrell  once  when  a  probationer, 
about  the  year  1829.  This  was  shortly  before  his  settlement  here. 

"  Of  Mr.  McCarrell's  capabilities  as  a  minister  of  the  Word,  or  of  his 
success  as  a  pastor,  I  can  form  no  judgment.  His  place  of  residence  was 

17  249 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Strattanville,  so  far  out  of  the  bounds  of  Jefferson  Congregation  that  fesv 
of  these  people  had  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him.  He 
was  a  man  of  blameless  life,  exemplary  in  his  deportment,  and  attentive, 
as  much  as  his  domestic  cares  would  permit,  to  all  pastoral  duties. 

"  The  next  date  in  the  minute-book  of  Session  reveals  the  presence  of 
Rev.  John  Hindman  and  John  McAuley.  It  seems  to  be  the  occasion  of 
Mr.  McAuley's  first  communion  here  after  his  settlement.  Mrs.  McAuley, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Reed,  and  raised  in  the  vicinity  of  South  Han- 
over, in  Southern  Indiana, — raised  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, — presented 
a  certificate,  and  it  is  recorded  that  on  this  certificate  and  her  'acceding 
to  the  principles  of  our  church'  she  was  received.  It  would  seem  that  the 
pastorate  of  Brother  McAuley  in  Jefferson  lasted  about  four  years.  He 
must  have  left  in  1842,  as  the  next  settlement  was  in  the  following  year. 

"Rev.  John  Tod  was  installed  pastor  of  Jefferson,  Beaver  Run,  and 
Piney  on  the  i5th  of  August,  1843.  His  time  was  divided, — one-half  to 
Jefferson,  one- third  to  Beaver,  and  one-sixth  to  Piney.  This  congrega- 
tion was  organized  in  the  Associate  Church,  under  the  care  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Allegheny. 

"The  United  Presbyterian  Congregation  of  Brookville  was  organized 
in  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  and  continued  in  that  connection  till 
the  union  of  the  Associate  and  Associate  Reformed  Church  was  consum- 
mated in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  May,  1858. 

"Jefferson  is  perhaps  the  most  recently  settled  of  the  counties  in 
Western  Pennsylvania.  The  first  of  those  who  settled  here  and  felt  an 
interest  in  our  cause  came  about  the  year  1830,  some  earlier,  some  later, 
but  no  movement  was  made  to  have  preaching  here  till  1836. 

"  Isaac  Temple,  who  was  one  of  the  first  elders,  went  to  Presbytery, 
and  solicited  preaching  for  the  place  where  he  lived.  Of  course  he  was 
encouraged,  hence  a  subscription  was  taken  for  service  to  be  rendered 
during  the  year  1837. 

"  The  first  name  on  the  list  is  that  of  David  McCormick.  I  think  he 
was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  congregation,  but  whether  he  was  ordained 
here  or  in  the  place  of  his  former  residence  we  have  at  present  no  means 
of  knowing.  Then  follows  Thomas  McCormick,  Job  McCreight,  Job 
and  W.  Rogers,  Levi  G.  Clover,  Benjamin  McCreight,  William  Clark, 
C.  A.  Alexander,  A.  Vasbinder,  Daniel  Coder,  Joseph  Kerr,  James  M. 
Craig,  Isaac  Temple,  Andrew  Moor,  John  McClelland,  William  McCul- 
lough,  David  Dennison,  William  McDonald,  Alexander  Hutchinson, 
Andrew  McCormick,  Charles  Boner,  Andrew  Hunter. 

"  This  comes  into  my  hands  as  the  roll  of  honor.  The  first  men  who 
gave  their  names,  and  with  their  names  their  money,  built  up  and  sus- 
tained the  Secession  or  Reformed  Presbyterian  cause  in  this  county.  Some 
of  these  were  not  then,  nor  ever  became,  members  of  the  church  which 
they  chose  to  patronize.  Some  of  them  had  perhaps  little  sympathy  with 

250 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Christianity  at  all ;  but  I  find  them  here  signing  their  names  and  giving 
their  support  to  a  cause  to  which  I  have  given  the  labor  of  my  life.  I 
honor  them.  Most  of  the  names  on  that  paper  represent  men  of  worth 
and  weight  of  character,  known  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  they  re- 
side as  such,  and  over  all  Jefferson  County  as  it  then  was.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  parties  subscribing  to  this  paper  were  widely  scattered, — 
from  Brookville  to  the  vicinity  of  Rockdale  and  Brockwayville.  The 
amount  of  this  first  subscription  is  fifty-four  dollars.  The  compensation 
agreed  upon  among  the  psalm-singing  churches  was  six  dollars  per  Sab- 
bath. This  same  paper  upon  which  is  the  subscription  contains  also  the 
disbursement  of  the  money.  In  this  connection  we  find,  first  of  all,  the 
name  of  Joseph  Osburn.  With  this  brother  I  had  no  acquaintance.  He 
belonged  to  the  Associate  Reformed  branch  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  died  several  years  before  the  union,  while  yet  a  young  man. 

"  The  next  name  is  that  of  Jonathan  Fulton,  of  whom  the  same  thing 
may  be  said.  He  died  young.  He  is  represented  as  gifted  in  a  very 
high  degree,  both  as  a  reasoner  and  a  pulpit  orator.  Many  of  you  well 
remember  him.  His  ministrations  here  did  much  to  give  respectability 
to  our  cause.  Joseph  H.  Pressly  also  ministered  here  at  an  early  day  and 
with  much  acceptance.  This  brother,  who  has  now  gone  to  his  rest, 
represented  to  me,  when  in  the  act  of  moving  to  this  place,  that  it  was 
the  place  of  all  others  he  ever  visited,  the  one  where  he  wished  to  live. 
But  a  Providence  shapes  our  ends  differently  from  our  anticipations,  and 
even  wishes  and  efforts  to  the  contrary.  This  brother  performed  all  his 
life-work  in  the  city  of  Erie,  and  there  he  ended  his  life. 

"  I  find  also  among  those  who  rendered  acceptable  service  the  names 
of  M.  H.  Wilson, — this  brother  labored  in  Jacksonville,  Indiana  County, 
Pennsylvania, — A.  G.  Wallace,  Samuel  Brown,  William  Jamison,  and 
others.  These  services  covered  a  space  of  about  twenty  years,  and 
were  the  means  of  keeping  the  people  together  and  keeping  up  their 
sympathy  with  the  cause.  The  pioneer  church  edifice  was  on  Church 
Street,  and  was  built  about  1845. 

"  BEECH  WOODS   CONGREGATION. 

"  David  Dennison  was  a  member  of  the  Beechwoods  Congregation, 
and  died  some  time  during  the  winter  of  1875. 

"As  far  as  I  have  the  means  of  judging,  it  appears  that  Rev.  Joseph 
Osburn  was  the  first  Associate  Reformed  minister  who  visited  this  section 
of  country,  I  suppose  in  1837.  After  him  the  name  of  N.  C.  Weed 
occurs  as  dispensing  the  Lord's  Supper  for  the  first  time  in  this  wilderness 
in  1842. 

"  Shortly  after  this  Rev.  Alexander  McCahen  rendered  service  here 
as  a  stated  supply  for  the  space  of  four  years. 

"  The  number  of  communing  members  at  the  first  sacrament  was 

251 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

thirteen.  This  communion  was  held  in  the  barn  of  Elder  Isaac  Temple. 
David  McCormick  was  also  an  elder  officiating  at  the  first  communion, 
but  whether  either  of  these  fathers,  long  since  departed,  was  ordained 
here  or  had  been  in  the  exercise  of  that  office  previous  to  their  coming 
here  does  not  appear  from  any  record.  Warsaw  was  the  residence  of 
the  brethren,  and  the  congregation  up  to  this  time  went  by  that  name. 
The  place  of  worship  was  about  eight  miles  to  the  northeast  of  Brook- 
ville."  * — Miss  Scoffs  History  of  Jefferson  County. 

This  church  has  always  been  a  consistent  opponent  of  human  slavery. 
The  Scotch-Irish  element,  of  which  the  church  is  largely  composed,  is 
usually  stalwart  on  the  side  of  all  reforms  and  all  right. 

This  denomination  holds  a  few  distinctive  principles,  by  which  it  is 
distinguished  from  the  larger  Presbyterian  bodies.  It  holds  to  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  an  inspired  psalmody ;  in  theory  it  is  opposed  to  the  affiliation 
of  its  members  with  secret  orders,  and  it  practises  a  restricted  communion. 

PIONEER   METHODISM— CIRCUIT   RIDERS— CHURCH   AND   MEMBERS 
IN  JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1 736,  John  Wesley  preached  the  pioneer  Meth- 
odist sermon  in  America,  in  Savannah,  Georgia.  Other  early  Methodist 
service  in  the  United  States  was  conducted  in  New  York  City  by  a  Mr. 
Embury,  urged  and  assisted  by  Barbara  Heck.  Barbara  Heck  emigrated 
from  Ireland  to  New  York  in  1765.  From  her  zeal,  activity,  and  pious 
work  as  a  Christian  she  is  called  the  mother  of  American  Methodism. 
Methodism  was  introduced  into  Pennsylvania  in  1767  by  Captain  Thomas 
Webb,  a  soldier  in  the  British  army.  Webb  was  a  preacher,  and  is  called 
the  apostle  of  American  Methodism.  In  1767  he  visited  Philadelphia, 
preached,  and  formed  a  class  of  seven  persons.  The  first  Annual  Con- 
ferences of  the  Methodist  Church  held  in  America  were  in  Philadelphia, — 
viz. :  in  the  years  1773,  1774,  and  1775.  After  this  year  all  Conferences 
were  held  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  until  the  organization  of  the  church  in 
the  New  World. 

The  pioneer  Methodist  preaching  in  Pennsylvania  was  in  Philadel- 
phia, in  a  sail-loft  near  Second  and  Dock  Streets.  St.  John's  Church 
was  established  in  1769.  Methodism  was  to  be  found  in  Philadelphia  in 
1772,  York  in  1781,  W'ilkesbarre  in  1778,  Williamsport  in  1791,  and  in 
Pittsburg  in  1801. 

The  pioneer  Sunday-school  in  the  world  was  opened  at  Glencastle,  in 
England,  in  1781,  by  Robert  Raikes.  The  idea  was  suggested  to  him  by 
a  young  woman,  who  afterwards  became  Sophia  Bradburn.  This  lady 
assisted  him  in  the  opening  of  the  first  school.  The  pioneer  Sunday- 
schools  were  started  in  the  New  World  in  1790  by  an  official  ordinance 

*  Dr.  Vincent, 
252 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  the  Methodist  Conference  establishing  Sunday-schools  to  instruct  poor 
children,  white  and  black:  "Let  persons  be  appointed  by  the  bishops, 
elders,  deacons,  or  preachers  to  teach  (gratis)  all  that  will  attend  and 
have  a  capacity  to  learn,  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  ten,  and 
from  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until  six,  when  it  does  not  interfere 
with  public  worship." 

The  Methodist  Church  was  really  the  first  temperance  organization  in 
America.  The  general  rules  of  the  society  prohibited  the  use  of  liquor 
as  a  beverage.  Other  modern  temperance  organizations  are  supposed  to 
have  their  beginning  about  1811.  But  little  was  done  after  this  period 
outside  of  the  churches  for  about  twenty-five  years. 

Rev.  William  Watters  was  the  pioneer  American  itinerant  Methodist 
preacher.  He  was  born  in  Baltimore  County,  Maryland,  October  16,  1751. 

Until  1824  Western  Pennsylvania,  or  "  all  west  of  the  Susquehanna 
River,  except  the  extreme  northern  part,  was  in  the  Baltimore  Confer- 
ence." In  1824  the  Pittsburg  Conference  was  organized,  and  our  wil- 
derness came  under  its  jurisdiction.  In  1833  the  first  Methodist  paper 
under  the  authority  of  the  church  was  started.  It  was  in  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  paper  is  now  called  The  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate. 
In  1836  the  Erie  Conference  was  formed,  and  Jefferson  County  was 
placed  within  its  jurisdiction. 

Methodism  in  Jefferson  County  has  been,  first,  in  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference ;  second,  in  the  Pittsburg  Conference ;  and  third,  is  now  in  the 
Erie  Conference. 

The  Methodists  were  slow  in  making  an  inroad  in  Jefferson  County. 
The  ground  had  been  occupied  by  other  denominations,  and  a  hostile 
and  bitter  prejudice  existed  against  the  new  "sect." 

The  pioneer  Methodist  minister  in  the  county  was  the  Rev.  Elijah 
Coleman.  He  was  a  local. 

The  pioneer  Methodist  Church  in  the  county  Avas  organized  by  him 
in  Punxsutawney  in  1821,  ten  members  in  all.  This  circuit  was  a  part 
of  the  Baltimore  Conference  then,  and  contained  forty-two  appointments. 
It  took  the  preacher  six  weeks  to  travel  over  it.  In  1830  Punxsutawney 
was  in  the  Pittsburg  Conference.  In  1836  this  church  was  taken  into  the 
Erie  Conference. 

The  pioneer  church  edifice  in  the  county  was  erected  there  in  1833. 
Services  previous  to  that  time  were  held  in  Jacob  Hoover's  grist-mill. 

The  pioneer  circuit  in  the  county  was  the  Mahoning  district,  which 
was  created  in  1812  by  the  Baltimore  Conference,  but  no  appointments 
were  made  in  our  county  until  1822. 

The  pioneer  circuit  riders  in  this  district  were  as  follows, — viz. :  Revs. 
Ezra  Booth,  William  Westlake,  1822  ;  Revs.  Dennis  Goddard,  Elijah  H. 
Field,  1823 ;  Revs.  Ira  Eddy,  B.  O.  Plimpton,  1824;  Rev.  I.  H.  Tackett, 
1825;  Rev.  James  Babcock,  1826-27;  Rev-  Nathaniel  Callender,  1828; 

253 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Revs.  John  Johnson,  John  C.  Ayers,  1829  ;  Revs.  Fleck  and  Day,  1830; 
Rev.  Summerville,  1832;  Rev.  Bump,  1833;  Rev.  Kinnear,  1834;  Rev. 
Butt,  1835;  Rev.  S.  Heard,  1837;  Rev.  J.  P.  Benn,  1838 — associate, 
Rev.  R.  Peck;  Revs.  Shinebaugh  and  Peck,  1839;  Revs.  Mershon  and 
George  Reeser,  1840;  Revs.  John  Graham  and  George  Reeser,  1841  ; 
Revs.  H.  W.  Monks  and  I.  Scofield,  1842;  Revs.  D.  H.  Jack  and  H. 
W.  Monks,  1843. 

Summerville,  or  Troy,  was  an  early  field  of  Methodism.  Darius  and 
Nathan  Carrier  were  zealous  Methodists,  and  frequently  opened  their 
homes  for  service  as  early  as  1825-26.  The  first  church  was  organized 
there  in  1830  by  Rev.  Ayers. 

Missionary  Methodist  preachers  travelled  through  this  wilderness  in 
those  times,  preaching  anywhere  and  everywhere  they  could.  This  itin- 
erancy makes  it  hard  to  systemize  the  church  history. 

The  Brookville  Church  seems  to  have  been  the  head-quarters  for  the 
northern  part  of  the  county,  and  the  first  class  was  organized  in  1828  in 
an  old  log  barn  at  the  head  of  Litch's  dam,  on  the  east  side  of  the  North 
Fork.  The  members  of  this  class  were  five, — Cyrus  Butler  and  wife, 
David  Butler  and  wife,  and  John  Dixon,  Jr.  A  Sunday-school  was 
started,  with  Cyrus  Butler  as  superintendent.  Services  were  held  in 
private  houses,  the  old  jail,  and  in  the  court-house,  as  the  congregation 
was  too  weak  to  build  a  house  even  as  late  as  1845. 

The  pioneer  church  was  organized  in  Brookville  under  Rev.  Johnson 
in  1829.  In  1829  and  1830  all  services  were  held  in  the  house  of  David 
Butler,  on  the  east  side  of  the  North  Fork  Creek,  at  the  upper  end  of 
Litch's  dam. 

The  pioneer  and  early  members  (1829)  were  David  Butler  and  wife, 
Cyrus  Butler  and  wife,  John  Long  and  wife,  William  McKee,  William 
Steel,  and  John  Dixon,  Jr.  The  last  is  the  only  one  now  living. 

The  pioneer  circuit  riders  in  the  north  side  of  the  county  were  :  Rev. 
John  Johnson,  1829;  Rev.  Jonathan  Ayers,  1830;  Rev.  Job  Watson, 
1831  ;  Revs.  Abner  Jackson  and  A.  C.  Barnes,  1832;  Rev.  Abner  Jack- 
son, 1833,  who  had  twenty-nine  preaching-places  and  a  circuit  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  (it  was  the  Brookville  and  Ridgeway  mission)  ; 
Rev.  A.  Kellar,  1834;  Revs.  John  Sava  and  Charles  C.  Best,  1835; 
Revs.  J.  A.  Hallock  and  J.  R.  Locke,  1836  ;  Rev.  Stephen  Heard,  1837  ; 
Rev.  L.  Whipple,  1838;  Rev.  H.  S.  Hitchcock,  1839  ;  Rev.  D.  Prichard, 
1840.  In  1841,  supplies  and  Revs.  G.  F.  Reeser  and  John  Graham  ;  in 
1842,  Revs.  Isaac  Scofield  and  William  Monks;  in  1843,  Revs.  William 
Monks  and  D.  H.  Jack;  in  1844,  Revs.  S.  Churchill  and  J.  K.  Coxson ; 
in  1845,  RCVS-  R-  M.  Bear  and  Thomas  Benn. 

These  ministers  always  travelled  on  horseback.  The  horse  was  usu- 
ally "  bobbed,"  and  you  could  see  that  he  had  a  most  excellent  skeleton. 
These  itinerants  all  wore  leggings,  and  carried  on  the  saddle  a  large  pair 

254 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  saddle-bags,  which  contained  a  clean  shirt,  a  Bible,  and  a  hymn-book. 
The  sermon  was  on  a  cylinder  in  the  head  of  the  preacher,  and  was  ready 
to  be  graphophoned  at  any  point  or  time. 

The  pioneer  presiding  elders  were :  Rev.  Wilder  P.  Mack,  1828-31; 
Rev.  Joseph  S.  Barris,  1832;  Rev.  Zerah  P.  Caston,  1833-34;  Rev. 
Joshua  Monroe,  1835;  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Barris,  1836;  Rev.  William  Car- 
roll, 1837-40;  Rev.  John  Bain,  1841-42;  Rev.  John  Robinson,  1843. 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Brookville,  Pennsylvania.     Erected  in  1886. 

Pioneer  Presiding  Elder,  Brookville  Mission  District :  "  Rev.  William 
Carroll,  presiding  elder  on  the  Brookville  Mission  District,  was  a  stout, 
energetic  man,  of  medium  preaching  talents,  and  was  selected  for  this 
field  of  labor  because  it  required  bone  and  muscle,  as  well  as  faith  and 

255 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

zeal,  to  accomplish  its  duties.  That  entire  region  of  country  was  new, 
wild,  rough,  and  mountainous,  with  many  rapid  bridgeless  streams  to 
cross.  The  settlements  were  far  from  each  other,  and  the  people  poor 
but  generous.  Never  since  the  days  of  Young  and  Finley  did  any  pre- 
siding elder  encounter  such  difficulties.  Calvinism  in  its  primitive  char- 
acteristics had  been  planted  there,  and  its  advocates  contested  the  ground 
with  great  tenacity  and  zeal.  But  to  this  field  of  toil  and  sacrifice  the 
new  presiding  elder  and  his  little  band  of  youthful  heroes  hastened  away 
and  sowed  the  good  seed  with  tears,  and  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  souls. 
That  sterile  soil  has  since  become  very  fruitful." — Gregg's  History  of 
Methodism. 

Ridgeway  Mission  was  created  in  1834.  Pioneer  circuit  riders :  Rev. 
G.  D.  Kinnear;  1835,  Rev.  Alured  Plimpton. 

As  a  rule,  these  pioneer  Methodists  were  good  singers,  and  when  and 
wherever  they  held  a  service  in  this  wilderness  they  usually  made  our 
hills  and  valleys  vocal  with  the  glorious  and  beautiful  hymns  of  John  and 
Charles  Wesley. 

The  pioneer  female  to  pray  in  public  or  in  the  general  prayer-meet- 
ings in  Brookville  was  "Mother  Fogle,"  Rev.  Christopher  Fogle's  first 
wife. 

The  pay  of  the  pioneer  Methodist  ministers  and  preachers,  and  for 
their  wives  and  children,  was  as  follows  : 

"2800. — '  i.  The  annual  salary  of  the  travelling  preachers  shall  be 
eighty  dollars  and  their  travelling  expenses. 

"  '  2.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  wives  of  travelling  preachers  shall 
be  eighty  dollars. 

.  "  '  3.  Each  child  of  a  travelling  preacher  shall  be  allowed  sixteen  dol- 
lars annually  to  the  age  of  seven  years,  and  twenty-four  dollars  annually 
from  the  age  of  seven  to  fourteen  years ;  nevertheless,  this  rule  shall  not 
apply  to  the  children  of  preachers  whose  families  are  provided  for  by 
other  means  in  their  circuits  respectively. 

"  '  4.  The  salary  of  the  superannuated,  worn-out,  and  supernumerary 
preachers  shall  be  eighty  dollars  annually. 

"  '  5.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  wives  of  superannuated,  worn-out, 
and  supernumerary  preachers  shall  be  eighty  dollars. 

"  '  6.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  widows  of  travelling,  superannu- 
ated, worn-out,  and  supernumerary  preachers  shall  be  eighty  dollars. 

"  '  7.  The  orphans  of  travelling,  superannuated,  worn-out,  and  super- 
numerary preachers  shall  be  allowed  by  the  Annual  Conference,  if  possi- 
ble, by  such  means  as  they  can  devise,  sixteen  dollars  annually. ' 

"  1804. — The  following  inserted  in  clause  3,  before  'nevertheless'  : 
'  and  those  preachers  whose  wives  are  dead  shall  be  allowed  for  each 
child  annually  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  board  of  such  child  or  children 
during  the  above  term  of  years.' 

256 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  following  added  at  the  close  of  the  section  : 

"  '  8.  Local  preachers  shall  be  allowed  a  salary  in  certain  cases  as 
mentioned. ' 

"  1816. — 'The  allowance  of  all  preachers  and  their  wives  raised  to 
one  hundred  dollars.' 

"1824. — Under  clause  2  (allowance  to  wives)  it  is  added,  'But  this 
provision  shall  not  apply  to  the  wives  of  those  preachers  who  were  single 
when  they  were  received  for  trial,  and  marry  under  four  years,  until  the 
expiration  of  said  four  years.' 

"  1828. — The  seventh  clause  (relating  to  orphans)  was  altered  so  as 
to  read  as  follows : 

"  '  7.  The  orphans  of  travelling,  supernumerary,  superannuated,  and 
worn-out  preachers  shall  be  allowed  by  the  Annual  Conferences  the  same 
sums  respectively  which  are  allowed  to  the  children  of  living  preachers. 
And  on  the  death  of  a  preacher,  leaving  a  child  or  children  without  so 
much  of  worldly  goods  as  should  be  necessary  to  his  or  her  or  their  sup- 
port, the  Annual  Conference  of  which  he  was  a  member  shall  raise,  in 
such  manner  as  may  be  deemed  best,  a  yearly  sum  for  the  subsistence 
and  education  of  such  orphan  child  or  children,  until  he,  she,  or  they 
shall  have  arrived  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  the  amount  of  which  yearly 
sum  shall  be  fixed  by  the  committee  of  the  Conference  at  each  session  in 
advance. ' 

"  1832. — The  following  new  clause  was  inserted  : 

"  '  8.  The  more  effectually  to  raise  the  amount  necessary  to  meet  the 
above-mentioned  allowance,  let  there  be  made  weekly  class  collections  in 
all  our  societies  where  it  is  practicable ;  and  also  for  the  support  of  mis- 
sions and  missionary  schools  under  our  care. ' 

"1836. — The  regulation  respecting  those  who  marry  'under  four 
years'  was  struck  out,  and  bishops  mentioned  by  name  as  standing  on  the 
same  footing  as  other  travelling  preachers.  Clauses  i,  2,  4,  and  5  thrown 
into  two,  as  follows : 

"  '  i.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  married  travelling,  supernumerary, 
and  superannuated  preachers  and  the  bishops  shall  be  two  hundred  dol- 
lars and  their  travelling  expenses. 

"  '  2.  The  annual  allowance  of  the  unmarried  travelling,  supernumer- 
ary, and  superannuated  preachers  and  the  bishops  shall  be  one  hundred 
dollars  and  their  travelling  expenses.' 

"  The  pioneer  members  were  prohibited  from  wearing  '  needless  orna- 
ments, such  as  rings,  earrings,  lace,  necklace,  and  ruffles.'  " — Strickland's 
History  of  Discipline. 

PIONEER   AND    EARLY   CAMP-MEETINGS. 

The  pioneer  camp-meeting  in  the  United  States  was  held,  between 
1800  and  1 80 1,  at  Cane  Ridge,  in  Kentucky.  It  was  under  the  auspices 

257 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  several  different  denominational  ministers.  The  meeting  was  kept  up 
day  and  night.  It  was  supposed  that  there  were  in  attendance  during  the 
meetings  from  twelve  to  twenty  thousand  people.  Stands  were  erected 
through  the  woods,  from  which  one,  two,  three,  and  four  preachers 
would  be  addressing  the  thousands  at  the  same  time.  It  was  at  this  place 
and  from  this  time  our  camp-meetings  took  their  rise. 

Evans,  the  Shaker  historian,  who  is  strong  in  the  gift  of  faith,  tells  us 
that  "  the  subjects  of  this  work  were  greatly  exercised  in  dreams,  visions, 
revelations,  and  the  spirit  of  the  prophecy.  In  these  gifts  of  the  Spirit 
they  saw  and  testified  that  the  great  day  of  God  was  at  hand,  that  Christ 
was  about  to  set  up  his  kingdom  on  earth,  and  that  this  very  work  would 
terminate  in  the  full  manifestation  of  the  latter  day  of  glory." 

From  another  authority,  endowed  perhaps  with  less  fervor  but  with 
more  of  common  sense,  we  get  a  description  of  these  "  exercises,"  which 
has  a  familiar  ring  that  seems  to  bring  it  very  near  home.  "  The  people 
remained  on  the  ground  day  and  night,  listening  to  the  most  exciting 
sermons,  and  engaging  in  a  mode  of  worship  which  consisted  in  alternate 
crying,  laughing,  singing,  and  shouting,  accompanied  with  gesticulations 
of  a  most  extraordinary  character.  Often  there  would  be  an  unusual  out- 
cry, some  bursting  forth  into  loud  ejaculations  of  thanksgiving,  others 
exhorting  their  careless  friends  to  '  turn  to  the  Lord,'  some  struck  with 
terror  and  hastening  to  escape,  others  trembling,  weeping,  and  swooning 
away,  till  every  appearance  of  life  was  gone  and  the  extremities  of  the 
body  assumed  the  coldness  of  a  corpse.  At  one  meeting  not  less  than  a 
thousand  persons  fell  to  the  ground,  apparently  without  sense  or  motion. 
It  was  common  to  see  them  shed  tears  plentifully  about  an  hour  before 
they  fell.  They  were  then  seized  with  a  general  tremor,  and  sometimes 
they  uttered  one  or  two  piercing  shrieks  in  the  moment  of  falling.  This 
latter  phenomenon  was  common  to  both  sexes,  to  all  ages,  and  to  all  sorts 
of  characters. 

"After  a  time  these  crazy  performances  in  the  sacred  name  of  re- 
ligion became  so  much  a  matter  of  course  that  they  were  regularly  classi- 
fied in  categories  as  the  rolls,  the  jerks,  the  barks,  etc.  The  rolling  ex- 
ercise was  effected  by  doubling  themselves  up,  then  rolling  from  one  side 
to  the  other  like  a  hoop,  or  in  extending  the  body  horizontally  and  roll- 
ing over  and  over  in  the  filth  like  so  many  swine.  The  jerk  consisted  in 
violent  spasms  and  twistings  of  every  part  of  the  body.  Sometimes  the 
head  was  twisted  round  so  that  the  face  was  turned  to  the  back,  and  the 
countenance  so  much  distorted  that  not  one  of  its  features  was  to  be  rec- 
ognized. When  attacked  by  the  jerks  they  sometimes  hopped  like  frogs, 
and  the  face  and  limbs  underwent  the  most  hideous  contortions.  The 
bark  consisted  in  throwing  themselves  on  all-fours,  growling,  showing 
their  teeth,  and  barking  like  dogs.  Sometimes  a  number  of  people 
crouching  down  in  front  of  the  minister  continued  to  bark  as  long  as  he 

258 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

preached.     These  last  were  supposed  to  be  more  especially  endowed  with 
the  gifts  of  prophecy,  dreams,  rhapsodies,  and  visions  of  angels." 

Exactly  when  the  pioneer  camp-meeting  was  held  in  Jefferson  County 
is  unknown  to  me.  Darius  Carrier  advertised  one  in  \JbKjeffersoman  as 
early  as  1836,  to  be  held  near  Summerville.  The  first  one  I  remember 
was  near  Brookville,  on  the  North  Fork,  on  land  now  owned  by  F. 
Swartzlander.  Others  were  held  near  Roseville,  and  in  Perry  township 
and  kindred  points.  The  rowdy  element  attended  these  services,  and 
there  was  usually  a  good  deal  of  disturbance  from  whiskey  and  fights, 
which,  of  course,  greatly  annoyed  the  good  people.  The  first  "  Dutch 
camp-meeting"  was  held  in  what  is  now  Ringgold  township.  In  fact, 
these  German  meetings  were  only  abandoned  a  few  years  ago.  I  repro- 
duce a  "  Dutch  camp-meeting  hymn"  : 

"  CAMP-MEETING   HYMN. 
"  Satan  and  I  we  can't  agree, 

Halleo,  halleolujah ! 
For  I  hate  him  and  he  hates  me, 
Halleo,  halleolujah ! 

"  I  do  believe  without  a  doubt, 

Halleo,  halleolujah ! 
The  Christian  has  a  right  to  shout, 
Halleo,  halleolujah ! 

"  We'll  whip  the  devil  round  the  stump, 

Haileo,  halleolujah ! 
And  hit  him  a  kick  at  every  jump, 
Halleo,  halleolujah !" 

The  mode  of  conducting  our  wood  meetings  was  patterned  after  the 
original  in  Kentucky.  The  manner  of  worship  and  conversions  were  the 
same,  and  while  a  great  deal  of  harsh  criticism  has  been  made  against 
this  mode  of  religious  worship,  there  is  one  thing  that  must  be  admitted, 
— many  bad,  wicked  persons  were  changed  into  good  religious  people. 
Pitch-pine  fagots  were  burned  at  night  to  light  the  grounds. 

BAPTIST   CHURCH. 

The  pioneer  Baptist  preaching  in  Pennsylvania  was  at  Cold  Spring, 
Bucks  County,  in  1684,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Dungan.  This  church  died  in 
1702. 

In  1818,  Rev.  Jonathan  Nichols  settled  on  Brandy  Camp,  in  the  Little 
Toby  Valley.  He  was  a  regularly  ordained  Baptist  minister  and  an  edu- 
cated physician.  His  labors  extended  all  over  this  county.  He  was  the 
pioneer  Baptist.  His  was  "the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight."  Rev.  Jona- 
than Nichols  migrated  to  this  region  from  Connecticut.  He  died  in 
1846,  aged  seventy-one  years.  His  wife  Hannah  died  in  1859,  aged 

259 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

eighty-two  years.  As  a  physician  his  labors  were  extended,  and  his 
ministry  was  well  received  by  the  scattered  people  of  all  beliefs.  For  a 
while  he  adhered  to  the  close  communion,  but  owing  to  the  different 
beliefs  adhered  to  by  his  hearers,  he  after  a  few  years  invited  all  Christian 
people  who  attended  his  services  to  the  "Lord's  table."  His  daughter 
told  me  his  heart  would  not  let  him  do  otherwise.  One  who  knew  him 
well  wrote  of  him  :  "  He  was  a  generous,  kind-hearted  gentleman,  genial 
and  urbane  in  his  manners,  with  a  helping  hand  ready  to  assist  the 
needy,  and  had  kind  words  to  comfort  the  sorrowing."  Winter's  snow 
never  deterred  him  from  pastoral  work  or  visits  to  the  sick.  After 
Nichols  came  Rev.  Samuel  Miles,  of  Clearfield  County.  The  first  regular 
Baptist  church  was  organized  in  what  is  now  Washington  township,  in 
June,  1834,  with  thirteen  members,  in  Henry  Keys'  barn,  by  Rev.  Brown. 
Henry  Keys  and  James  McConnell  were  elected  deacons.  The  members 
of  this  pioneer  church  were  James  McConnell,  Henry  Keys  and  Avife, 
Miss  Betty  Keys,  Mrs.  Eliza  Haney,  Mary  Ann  McConnell,  Mrs.  Catha- 
rine Keys,  Margaret  McConnell,  Mrs.  Nancy  McGhee,  Mrs.  McClelland, 
Miss  Hall,  and  Robert  Mclntosh  and  wife.  The  pioneer  church  in  the 
county  was  erected  on  the  Keys  farm  in  1841-42.  It  was  a  frame.  James 
McConnell  was  the  carpenter.  The  immersions  took  place  in  Mill  Creek, 
now  Allen's  Mills.  Before  organizing  their  own  church  the  men  and 
women  of  the  Mclntosh,  Keys,  and  McConnell  families  would  start  early 
on  Sunday  morning  and  walk  to  Zion  Church,  in  Clarion  County,  thirty 
miles,  and  return  the  same  day. 

BROOKVILLE   BAPTIST   CHURCH    MISSION. 

The  pioneer  minister  to  do  mission  labor  was  Rev.  Samuel  Miles.  He 
appeared  on  this  field  in  1833. 

The  pioneer  Baptist  communicant  to  locate  in  Brookville  was  James 
Craig,  in  1834. 

The  pioneer  convert  in  the  borough  was  Miss  Jane  Craig.  She  was 
"immersed"  near  the  covered  bridge  by  Rev.  Samuel  Miles  in  1838. 

The  second  minister  to  perform  mission  work  was  Rev.  Thomas  E. 
Thomas,  called  Father  Thomas.  He  came  here  from  1839  to  1843.  The 
third  minister  to  pioneer  as  a  missionary  in  Brookville  was  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Wilson.  He  preached  in  Brookville  in  1844.  He  pioneered  in 
the  county  as  early  as  1840. 

The  early  Baptists  in  this  mission  were  Thomas  Humphrey  and  wife, 
John  Bullers  and  wife,  Michael  Troy  and  wife,  William  Humphrey  and 
wife,  Mrs.  John  Baum,  William  Russell  and  wife,  Samuel  C.  Espy  and 
wife,  and  others. 

The  pioneer  and  early  "  immersion"  points  were  at  the  covered  bridge 
at  the  junction  of  Sandy  Lick  and  North  Fork  Creeks, — at  or  in  the  tail- 
race  and  in  the  sluice, — the  mill-dam  of  R.  P.  Barr. 

260 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  Punxsutawney  Church  was  organized  October  30,  1840,  by  Rev. 
Thomas  E.  Thomas  and  Benoni  Allen,  with  the  following  members  ..by 
letter, — viz.  : 


Brookville  Baptist  Church.     Erected  in  1883. 

Isaac  London,  Hiram  London,  Lemuel  Carey,  Sr.,  Hannah  Carey, 
John    R.    Reed,   Margaret  Reed,  James  Armstrong,  Mary  Armstrong, 

261 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Esther  McMillan,  Eliza  Cochrane,  Sarah  Gilhausen,  and  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Cracken.  Revs.  Thomas  and  Allen  continued  to  preach,  each  one- 
fourth  of  his  time,  until  April  i,  1841.  William  Campbell  was  elected 
clerk.  The  pioneer  immersions  were  Stephen  London  and  James  Mc- 
Conaughey, — viz.,  on  November  i,  1840.  On  the  ad  the  following  were 
immersed, — viz.  :  William  Davis,  William  Campbell,  Ephraim  Bair,  Jacob 
Bair,  Samuel  Gilhausen,  John  Hunt,  and  Prudence  Stewart.  On  the  3d 
day  of  this  month  the  following  were  immersed :  James  H.  Bell,  Ann 
Bell,  William  Torance,  Lemuel  Carey,  Jr.,  Mary  Davis,  Jane  Hunt,  Eliz- 
abeth McDermott,  and  Jane  Major.  The  Rev.  Thomas  continued  with 
this  church  until  October,  1841,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Wilson. 

THE   WASHINGTON   TOWNSHIP    BAPTIST   CHURCH. 
THE   BEECHWOODS   CHURCH. 

"The  society  was  organized  in  1835,  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
Stoughton.  The  first  members  were  Henry  Keys  and  wife,  Eliza  Keys, 
Joseph  Keys,  James  McConnell  and  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Osborne,  and  several 
others  whose  names  are  forgotten.  The  first  elders  were  Henry  Keys  and 
James  McConnell.  The  first  stated  pastor  was  Rev.  Samuel  Miles,  of 
Milesburg,  Centre  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  first  Baptist  in  the  county 
was  Eliza  Keys,  a  sister  of  Henry  and  daughter  of  Joseph  Keys.  She  was 
a  woman  of  unusual  energy,  and  whose  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  were 
eminently  designed  for  the  duties  of  a  missionary,  as  she  was  in  deed  if 
not  in  name.  From  1824  to  the  organization  of  the  church  in  the 
county  they  went  to  Clarion  County,  and  worshipped  in  the  old  '  Zion' 
Church  and  in  the  houses  of  Messrs.  Lewis,  Frampton,  and  Williams,  and 
latterly  in  a  little  frame  church  near  Corbett's  Mills.  The  distance  trav- 
elled by  the  members  of  the  congregation  was  from  twenty- eight  to  forty 
miles,  and  many  of  the  good  people  traversed  the  country  on  foot,  and 
nothing  but  sickness  prevented  them  from  a  regular  attendance  on  divine 
services.  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Thomas,  whose  services  are  mentioned  in 
brief  in  a  sketch  of  the  Punxsutawney  Baptist  Church,  was  one  of  the 
leading  preachers  in  the  Clarion  region,  and  by  his  efforts  built  up  the 
cause  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  In  1825  the  only  Baptist  churches  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  were  Pittsburg,  one ;  Huntington,  one ;  Milesburg, 
one ;  and  Freeport,  one.  In  1826  a  Baptist  church  was  erected  near  Cor- 
bett's Mills,  Clarion  County,  and  thither  the  people  of  that  faith  were 
accustomed  to  congregate  till  the  erection  of  a  little  church  in  Beech- 
woods,  the  date  being  1837.  This  in  time  was  succeeded  by  the  present 
edifice." 

THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 

The  pioneer  Catholic  service  in  Pennsylvania  was  in  Philadelphia  in 
1708.  The  pioneer  priest  was  either  Polycarp  Wicksted  or  James  Had- 

262 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dock.     The  pioneer  church  erected  was  St.  Joseph's,  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1730. 

The   pioneer   Catholic  to  locate   in  the   county  was  perhaps  John 


Catholic  Church,  Brookville,  Pennsylvania.     Erected  in  1875. 

Dougherty,  of  Brookville.  He  came  in  1831.  The  pioneer  priest  to 
visit  Brookville  was  the  Rev.  John  O'Neill,  of  Freeport,  Pennsylvania. 
He  visited  here  in  1832,  and  performed  the  pioneer  baptism, — viz.,  of 

263 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA.  , 

Miss  Kate,  the  daughter  of  John  Dougherty.  There  was  no  resident 
priest  here  until  1847.  The  pioneer  Catholics  in  the  county  were  at- 
tended by  priests  from  Armstrong  and  Westmoreland  Counties.  Pioneer 
services  were  held  in  the  houses  of  John  Dougherty,  John  Gallagher, 
Jacob  Hoffman,  and  others. 

THE   MORMON   CHURCH   IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

About  1815  there  lived  in  Wayne  County,  New  York,  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Joseph  Smith.  In  the  twenties  he  proclaimed  himself  a 
prophet  from  God.  In  1827  he  published  to  the  world  that  an  angel  had 
placed  in  his  hands  some  golden  plates,  with  a  pair  of  spectacles,  too, 
through  which  he  alone  could  decipher  the  writing  on  the  plates.  His 
revelation  from  God  consisted  of  a  book  styled  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
The  book  is  a  silly,  childish  kind  of  a  romance.  I  possessed  a  copy  for 
many  years  and  tried  at  different  times  to  read  it  through,  but  never  had 
the  grace  or  gift  of  continuance.  This  book  pretends  to  give  a  history 
of  Nephi,  a  Hebrew,  who,  six  hundred  years  before  the  advent  of  Christ, 
was  miraculously  carried  from  Palestine  in  vessels  to  this  American  con- 
tinent. When  Nephi  landed  on  this  continent  there  were  no  inhabitants, 
and  the  American  Indians  are  declared  by  the  book  to  be  the  descend- 
ants of  Nephi.  The  Mormons  taught  that  there  were  many  Gods  in 
in  heaven,  and  that  each  God  had  many  wives  and  children, — viz. : 
Smith  would  be  a  god  ;  his  superior  would  be  Jesus  ;  above  Jesus  would 
be  Adam,  above  Adam  would  be  Jehovah,  and  above  all  would  be  Elo- 
him.  In  1830,  Smith  had  about  thirty  believers,  and  organized  his  church 
at  Manchester,  New  York.  In  1831,  under  the  lead  of  an  angel,  this  band 
moved  to  Kirtland,  Ohio.  In  1838  they  migrated  to  Missouri.  From 
here  they  moved  to  Illinois,  and  built  the  city  of  Nauvoo.  In  the  early 
forties  Smith  received  a  "  revelation"  establishing  polygamy  in  the 
church.  This  caused  internal  dissensions,  Smith  was  arrested,  placed  in 
jail,  and  finally  shot  by  a  mob.  Brigham  Young  was  then  elected  prophet, 
and  the  church  migrated  in  a  body  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  what 
is  now  the  State  of  Utah. 

PIONEER    MORMON    MISSIONARY. 

"  Mormonism  !  On  Saturday  evening  last  our  borough  was  visited  by 
a  youth  of  apparently  not  more  than  twenty-two  years  of  age,  a  graduate 
of  the  disciple  Jo  Smith,  S.  Rigdon,  and  others  of  the  Mormon  creed, 
fresh  from  the  '  Holy  Land.'  He  remained  here  over  Sabbath,  during 
which  time  he  kept  himself  principally  secluded  from  company  till  even- 
ing, when  he  appeared  in  the  court-house,  and  attempted  to  instruct  the 
citizens  of  this  place  in  the  '  sublime  mysteries'  of  Mormonism  (?),  but 
his  'new-fangled  doctrine'  didn't  take. 

264 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"In  the  prosecution  of  his  mission  he  labored  to  prove  that  events  of 
transcendent  importance  were  about  being  ushered  in ;  that  the  millen- 
nium was  dawning  on  our  astonished  visions  ;  that  a  revelation  had  been 
made  on  plates  of  gold  to  the  said  Jo  Smith  by  the  hands  of  an  angel, 
and  last,  though  not  least,  that  a  revelation  of  the  hidden  mysteries  were 
important,  etc. 

"  He  taxed  his  most  deceptive  genius — a  science  in  which  he  appears 
to  be  well  versed — to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  congregation,  by  telling 
them  that  he  had  'strange  things  yet  to  tell  them,'  and  finally  brought 
his  exhibition  to  a  close.  We  have  not  learned  that  he  discipled  any 
here,  but  believe  that  the  decision  and  intelligence  of  the  people  of  Jef- 
ferson County  is  a  sure  and  certain  guarantee  against  such  delusions  ever 
gaining  their  credence.  He  was  permitted  to  depart  in  peace." — Brook- 
ville  Republican,  Thursday,  October  12,  1837. 

Our  brother,  the  editor,  was  not  exactly  correct  in  his  estimate  of  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  of  Jefferson  County,  for  quite  a  little  congrega- 
tion of  Mormons  was  formed  in  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  Snyder  town- 
ship, this  county,  and  the  western  portion  of  Fox  township,  Clearfield 
County.  The  principal  members  were  some  of  the  Cobbs,  Heaths, 
Bundys,  Hoyts,  and  others.  Religious  meetings  were  held  in  each  other's 
houses  for  some  time.  A  number  of  these  members  migrated  to  the 
"Holy  Land." 

LUTHERAN    CHURCH. 

The  pioneer  Lutheran  congregation  in  the  United  States  was  at  New 
Hanover,  Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania,  with  Justus  Faulkner,  pas- 
tor, in  1703. 

The  pioneer  Lutheran  minister  to  visit  this  county  was  the  Rev. 
George  Young,  of  Armstrong  County,  Pennsylvania.  Rev.  Young  or- 
ganized the  pioneer  church  in  the  county  in  1835,  and  erected  a  log 
building  for  that  purpose,  to  which  was  attached  a  cemetery.  The  pio- 
neer services  were  held  in  the  barn  of  Abraham  Hoch,  one  mile  south  of 
Sprankle's  Mill,  and  no\v  Oliver  township.  Communion  was  commem- 
orated in  this  barn.  The  pioneer  log  church  building  was  erected  in 
1838,  about  half  a  mile  from  Mr.  Hoch's,  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by 
Boaz  D.  Blose.  This  log  church  was  used  for  ten  years,  when  it  was 
abandoned  for  school  purposes,  and  a  large  frame  house  of  worship  was 
then  erected  on  the  ridge  two  miles  from  Sprankle's  Mill.  This  congre- 
gation was  and  is  still  known  as  St.  John's,  General  Council. 

The  second  Lutheran  church  organized  was  in  1838,  and  a  log  build- 
ing erected.  This  church  was  also  called  St.  John's,  and  belonged  to  the 
General  Synod  branch  of  the  denomination.  Joel  Spyker  and  Peter 
Thrush  took  an  active  part  in  the  organization.  This  church  was  on 
what  is  now  Andrew  Ohl's  farm,  and  was  about  three  and  one-half  miles 
i  s  265 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

south  of  Brookville.  The  pioneer  members  at  this  communion  were 
Thomas  Holt,  Peter  Thrush  and  wife,  Samuel  Johns  and  wife,  Mattie 
Chesly,  Charles  Merriman  and  wife,  Armenia  Grove,  Hannah  Himes, 
Mary  Johnson,  Jacob  Wolfgang  and  wife,  Mary  Spyker,  and  Joseph 
Kaylor.  * 

The  pioneer  preaching  in  Brookville  was  by  the  Rev.  Young.  He 
preached  in  the  homes  of  members  and  in  the  second  story  of  the  old 
stone  jail.  Rev.  John  Rengan,  of  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  preached  in 
the  jail  in  1844.  No  organization  was  effected.  Rev.  John  Nuner  came 
after  Rengan,  but  in  what  year  and  for  how  long  is  unknown. 

The  pioneer  Lutherans  in  Brookville  were  John  and  Catherine  Eason, 
Daniel  Coder  and  wife,  Hannah  McKinley,  Mary  A.  Yoemans,  Jacob 
Burkett  and  wife,  Jacob  Steck  and  wife,  John  Boucher  and  wife,  Maria 
Von  Schroeder.  Pioneer  elder,  Daniel  Coder.  Pioneer  deacon,  John 
Boucher. 

Lutheran  services  were  also  held  at  Paradise,  Grubes,  Reynoldsville, 
Emerickville,  Punxsutawney,  and  Ringgold,  but  no  dates  of  service  or 
records  of  organization  can  be  found.  I  acknowledge  valuable  aid  in 
this  compilation  to  Mrs.  Virginia  Blood. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

WHITE  SLAVERY — ORIGIN — NATURE   IN   ROME,  GREECE,  AND  EUROPE — AFRI- 
CAN  SLAVERY    IN    PENNSYLVANIA — GEORGE     BRYAN — PIONEER    COLORED 

SETTLER  IN  JEFFERSON   COUNTY — CENSUS,  ETC. DAYS  OF   BONDAGE   IN 

THIS    COUNTY. 

WHITE  slavery  is  older  than  history.  Its  origin  is  supposed  to  be 
from  kidnapping,  piracy,  and  in  captives  taken  in  war.  Christians  en- 
slaved all  barbarians  and  barbarians  enslaved  Christians.  Early  history 
tells  us  that  Rome  and  Greece  were  great  markets  for  all  kinds  of  slaves, 
slave-traders,  slave-owners,  etc.  The  white  slaves  of  Europe  were  mostly 
obtained  in  Russia  and  Poland  in  times  of  peace.  All  fathers  could  sell 
children.  The  poor  could  be  sold  for  debt.  The  poor  could  sell  them- 
selves. But  slavery  did  not  exist  in  the  poor  and  ignorant  alone.  The 
most  learned  in  science,  art,  and  mechanism  were  bought  and  sold  at 
prices  ranging  in  our  money  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars. 
Once  sold,  whether  kidnapped  or  not,  there  was  no  redress,  except  as  to 
the  will  of  the  master.  At  one  time  in  the  history  of  Rome  white  slaves 
sold  for  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  apiece  in  our  money.  The  state,  the 
church,  and  individuals  all  owned  slaves.  Every  wicked  device  that 
might  and  power  could  practise  was  used  to  enslave  men  and  women 

266 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

without  regard  to  nationality  or  color.  And  when  enslaved,  no  matter 
how  well  educated,  the  slaves  possessed  no  right  in  law  and  were  not 
deemed  persons  in  law,  and  had  no  right  in  and  to  their  children. 
Slavery  as  it  existed  among  the  Jews  was  a  milder  form  than  that  which 


existed  in  any  other  nation.  The  ancients  regarded  black  slaves  as 
luxuries,  because  there  was  but  little  traffic  in  them  until  about  the  year 
1441,  and  it  is  at  that  date  that  the  modern -African  slave-trade  was 
commenced  by  the  Portuguese.  The  pioneer  English  African  slave- 

267 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

trader  was  Sir  John  Hawkins.  Great  companies  were  formed  in  London 
to  carry  on  African  traffic,  of  which  Charles  II.  and  James  II.  were  mem- 
bers. It  was  money  and  the  large  profits  in  slavery,  whether  white  or 
black,  that  gave  it  such  a  hold  on  church  and  state.  The  English  were 
the  most  cruel  African  slave-traders.  Genuine  white  slavery  never  ex- 
isted in  what  is  now  the  United  States.  In  the  year  A.D.  1620  the  pio- 
neer African  slaves  were  landed  at  Hampton  Roads  in  Virginia,  and 
nineteen  slaves  were  sold.  In  1790  there  were  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-one  African  slaves  in  the  Middle 
States. 

Slavery  was  introduced  in  Pennsylvania  in  1681,  and  was  in  full  force 
until  the  act  quoted  below  for  its  gradual  abolition  was  enacted  in  1 780, 
by  which,  as  you  will  see,  adult  slaves  were  liberated  on  July  4,  1827, 
and  the t  children  born  before  that  date  were  to  become  free  as  they 
reached  their  majority.  This  made  the  last  slave  in  the  State  become  a 
free  person  about  1860. 

In  1790  Pennsylvania  had  slaves 3737 

In  1800  "  "    1706 

In  1810  '•  "    795 

In  1820  "       ''  "    211 

In  1830  "  "    403 

In  1840  "       "  "    64 

In  1860  "  "  (in  Lancaster  County)  .  I 

On  December  4,  1833,  sixty  persons  met  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  organized  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society. 

NEGRO  SLAVERY. 

"  He  found  his  fellow  guilty — of  a  skin  not  colored  like  his  own  ;  for  such  a  cause 
dooms  him  as  his  lawful  prey." 

Negro  slaves  were  held  in  each  of  the  thirteen  original  States. 

In  March,  1780,  Pennsylvania  enacted  her  gradual  abolition  law. 
Massachusetts,  by  constitutional  enactment  in  1780,  abolished  slavery. 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  were  made  free  States  in  1784,  New 
Jersey  in  1804,  New  York  in  1817,  and  New  Hampshire  about  1808  or 
1810.  The  remaining  States  of  the  thirteen — viz.,  Maryland,  Delaware, 
Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia — each  retained  their 
human  chattels  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  In  one  hundred  years, 
from  1676  until  1776,  it  is  estimated  that  three  million  people  were  im- 
ported and  sold  as  slaves  in  the  United  States. 

As  late  as  1860  there  was  still  one  slave  in  Pennsylvania;  his  name 
was  Lawson  Lee  Taylor,  and  he  belonged  to  James  Clark,  of  Donegal 
township,  Lancaster  County. 

268 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  first  man  who  died  in  the  Revolution  was  a  colored  man,  and 
Peter  Salem,  a  negro,  decided  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  clinging  to  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  he  cried,  "  I'll  bring  back  the  colors  or  answer  to  God 
the  reason  why  !"  His  example  fired  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers  to  greater 
valor,  and  the  great  battle  was  won  by  our  men. 

"  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  in  1682  that  the  English  penalty 
of  death  on  over  two  hundred  critnes  was  negatived  by  statute  law,  and 
the  penalty  of  death  retained  on  only  one  crime, — viz.,  wilful  murder. 
It  was  in  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  law  of  primogeniture  was 
abolished.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  first  mint  to  coin 
money  in  the  United  States  was  established.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1829,  and  between  Honesdale  and  Carbondale,  that  the  pio- 
neer railroad  train,  propelled  by  a  locomotive,  was  run  in  the  New 
World.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  first  Continental 
Congress  met.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  great  Magna 
Charta  of  our  liberties  was  written,  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  to  the 
world.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  fathers  declared  '  that 
all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,  and  are  alike  entitled  to  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.'  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that 
the  grand  old  Republican  party  was  organized,  and  the  declarations  of 
our  fathers  reaffirmed  and  proclaimed  anew  to  the  world.  It  was  on  the 
soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  Congress  created  our  national  emblem,  the 
Stars  and  Stripes ;  and  it  was  upon  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  fair 
women  made  that  flag  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  Congress.  It 
was  upon  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  our  flag  was  first  unfurled  to  the 
breeze,  and  from  that  day  to  this  that  grand  old  flag  has  never  been  dis- 
graced nor  defeated.  It  was  upon  the  Delaware  River  of  Pennsylvania 
that  the  first  steamer  was  launched.  It  was  in  Philadelphia  that  the  first 
national  bank  opened  its  vaults  to  commerce.  It  was  upon  the  soil  of 
Pennsylvania  that  Colonel  Drake  first  drilled  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
and  obtained  the  oil  that  now  makes  the  '  bright  light'  of  every  fireside 
'  from  Greenland's  icy  mountains  to  India's  coral  strand.'  It  was  on  the 
soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  first  Christian  Bible  Society  in  the  New 
World  was  organized.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  first 
school  for  the  education  and  maintenance  of  soldiers'  orphans  was 
erected.  It  was  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  first  medical  col- 
lege for  the  New  World  was  established. 

"And  now,  Mr.  President,  I  say  to  you  that  it  was  permitted  to 
Pennsylvania  intelligence,  to  Pennsylvania  charity,  to  Pennsylvania  peo- 
ple, to  erect  on  Pennsylvania  soil,  with  Pennsylvania  money,  the  first 
insane  institution,  aided  and  encouraged  by  a  State,  in  the  history  of 
the  world." 

The  above  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  made  by  me  when  Senator  in  the 
Senate  of  Pennsylvania  in  1881.  I  reproduce  it  here  only  to  reassert  it  and 

269 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

crown  it  with  the  fact  that  Pennsylvania  was  the  first  of  the  united  colonies 
to  acknowledge  before  God  and  the  nations  of  the  earth,  by  legal  enact- 
ment, the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man.  Pennsylva- 
nia was  the  first  State  or  nation  in  the  New  World  to  enact  a  law  for  the 
abolition  of  human  slavery.  This  act  of  justice  was  passed,  too,  when 
the  struggle  for  independence  was  still  undetermined.  The  British  were 
pressing  us  on  the  east,  and  the  savages  on  the  west  were  torturing  and 
killing  the  patriot  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  Revolution. 

George  Bryan  originated,  prepared,  offered,  and  carried  this  measure 
successfully  through  the  Legislature.  I  quote  from  his  remarks  on  this 
measure  :  "  Honored  will  that  State  be  in  the  annals  of  mankind  which 
shall  first  abolish  this  violation  of  the  rights  of  mankind ;  and  the 
memories  of  those  will  be  held  in  grateful  and  everlasting  remembrance 
who  shall  pass  the  law  to  restore  and  establish  the  rights  of  human  nature 
in  Pennsylvania."  George  Bryan  did  this.  He  was  born  in  Dublin, 
Ireland,  in  1732,  died  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1791.  To  ex- 
hibit the  advanced  sentiment  of  George  Bryan,  I  republish  his  touching 
and  beautiful  preamble  to  his  law,  and  a  section  or  two  of  the  law  which 
will  explain  its  work. 

"  AN  ACT  FOR  THE  GRADUAL  ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY. 

<c  When  we  contemplate  our  abhorrence  of  that  condition  to  which  the 
arms  and  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  were  exerted  to  reduce  us,  when  we  look 
back  on  the  variety  of  dangers  to  which  we  have  been  exposed,  and  how 
miraculously  our  wants  in  many  instances  have  been  supplied,  and  our  de- 
liverances wrought,  when  even  hope  and  human  fortitude  have  become  un- 
equal to  the  conflict,  we  are  unavoidably  led  to  a  serious  and  grateful  sense 
of  the  manifold  blessings  which  we  have  undeservedly  received  from  the 
hand  of  that  Being  from  whom  every  good  and  perfect  gift  cometh.  Im- 
pressed with  these  ideas,  we  conceive  that  it  is  our  duty,  and  we  rejoice  that 
it  is  in  our  power,  to  extend  a  portion  of  that  freedom  to  others  which  hath 
been  extended  to  us,  and  release  from  that  state  of  thraldom  to  which 
we  ourselves  were  tyrannically  doomed,  and  from  which  we  have  now 
every  prospect  of  being  delivered.  It  is  not  for  us  to  inquire  why,  in  the 
creation  of  mankind,  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  parts  of  the  earth 
were  distinguished  by  a  difference  in  feature  or  complexion.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  know  that  all  are  the  work  of  an  Almighty  hand.  We  find,  in 
the  distribution  of  the  human  species,  that  the  most  fertile  as  well  as  the 
most  barren  parts  of  the  earth  are  inhabited  by  men  of  complexions  dif- 
ferent from  ours,  and  from  each  other ;  from  whence  we  may  reasonably, 
as  well  as  religiously,  infer  that  He  who  placed  them  in  their  various 
situations  hath  extended  equally  His  care  and  protection  to  all,  and  that 
it  becometh  not  us  to  counteract  His  mercies.  We  esteem  it  a  peculiar 
blessing  granted  to  us  that  we  are  enabled  this  day  to  add  one  more  step 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  universal  civilization,  by  removing,  as  much  as  possible,  the  sorrows 
of  those  who  have  lived  in  undeserved  bondage,  and  from  which,  by  the 
assumed  authority  of  the  kings  of  Great  Britain,  no  effectual  legal  relief 
could  be  obtained.  Weaned,  by  a  long  course  of  experience,  from  those 
narrow  prejudices  and  partialities  we  had  imbibed,  we  find  our  hearts 
enlarged  with  "kindness  and  benevolence  towards  men  of  all  conditions 
and  nations ;  and  we  conceive  ourselves  at  this  particular  period  extraor- 
dinarily called  upon,  by  the  blessings  which  we  have  received,  to  mani- 
fest the  sincerity  of  our  profession  and  to  give  a  substantial  proof  of  our 
gratitude. 

"  II.  And  whereas  the  condition  of  those  persons,  who  have  hereto- 
fore been  denominated  Negro  and  Mulatto  slaves,  has  been  attended 
with  circumstances  which  not  only  deprived  them  of  the  common  bless- 
ings that  they  were  by  nature  entitled  to,  but  has  cast  them  into  the 
deepest  afflictions,  by  an  unnatural  separation  and  sale  of  husband  and 
wife  from  each  other  and  from  their  children,  an  injury  the  greatness  of 
which  can  only  be  conceived  by  supposing  that  we  were  in  the  same  un- 
happy case.  In  justice,  therefore,  to  persons  so  unhappily  circumstanced, 
and  who,  having  no  prospect  before  them  whereon  they  may  rest  their 
sorrows  and  their  hopes,  have  no  reasonable  inducement  to  render  their 
service  to  society,  which  they  otherwise  might,  and  also  in  grateful 
commemoration  of  our  own  happy  deliverance  from  that  state  of  un- 
conditional submission  to  which  we  were  doomed  by  the  tyranny  of 
Britain. 

"  III.  Be  it  enacted,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted,  That  all  persons,  as  well 
Negroes  and  Mulattoes  as  others,  who  shall  be  born  within  this  State 
from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  shall  not  be  deemed  and  con- 
sidered as  servants  for  life,  or  slaves ;  and  that  all  servitude  for  life,  or 
slavery  of  children,  in  consequence  of  the  slavery  of  their  mothers,  in 
the  case  of  all  children  born  within  this  State  from  and  after  the  passing 
of  this  act  as  aforesaid,  shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  utterly  taken  away,  ex- 
tinguished, and  forever  abolished. 

"IV.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted,  That  every  Negro 
and  Mulatto  child  born  within  this  State  after  the  passing  of  this  act  as 
aforesaid  (who  would,  in  case  this  act  had  not  been  made,  have  been 
born  a  servant  for  years,  or  life,  or  a  slave)  shall  be  deemed  to  be,  and 
shall  be,  by  virtue  of  this  act,  the  servant  of  such  person,  or  his  or  her 
assigns,  who  would  in  such  case  have  been  entitled  to  the  service  of  such 
child,  until  such  child  shall  attain  unto  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  in 
the  manner  and  on  the  conditions  whereon  servants  bound  by  indenture 
for  four  years  are  or  may  be  retained  and  holden  ;  and  shall  be  liable  to 
like  correction  and  punishment,  and  entitled  to  like  relief,  in  case  he  or 
she  be  evilly  treated  by  his  or  her  master  or  mistress,  and  to  like  freedom, 
dues,  and  other  privileges,  as  servants  bound  by  indenture  for  four  years 

271 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

are  or  may  be  entitled,  unless  the  person  to  whom  the  service  of  such 
child  shall  belong,  shall  abandon  his  or  her  claim  to  the  same ;  in  which 
case  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  city,  township,  or  district,  respec- 
tively, where  such  child  shall  be  so  abandoned,  shall  by  indenture  bind 
out  every  child  so  abandoned  as  an  apprentice,  for  a  time  not  exceeding 
the  age  herein  before  limited  for  the  service  of  such  children."  Passed 
March  i,  1780. 

PIONEER  COLORED  SETTLER. 

The  pioneer  colored  settler  in  this  wilderness  was  Fudge  Van  Camp.  He 
was  jet-black,  fine-featured,  and  thin- lipped.  Fudge  Van  Camp  was  born 
a  slave,  but  purchased  his  freedom  after  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  came 
to  Port  Barnett  from  Easton,  Northumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  winter  of  1801,  and  travelled  this  distance  on  foot.  The  last  thirty- 
three  miles  were  travelled  without  food,  in  a  heavy  snow-storm  and  in  a 
two-foot  fall  of  snow.  Van  Camp  was  a  large  and  powerful  man,  but 
gave  out  and  had  to  work  his  way  for  the  last  mile  or  two  on  his  hands 
and  knees  to  Port  Barnett.  He  arrived  there  at  midnight  exhausted 
and  almost  frozen.  He  came  over  what  was  then  called  the  Military  or 
Milesburg  and  Le  Boeuf  State  road.  Being  pleased  with  the  country, 
he  returned  to  Easton  only  to  migrate  here  with  his  four  children, 
bringing  his  effects  on  two  horses,  and  settled  on  what  is  now  the 
John  Clark  farm.  He  brought  apple-seeds  with  him  and  planted  them 
on  this  farm,  this  being  the  first  effort  to  raise  fruit  in  this  wilderness. 
Some  of  the  trees  are  still  living.  Fudge  Van  Camp  married  a  white 
woman.  She  died  in  Easton.  His  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  two 
daughters, — viz.,  Richard  and  Enos,  Susan  and  Sarah.  Susan  mar- 
ried Charles  Sutherland,  and  Sarah  married  William  Douglass.  Douglass 
was  a  hunter.  Richard  married  Ruth  Stiles,  a  white  woman,  and  left 
the  county. 

Fudge  Van  Camp  was  the  only  colored  person  living  in  the  county  as 
late  as  1810.  He  was  a  fiddler  and  a  great  fighter,  and  was  the  orchestra 
for  all  the  early  frolics. 

In  1824  I  find  James  Parks  is  assessed  in  Pine  Creek  township  (but 
lived  then  where  Christ's  brewery  is  now)  with  one  negro  man,  "  Sam," 
valuation  fifty  dollars.  "Sam"  was  a  miller.  In  1826  he  is  assessed  at 
one  hundred  dollars.  Transferred  to  Rose  township  in  1829  and  as- 
sessed at  one  hundred  dollars.  In  1830  Parks's  log-mill  is  assessed  at 
fifty  dollars  and  "Sam"  at  one  hundred  dollars.  Now  "Sam"  disap- 
pears. According  to  the  census  of  1830,  the  county  contained  twenty-two 
colored  people, — one  of  these  a  slave.  This  slave  was  James  Parks's  man 
Sam.  Master  and  slave  lived  in  Brookville.  I  find  one  negro  slave  in 
Brookville  in  1833.  William  Jack  is  assessed  among  other  property  with 
"one  boy  of  color,"  valuation  forty  dollars.  Jack  lived  at  that  time  in 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  Darr  residence,  north  of  the  court-house.  This  slave  boy  fled  to 
Canada  and  secured  his  liberty.  In  1836,  Jesse  Smith,  a  Presbyterian 
minister  living  one  mile  north  of  where  Corsica  now  is.  on  the  Olean  road, 
and  then  in  Rose  township,  is  assessed  with  one  mulatto,  valuation  fifty 
dollars.  It  appears  from  this  that  slavery  existed  in  Jefferson  County 
from  1 824  until  1836, — twelve  years. 

Thank  God  this  cruel  slavery,  which  existed  once  in  Jefferson  County, 
is  forever  wiped  out  in  these  United  States  !  There  is  now  no  master's 
call,  no  driver's  lash,  no  auction-block  on  which  to  sell,  and  no  blood- 
hounds to  hunt  men  and  women  fugitives  not  from  justice,  but  fugitives 
for  justice.  Thank  God  for  John  Brown,  and  may  "  his  soul  go  march- 
ing on  !" 

Van  Camp's  real  name  was  Enos  Fudge.  His  owner's  name  Avas  Van 
Camp.  Fudge  was  hired  by  his  master  to  the  patriot  army  of  the  Revo- 
lution to  drive  team,  and  by  playing  the  violin  to  the  soldiers  and  in 
other  ways  he  accumulated  five  hundred  dollars,  which  he  presented  to 
his  master,  who  in  consideration  of  this  gave  him  his  freedom.  Two 
white  men,  Stephen  Roll  and  August  Shultz,  came  with  Van  Camp  into 
this  wilderness.  Van  Camp  died  about  the  year  1835,  and  is  buried  in 
the  old  graveyard  in  Brookville. 

THE   "  UNDERGROUND    RAILROAD"  IN   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

"  My  ear  is  pained, 
My  soul  is  sick  with  every  day's  report 
Of  wrong  and  outrage  with  which  this  earth  is  filled." 

The  origin  of  the  system  to  aid  runaway  slaves  in  these  United  States 
was  in  Columbia,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1787,  Samuel 
Wright  laid  out  that  town,  and  he  set  apart  the  northeastern  portion  for 
colored  people,  and  to  many  of  whom  he  presented  lots.  Under  these 
circumstances  this  section  was  settled  rapidly  by  colored  people.  Hun- 
dreds of  manumitted  slaves  from  Maryland  and  Virginia  migrated  there 
and  built  homes.  This  soon  created  a  little  city  of  colored  people,  and 
in  due  time  formed  a  good  hiding-place  for  escaped  slaves.  The  term 
"  underground  railroad"  originated  there,  and  in  this  way  :  At  Columbia 
the  runaway  slave  would  be  so  thoroughly  and  completely  lost  to  the  pur- 
suer, that  the  slave  hunter,  in  perfect  astonishment,  would  frequently  ex- 
claim, "  There  must  be  an  underground  railroad  somewhere. ' '  Of  course, 
there  was  no  railroad.  There  was  only  at  this  place  an  organized  sys- 
tem by  white  abolitionists  to  assist,  clothe,  feed,  and  conduct  fugitive 
slaves  to  Canada.  This  system  consisted  in  changing  the  clothing,  se- 
creting and  hiding  the  fugitive  in  daytime,  and  then  carrying  or  direct- 
ing him  how  to  travel  in  the  night-time  to  the  next  abolition  station, 
where  he  would  be  cared  for.  These  stations  existed  from  the  Maryland 

2/3 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

line  clear  through  to  Canada.  In  those  days  the  North  was  as  a  whole 
for  slavery,  and  to  be  an  abolitionist  was  to  be  reviled  and  persecuted, 
even  by  churches  of  nearly  all  denominations.  Abolition  meetings  were 
broken  up  by  mobs,  the  speakers  rotten-egged  and  murdered ;  indeed, 
but  few  preachers  would  read  from  their  pulpit  a  notice  for  an  anti- 
slavery  meeting.  Space  will  not  permit  me  to  depict  the  degraded  state 


Charles  Brown  handcuffed  and  shackled  in  Brookville  jail,  1834. 

"  The  shackles  never  again  shall  bind  this  arm,  which  now  is  free." 

"  My  world  is  dead, 
A  new  world  rises,  and  new  manners  reign." 

of  public  morals  at  that  time,  or  the  low  ebb  of  true  Christianity  in  that 
day,  excepting,  of  course,  that  exhibited  by  a  small  handful  of  abolition- 
ists in  the  land.  I  can  only  say,  that  to  clothe,  feed,  secrete,  and  to  con- 
vey in  the  darkness  of  night,  poor,  wretched,  hunted  human  beings  flee- 
ing for  liberty,  to  suffer  social  ostracism,  and  to  run  the  risk  of  the  heavy 
penalties  prescribed  by  unholy  laws  for  so  doing,  required  the  highest 
type  of  Christian  men  and  women, — men  and  women  of  sagacity,  cool- 
ness, firmness,  courage,  and  benevolence  ;  rocks  of  adamant,  to  whom 
the  down-trodden  could  flock  for  relief  and  refuge.  A  great  aid  to  the 
ignorant  fugitive  was  that  every  slave  knew  the  "north  star,"  and,  fur- 
ther, that  if  he  followed  it  he  would  eventually  reach  the  land  of  free- 
dom. This  knowledge  enabled  thousands  to  reach  Canada.  All  slave- 
holders despised  this  "star." 

To  William  Wright,  of  Columbia,  Pennsylvania,  is  due  the  credit  of 
putting  into  practice  the  first  "underground  railroad"  for  the  freedom 
of  slaves.  There  was  no  State  organization  effected  until  about  1838, 

274 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

when,  in  Philadelphia,  Robert  Purvis  was  made  president  and  Jacob  C. 
White  secretary.  Then  the  system  grew,  and  before  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion our  whole  State  became  interlaced  with  roads.  We  had  a  route, 
too,  in  this  wilderness.  It  was  not  as  prominent  as  the  routes  in  the 
more  populated  portions  of  the  State.  I  am  sorry  that  I  am  unable  to 
write  a  complete  history  of  the  pure,  lofty,  generous  men  and  women  in 
our  county  who  worked  this  road.  They  were  Quakers  and  Methodists, 
and  the  only  ones  that  I  can  now  recall  were  Elijah  Heath  and  wife, 
Arad  Pearsall  and  wife,  James  Steadman  and  wife,  and  the  Rev.  Chris- 
topher Fogle  and  his  first  and  second  wife,  of  Brookville  (Rev.  Fogle 
was  an  agent  and  conductor  in  Troy),  Isaac  P.  Carmalt  and  his  wife,  of 
near  Clayville,  James  A.  Minish,  of  Punxsutawney,  and  William  Coon 
and  his  wife,  in  Clarington,  now  Forest  County.  Others,  no  doubt,  were 
connected,  but  the  history  is  lost.  Our  route  started  from  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  and  extended,  ria  Bellefonte,  Grampian  Hills,  Punxsutawney, 
Brookville,  Clarington,  and  Warren,  to  Lake  Erie  and  Canada.  A  branch 
road  came  from  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  to  Clayville.  At  Indiana,  Penn- 
sylvania, Dr.  Mitchell,  James  Moorhead,  James  Hamilton,  William 
Banks,  and  a  few  others  were  agents  in  the  cause. 

In  an  estimate  based  on  forty  years,  there  escaped  annually  from  the 
slave  States  fifteen  hundred  slaves ;  but  still  the  slave  population  doubled 
in  these  States  every  twenty  years.  Fugitives  travelled  north  usually  in 
twos,  but  in  two  or  three  instances  they  went  over  this  wilderness  route 
in  a  small  army,  as  an  early  paper  of  Brookville  says,  editorially, 
"Twenty-five  fugitive  slaves  passed  through  Brookville  Monday  morn- 
ing on  their  way  to  Canada."  Again:  "On  Monday  morning,  Oc- 
tober 14,  1850,  forty  armed  fugitive  slaves  passed  through  Brookville  to 
Canada. ' ' 

Smedley's  "Underground  Railroad"  says,  "Heroes  have  had  their 
deeds  of  bravery  upon  battle-fields  emblazoned  in  history,  and  their 
countrymen  have  delighted  to  do  them  honor ;  statesmen  have  been  re- 
nowned, and  their  names  have  been  engraved  upon  the  enduring  tablets 
of  fame ;  philanthropists  have  had  their  acts  of  benevolence  and  charity 
proclaimed  to  an  appreciating  world  ;  ministers,  pure  and  sincere  in 
their  gospel  labors,  have  had  their  teachings  collected  in  religious  books 
that  generations  might  profit  by  the  reading ;  but  these  moral  heroes, 
out  of  the  fulness  of  their  hearts,  with  neither  expectations  of  reward  nor 
hope  of  remembrance,  have,  within  the  privacy  of  their  own  homes,  at 
an  hour  when  the  outside  world  was  locked  in  slumber,  clothed,  fed, 
and  in  the  darkness  of  night,  whether  in  calm  or  in  storms,  assisted  poor 
degraded,  hunted  human  beings  on  their  way  to  liberty. 

%%•*•%.•%.-;£.•%.'%•'%• 

"  When,  too,  newspapers  refused  to  publish  antisiavery  speeches,  but 
poured  forth  such  denunciations  as,  '  The  people  will  hereafter  consider 

275 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

abolitionists  as  out  of  the  pale  of  legal  and  conventional  protection 
which  society  affords  its  honest  and  well-meaning  members,'  that 
'  they  will  be  treated  as  robbers  and  pirates,  and  as  the  enemies  of  man- 
kind ;'  when  Northern  merchants  extensively  engaged  in  Southern  trade 
told  abolitionists  that,  as  their  pecuniary  interests  were  largely  connected 
with  those  of  the  South,  they  could  not  afford  to  allow  them  to  succeed 
in  their  efforts  to  overthrow  slavery,  that  millions  upon  millions  of  dol- 
lars were  due  them  from  Southern  merchants,  the  payment  of  which 
would  be  jeopardized,  and  that  they  would  put  them  down  by  fair  means 
if  they  could,  by  foul  means  if  they  must,  we  must  concede  that  it  re- 
quired the  manhood  of  a  man  and  the  unflinching  fortitude  of  a  woman, 
upheld  by  a  full  and  firm  Christian  faith,  to  be  an  abolitionist  in  those 
days,  and  especially  an  '  underground  railroad'  agent." 

SLAVE   TRAFFIC   AND   TRADE. 

"  And  he  that  stealeth  a  man,  and  selleth  him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his  hand,  he 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death." — Exod.  xxi.  16. 

In  the  United  States  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787  the  Carolinas, 
Georgia,  and  New  York  wanted  the  slave-trade  continued  and  more  slave 
property.  To  the  credit  of  all  the  other  colonies,  they  wanted  the  foreign 
slave  traffic  stopped.  After  much  wrangling  and  discussion  a  compromise 
was  effected  by  which  no  enactment  was  to  restrain  the  slave-trade  before 
the  year  1808.  By  this  compromise  the  slave-trade  was  to  continue 
t\venty-one  years.  On  March  2,  1807,  Congress  passed  an  act  to  pro- 
hibit the  importation  of  any  more  slaves  after  the  close  of  that  year. 
But  the  profits  from  slave  trading  were  enormous,  and  the  foreign  traffic 
continued  in  spite  of  all  law.  It  was  found  that  if  one  ship  out  of  every 
three  was  captured,  the  profits  still  would  be  large.  Out  of  every  ten 
negroes  stolen  in  Africa,  seven  died  before  they  reached  this  market.  A 
negro  cost  in  Africa  twenty  dollars  in  gunpowder,  old  clothes,  etc.,  and 
readily  brought  five  hundred  dollars  in  the  United  States.  Everything 
connected  with  the  trade  was  brutal.  The  daily  ration  of  a  captive  on  a 
vessel  was  a  pint  of  water  and  a  half-pint  of  rice.  Sick  negroes  were 
simply  thrown  overboard.  This  traffic  "  for  revolting,  heartless  atrocity 
would  make  the  devil  wonder."  The  profits  were  so  large  that  no  slave- 
trader  was  ever  convicted  in  this  country  until  1861,  when  Nathaniel 
Gordon,  of  the  slaver  "  Erie,"  was  convicted  in  New  York  City  and  exe- 
cuted. It  was  estimated  that  from  thirty  to  sixty  thousand  slaves  were 
carried  to  the  Southern  States  every  year  by  New  York  vessels  alone.  A 
wicked  practice  was  carried  on  between  the  slave  and  free  States  in  this 
way.  A  complete  description  of  a  free  colored  man  or  woman  would  be 
sent  from  a  free  State  to  parties  living  in  a  slave  State.  This  description 
would  then  be  published  in  hand-bills,  etc.,  as  that  of  a  runaway  slave. 

276 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

These  bills  would  be  widely  circulated.  In  a  short  time  the  person  so 
described  would  be  arrested,  kidnapped  in  the  night,  overpowered,  man- 
acled, carried  away,  and  sold.  He  had  no  legal  right,  no  friends,  and 
was  only  a  "  nigger."  Free  colored  men  on  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania 
have  left  home  to  visit  a  neighbor  and  been  kidnapped  in  broad  day- 
light, and  never  heard  of  after.  A  negro  man  or  woman  would  sell  for 
from  one  to  two  thousand  dollars,  and  this  was  more  profitable  than  horse- 
stealing  or  highway  robbery,  and  attended  with  but  little  danger.  A  re- 
port in  this  or  any  other  neighborhood  that  kidnappers  were  around 
struck  terror  to  the  heart  of  every  free  colored  man  or  woman.  Negroes 
in  Brookville  have  left  their  shanty  homes  to  sleep  in  the  stables  of 
friends  when  such  rumors  were  afloat. 

Before  giving  any  official  records  in  this  history,  I  must  pause  to 
present  the  fact  that  one  Butler  B.  Amos,  an  all-around  thief,  then  in 
this  county,  was,  in  1834,  in  our  jail,  sentenced  to  "hard  labor"  under 
the  law. 

Early  convicts  were  sentenced  to  hard  labor  in  the  county  jail,  and 
had  to  make  split-brooms  from  hickory-wood,  as  will  be  seen  from  this 
agreement  between  the  commissioners  and  jailer : 

"Received,  Brookville,  Sept.  29111,  1834,  of  the  commissioners  of 
Jefferson  county,  thirty-seven  broomsticks,  which  I  am  to  have  made 
into  brooms  by  Butler  B.  Amos,  lately  convicted  in  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  of  said  county  for  larceny  and  sentenced  to  hard  labour  in  the 
gaol  of  said  county  for  six  months,  and  I  am  also  to  dispose  of  said 
brooms  when  made  as  the  said  commissioners  may  direct,  and  account 
to  them  for  the  proceeds  thereof  as  the  law  directs.  Received  also  one 
shaving  horse,  one  hand  saw,  one  drawing  knife  and  One  jack  knife  to 
enable  him  to  work  the  above  brooms,  which  I  am  to  return  to  the  said 
commissioners  at  the  expiration  of  said  term  of  servitude  of  the  said 
Butler  B.  Amos,  with  reasonable  wear  and  tear. 

"  ARAD  PEARSALL,  Gaoler." 

Amos  had  been  arrested  for  theft,  as  per  the  following  advertisement 
in  the  Jeffersonian  of  the  annexed  date : 

"Commonwealth  vs.  Butler  B.  Amos.  Defendant  committed  to 
September  term,  1834.  Charge  of  Larceny.  And  whereas  the  act  of 
General  Assembly  requires  that  notice  be  given,  I  therefore  hereby  give 
notice  that  the  following  is  an  inventory  of  articles  found  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  said  Butler  B.  Amos  and  supposed  to  have  been  stolen,  viz.  : 
i  canal  shovel,  i  grubbing  hoe,  2  hand  saws,  2  bake  kettles,  i  curry 
comb,  2  wolf  traps,  i  iron  bound  bucket,  i  frow,  3  log  chains,  i  piece 
of  log  chain,  2  drawing  chains,  i  piece  of  drawing  chain,  i  set  of  breast 
chains,  i  hand  ax,  &c.  The  above  mentioned  articles  are  now  in  pos- 

277 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

session  of  the  subscriber,  where  those  interested  can  see  and  examine  for 

themselves. 

«ALX.  M'KNIGHT, /.  P. 
11  BROOKVILLE,  August  25th,  1834." 

A  few  years  after  this  sentence  was  complied  with  Amos  left  Brook- 
ville  on  a  flat-boat  for  Kentucky,  where  he  was  dirked  in  a  row  and 
killed.  Although  Amos  was  a  thief,  he  had  a  warm  "  heart"  in  him,  as 
will  be  seen  farther  on. 

The  earliest  official  record  I  can  find  of  our  underground  road  is  in 
fat  Jeffersonian  of  September  15,  1834,  which  contained  these  advertise- 
ments,— viz. : 

"$150   REWARD. 

"ESCAPED  from  the  jail  of  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania,  last 
night — a  black  man,  called  Charles  Brown,  a  slave  to  the  infant  heirs  of 
Richard  Baylor,  deceased,  late  of  Jefferson  county  Virginia ;  he  is  about 
5  feet  7  inches  high,  and  24  years  of  age,  of  a  dark  complexion — pleasant 
look,  with  his  upper  teeth  a  little  open  before.  I  was  removing  him  to 
the  State  of  Virginia,  by  virtue  of  a  certificate  from  Judges'  Shippen, 
Irvin  6°  M' Kee,  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  the  county  of  Venango, 
as  my  warrant,  to  return  him  to  the  place  from  which  he  fled.  I  will 
give  a  reward  of  $150  to  any  person  who  will  deliver  him  to  the  Jailor  of 
Jefferson  county  Virginia,  and  if  that  sum  should  appear  to  be  inadequate 
to  the  expense  and  trouble,  it  shall  be  suitably  increased. 

"JOHN   YATES, 

"  Guardian  of  the  said  heirs. 
"Sept.  15,  1834." 

"#150    REWARD!! 

"ESCAPED  from  the  Jail  of  Jefferson  county;  Pennsylvania  last 
night,  a  black  man,  nam'd  WILLIAM  PARKER  alias  ROBINSON  a 
slave,  belonging  to  the  undersigned :  aged  about  26  years,  and  about  5 
feet  6  inches  high ;  broad  shoulders ;  full  round  face,  rather  a  grave 
countenance,  and  thick  lips,  particularly  his  upper  lip,  stammers  a  little, 
and  rather  slow  in  speech. — I  was  removing  him  to  the  State  of  Virginia, 
by  virtue  of  a  cirtificate,  from  Judges  Shippen  and  Irvin,  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  of  Venango  county ;  as  my  warrant  to  return  him  to  the 
place,  from  which  he  fled.  I  will  give  a  reward  of  $150,  to  any  person, 
who  will  deliver  him  to  the  Jailor  of  Jefferson  county  Virginia ;  and  if 
that  sum  should  appear  to  be  inadequate  to  the  expense  and  trouble,  it 
shall  be  suitably  increased. 

"  STEPHEN  DELGARN. 

"September  15,  1834." 

Arad  Pearsall  was  then  our  jailer,  and  he  was  a  Methodist  and  an 
abolitionist. 

278 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 

Our  pioneer  jail,  as  I  remember  it,  was  constructed  from  stone  spawls, 
with  wooden  doors  and  big  iron  locks.  For  safety,  the  prisoners  were 
usually  shackled  and  handcuffed ,  and  they  were  fed  on  ' '  bread  and  water. ' ' 
When  recaptured,  escaped  slaves  were  lodged  in  county  jails  and  shackled 
for  safety.  These  slaves  had  been  so  lodged,  while  their  captors  slept  on 
beds  "  as  soft  as  downy  pillows  are."  Charles  Brown  and  William  Parker 
reached  Canada.  Heath  and  Steadman  furnished  augers  and  files  to  the 
thief  Amos,  who  filed  the  shackles  loose  from  these  human  beings,  and 
with  the  augers  he  bored  the  locks  off  the  doors.  Pearsall,  Heath,  and 
Steadman  did  the  rest.  Some  person  or  persons  in  Brookville  were 
mean  enough  to  inform,  by  letter  or  otherwise,  Delgarn  and  Yates  that 
Judge  Heath,  Arad  Pearsall,  and  James  Steadman  had  liberated  and  run 
off  their  slaves,  whereupon  legal  steps  were  taken  by  these  men  to  recover 
damages  for  the  loss  of  property  in  the  United  States  Court  at  Pittsburg, 
the  minutes  of  which  I  here  reproduce  : 

"  CLERK'S  OFFICE,  UNITED  STATES  CIRCUIT  COURT, 

"  WESTERN  DISTRICT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

"  PITTSBURG,  October  9,  1897. 
"W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Judge  Buffington  has  referred  your  letter  to  me,  and  I 
enclose  a  pencil  memoranda  of  the  proceedings  in  the  two  suits  against 
Heath  and  others. 

"  This  is  about  as  full  as  we  can  give  it,  except  the  testimony  in  so  far 
as  it  appears  in  depositions  filed.  Most  of  the  evidence  was  oral,  the 
names  of  the  witnesses  appearing  in  subpoenas  on  file. 

"Yours  truly, 

"  H.  D.  GAMBLE, 
"  Clerk  United  States  Circuit  Court." 

"At  No.  4  of  October  Term,  1835,  in  tne  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  Western  District  of  Pennsylvania,  suit  in  trespass,  brought 
July  10, 1835,  by  Thomas  G.  Baylor  and  Anna  Maria  Baylor,  minors,  by 
John  Yates,  Esq.,  their  guardian,  all  citizens  of  Virginia,  against  Elijah 
Heath,  James  M.  Steadman,  and  Arad  Pearsall. 

"  At  No.  5,  October  Term,  1835,  sint  in  trespass  by  Stephen  Delgarn, 
a  citizen  of  Virginia,  against  same  defendants  as  in  No.  4,  brought  at 
same  time.  Burke  and  Metcalf,  Esqs.,  were  attorneys  for  the  plaintiffs 
in  each  case,  and  Alexander  M.  Foster  for  the  defendants. 

"  Suit,  as  No.  4,  was  tried  on  May  3,  4,  and  5,  1836,  and  on  May  6, 
1836,  verdict  rendered  for  plaintiff  for  six  hundred  dollars. 

"Suit  No.  5  was  tried  May  6  and  7,  1836,  and  verdict  rendered  May 
7,  1836,  for  eight  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  November  24,  1836, 
judgments  and  costs  collected  upon  execution  and  paid  to  plaintiffs' 
attorneys. 

279 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  In  suit  No.  4  the  allegations  as  set  forth  in  the  declarations  filed 
are :  That  plaintiffs,  citizens  of  Virginia,  were  the  owners  of  '  a  certain 
negro  man'  named  Charles  Brown,  otherwise  '  Charles,'  of  great  value, — 
to  wit,  of  the  value  of  one  thousand  dollars, — to  which  said  negro  they 
were  lawfully  entitled  as  a  servant  or  slave,  and  to  his  labor  and  service 
as  such,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  That  on  or  about 
the  ist  day  of  August,  1834,  the  said  negro  man  absconded,  and  went 
away  from  and  out  of  the  custody  of  said  plaintiffs,  and  afterwards  went 
and  came  into  the  Western  District  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  the  said  plain- 
tiffs, by  their  guardian,  did,  on  or  about  the  i3th  day  of  September,  1834, 
pursue  the  said  servant  or  slave  into  the  said  Western  District  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  finding  the  said  servant  or  slave  in  said  district,  and  there 
and  then  claimed  him  as  a  fugitive  from  labor,  and  caused  him  to  be  ar- 
rested and  brought  before  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
Venango  County,  in  said  Western  District  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  it  ap- 
pearing upon  sufficient  evidence  before  them  produced  in  due  and  legal 
form,  that  the  said  negro  man  did,  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  owe  ser- 
vice and  labor  unto  said  plaintiffs,  and  that  the  said  negro  man  had  fled 
from  the  service  of  his  said  master  in  Virginia  into  Venango  County, 
Pennsylvania,  aforesaid  ;  and  the  said  plaintiffs,  by  their  guardian,  did, 
on  the  said  i8th  day  of  September,  1834,  obtain  from  the  said  judges  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Venango  County  aforesaid  a  warrant  for 
the  removal  of  the  said  negro  man  to  Virginia  aforesaid  ;  and  the  said 
guardian  was  returning  and  taking  with  him,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the 
said  warrant,  said  servant  or  slave  to  the  said  plaintiffs'  residence  in  Vir- 
ginia; and  while  so  returning — to  wit,  on  or  about  the  day  and  year 
last  aforesaid — the  said  guardian  at  Jefferson  County,  in  the  Western  Dis- 
trict of  Pennsylvania  aforesaid,  did,  with  the  assent  and  by  the  permis- 
sion of  the  person  or  persons  having  charge  of  the  public  jail  or  prison  in 
and  for  said  County  of  Jefferson,  place  the  said  servant  or  slave  in  said 
jail  or  prison  for  safe-keeping,  until  he,  the  said  guardian,  could  reasonably 
proceed  on  his  journey  with  the  said  aforesaid  servant  or  slave  to  Virginia 
aforesaid.  Yet  the  said  defendants,  well  knowing  the  said  negro  man  to 
be  the  servant  or  slave  of  the  plaintiffs  and  to  be  their  lawful  property, 
and  that  they,  the  said  plaintiffs,  by  their  guardian  aforesaid,  were  enti- 
tled to  have  the  possession  and  custody  of  him,  and  to  have  and  enjoy 
the  profit  and  advantage  of  his  labor  and  services ;  but  contriving  and 
unlawfully  intending  to  injure  the  said  plaintiffs,  and  to  deprive  them  of 
all  benefits,  profits,  and  advantages  of  and  which  would  accrue  to  these 
said  plaintiffs  from  said  services,  then  and  there,  on  or  about  the  day 
and  year  aforesaid  at  Jefferson  County  aforesaid,  did  secretly  and  in  the 
night-time  unlawfully,  wrongfully,  and  unjustly  release,  take,  and  assist 
in  releasing  and  taking,  or  procure  to  be  released  or  taken,  the  said  negro 
man,  then  being  as  aforesaid  the  servant  or  slave  of  the  said  plaintiffs, 

280 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

from  and  out  of  the  said  prison  or  jail,  where  said  servant  or  slave  was 
placed  for  safe-keeping  by  said  guardian  as  aforesaid ;  whereby  said  ser- 
vant or  slave  escaped,  ran  off,  and  was  and  is  wholly  lost  to  said  plaintiffs, 
and  said  plaintiffs  deprived  of  all  the  profits,  benefits,  and  advantages 
which  might  and  otherwise  would  have  arisen  and  accrued  to  said  plain- 
tiffs from  the  said  services  of  said  servant  or  slave. 

"The  allegations  and  declarations  in  No.  5  were  materially  the  same 
as  in  No.  4." 

Isaac  P.  Carmalt  was  co-operating  with  Heath  and  others  at  this 
time.  Heath  was  a  Methodist,  and  so  was  Pearsall.  Heath  moved  away 
about  1846,  and  Pearsall  died  in  Brookville  about  1857. 

Isaac  P.  Carmalt  was  a  Quaker,  a  relative  of  William  Penn,  and  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1 794.  He  learned  the  carpenter 
trade.  In  1818  he  left  his  native  city  with  two  horses  and  a  dearborn 
wagon,  and  in  three  weeks  he  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains  and 
located  in  Indiana  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1821  he  moved  to  Punx- 
sutawney.  In  1822  he  bought  a  farm  near  Clayville.  In  1823  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Hannah  A.  Gaskill,  a  Quakeress,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
But  little  can  be  given  of  his  great  work  in  this  direction  owing  to  his 
death.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Lowry,  writes  me  as  follows  : 

"The  last  slave  that  came  to  our  house  was  after  the  insurrection  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  He  claimed  to  have  been  in  the  insurrection.  He 
came  with  a  colored  man  who  lived  near  Grampian  Hills,  whose  name 
was  George  Hartshorn.  This  one  was  a  mulatto,  and  claimed  to  be  the 
son  of  Judge  Crittenden,  who,  I  think,  held  some  important  office  at 
Washington, — Senator  or  Congressman.  The  slave  was  very  nervous 
when  he  came,  and  asked  for  a  raw  onion,  which,  he  said,  was  good  to 
quiet  the  nerves.  He  was  also  quite  suspicious  of  Joe  Walkup,  who  was 
working  at  our  house  at  the  time.  He  called  him  out  and  gave  him  his 
revolver,  and  told  him  he  would  rather  he  would  blow  his  brains  out 
than  to  inform  on  him,  for  if  he  was  taken  he  would  certainly  be  hung. 
He  left  during  the  night  for  Brookville.  Most  of  the  fugitives  came 
through  Centre  and  Clearfield  Counties.  One  of  the  underground  rail- 
road stations  was  in  Centre  County,  near  Bellefonte,  kept  by  a  friend  by 
the  name  of  Iddings,  who  sent  them  to  the  next  station,  which  was  Gram- 
pian Hills,  from  thence  to  our  house,  and  from  here  to  Brookville.  I  re- 
member well  one  Sabbath  when  I  was  coming  home  from  church ;  Lib 
Wilson  was  coming  part  way  with  me.  We  noticed  a  colored  man  ahead 
of  us.  I  paid  but  little  attention,  but  she  said,  '  I  know  that  is  a  slave.' 
I  knew  Wilson's  pro  slavery  sentiments,  and  replied  very  carelessly  that 
'  there  was  a  colored  family  living  near  Grampian  Hills.  I  supposed  he 
was  going  to  our  house,  as  we  had  been  there  a  short  time  before,  want- 
ing to  trade  horses  for  oxen  to  haul  timber  with.'  But  as  soon  as  she  left 
me  I  quickened  my  pace  and  tried  to  overtake  him.  I  was  afraid  he 
19  281 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

might  go  through  Clayville,  where  I  knew  there  was  a  perfect  nest  of  pro- 
slavery  men,  who  had  made  their  threats  of  what  they  would  do  if  father 
assisted  any  more  slaves  to  gain  their  freedom.  Among  them  were  the 
Gillespies,  who  boasted  of  being  overseers  or  slave-drivers  while  they 
were  in  the  South.  He  kept  ahead  of  me  and  stopped  at  James  Minish's, 
and  I  thought  it  was  all  over  with  him,  as  they  and  the  Gillespies  were 
connected,  and  most  likely  were  of  the  same  sentiment  in  regard  to 
slavery.  But  imagine  my  surprise  when  I  came  up,  Mr.  Minish  handed 
me  a  slip  of  paper  with  the  name  of  '  Carmalt'  on  it,  and  remarked  that 
I  was  one  of  the  Carmalt  girls.  (I  suppose  it  was  the  name  of  a  station.) 
But  he  hurried  the  fugitive  on,  and  I  directed  him  to  go  up  over  the  hill 
through  the  woods.  I  then  hurried  home  for  father  to  go  and  meet  him. 
But  when  I  got  home,  father  was  not  there,  so  I  put  on  my  sun-bonnet 
and  went  but  a  short  distance,  when  I  met  him.  There  were  several  per- 
sons in  the  house,  so  I  slipped  him  in  the  back  way.  He  seemed  to  be 
in  great  misery  and  could  not  eat  anything,  but  asked  for  something  to 
bathe  his  foot  in.  Then  he  gave  a  short  account  of  his  escape  from 
slavery  three  years  previous.  After  escaping  he  stopped  with  a  man 
near  Harrisburg,  at  what  he  called  Yellow  Breeches  Creek,  and  worked 
for  him,  during  which  time  he  married  and  had  a  little  home  of  his  own. 
One  day  when  ploughing  in  the  field  he  discovered  his  old  master  from 
whom  he  had  escaped  and  two  other  men  coming  towards  him.  He 
dropped  everything  and  ran  to  his  benefactor's  house,  and  told  him  whom 
he  had  seen.  His  benefactor  then  pulled  off  his  coat  and  boots  and  di- 
rected him  to  put  them  on,  as  he  was  in  his  bare  feet,  having  left  his  own 
coat  and  boots  in  the  field.  Being  closely  pursued,  he  ran  to  the  barn,  and 
the  men  followed  him.  He  was  then  compelled  to  jump  from  a  high 
window,  and,  striking  a  sharp  stone,  he  received  a  severe  cut  in  one  heel, 
not  having  had  time  to  put  on  the  boots  given  him  by  his  benefactor. 
When  he  came  to  our  house  he  was  suffering  terribly,  not  having  had  an 
opportunity  to  get  the  wound  dressed.  His  benefactor  had  charged  him 
not  to  tarry  on  the  road.  But  father,  seeing  the  seriousness  of  his 
wound,  persuaded  him  to  go  to  bed  until  midnight.  But  the  poor  fellow 
could  not  sleep,  but  moaned  with  pain.  We  gave  him  his  breakfast,1  and 
then  father  had  him  get  on  a  horse,  while  he  walked,  and  it  was  just 
breaking  day  when  they  arrived  at  Brookville.  A  gentleman  by  the  name 
of  Christopher  Fogle  was  waiting  to  receive  them.  We  heard  afterwards 
that  the  poor  slave  succeeded  in  reaching  Canada,  but  returned  for  his 
wife,  and  was  captured  and  taken  back  to  slavery. 

"  There  is  just  one  more  incident  that  I  will  mention,  which  occurred 
at  an  earlier  date.  One  morning  I  went  to  the  door  and  saw  four  large 
colored  men  hurrying  to  the  barn.  I  told  father,  and  he  went  out  and 
brought  them  in.  Our  breakfast  was  just  ready.  We  had  them  sit  down 
and  eat  as  fast  as  they  could,  taking  the  precaution  to  lock  the  door,  for 

282 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

several  persons  came  along  while  they  were  eating.  Father  noticed  that 
one  of  the  slaves  looked  dull  and  stupid,  and  inquired  if  he  was  sick. 
One  of  the  others  replied  that  he  was  only  a  little  donsey.  When  they 
were  through  eating,  father  hurried  them  to  the  woods  and  hid  them 
somewhere  near  the  old  school-house  then  on  the  farm.  When  father 
went  to  take  their  dinner  to  them,  the  one  said  he  was  still  a  little  donsey, 
and  then  showed  father  his  back.  His  shirt  was  sticking  to  his  back, 
He  had  been  terribly  whipped,  and  they  had  rubbed  salt  in  the  gashes. 
They  then  gave  a  short  history  of  their  escape.  They  said  they  had  a 
good  master  and  mistress,  but  their  master  had  died  and  the  estate  was 
sold.  The  master's  two  sons  then  sold  them,  and  they  were  to  be  taken  to 
the  rice-swamps  to  toil  their  lives  away.  They  were  determined  to  make 
their  escape,  but  the  one  who  had  been  so  terribly  whipped  was  captured 
and  taken  back.  Their  old  mistress  planned  and  assisted  him  to  make 
his  escape  by  dressing  him  as  a  coachman,  and  with  her  assistance  found 
his  way  to  Washington,  where  he  met  his  companions  and  friends. 
From  Washington  they  were  guided  by  the  north  star,  travelling  only 
by  night. 

"  I  think  but  few  fugitives  came  by  the  way  of  Indiana,  though  I  re- 
member of  hearing  father  tell  of  one  or  two  that  he  brought  with  him 
when  he  first  came  from  Indiana  who  had  escaped  by  way  of  Philadel- 
phia. I  think  most  came  through  Baltimore,  where  a  Quaker  friend  by 
the  name  of  Needles  assisted  the  runaways  through  this  branch  of  the 
underground  railroad.  From  Baltimore  they  came  through  the  Quaker 
settlements  in  Centre  and  Clearfield  Counties.  Father  was  the  only  one 
who  conveyed  them  from  our  house  near  Clayville  to  Brookville.  This 
he  generally  did  by  going  himself  or  by  sending  some  reliable  person 
with  them.  Father  concealed  a  man  from  Baltimore,  a  German,  who 
used  to  smuggle  slaves  through.  He  had  a  furniture  wagon,  in  which  he 
concealed  them,  but  was  discovered  and  put  in  jail  at  York,  Pennsylva- 
nia, but  he  escaped  to  Iddings,  near  Bellefonte,  thence  to  Grampian 
Hills,  and  from  there  to  father's,  where  he  worked  five  years.  He  then 
left,  and  moved  to  Ohio.  He  became  afraid  to  stay,  for  there  were  a 
few  who  had  an  inkling  of  his  history  and  knew  there  was  a  reward  of 
three  thousand  dollars  for  his  arrest.  One  day  in  going  to  his  work  he 
met  the  sheriff  from  Baltimore,  who  knew  him  well,  and  told  him  to 
keep  out  of  his  sight,  that  there  was  a  big  reward  offered  for  him.  When 
he  was  first  arrested  he  had  a  colored  girl  concealed  in  a  bureau  which 
he  was  hauling  on  his  wagon." 

Christopher  Fogle  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  1800.  His  father 
came  with  his  family  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1817,  and  Christo- 
pher learned  the  tanning  trade  in  Germantown.  On  June  26,  1826,  he  was 
married  in  Dauphin  County,  Pennsylvania.  About  this  time  he  joined 
the  Methodist  Church.  In  1835  he  migrated  to  Heathville,  Jefferson 

283 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

County,  Pennsylvania,  and  built  a  tannery.  In  1843  ne  moved  to  Troy 
and  had  a  tannery.  This  he  afterwards  sold  out  to  Hulett  Smith,  when 
he  moved  to  Brookville  and  purchased  from  Elijah  Heath  and  A.  Colwell 
what  was  called  the  David  Henry  tannery.  Rev.  Fogle  was  in  the  un- 
derground railroad  business  in  Heathville,  and  Mrs.  Jane  Fogle,  his 
second  wife,  who  still  survives  him,  informs  me  that  he  continued  in  that 
business  until  the  war  for  the  Union,  and  she  assisted  him.  The  points 
in  and  around  Brookville  where  the  Rev.  Fogle  lived  and  secreted  fugi- 
tives were,  first,  the  old  tannery ;  second,  the  K.  L.  Blood  farm ;  third, 
the  little  yellow  house  where  Benscotter's  residence  now  is;  and,  fourth, 
the  old  house  formerly  owned  by  John  J.  Thompson,  opposite  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church.  Officers  frequently  were  close  after  these  fugitives, 
and  sometimes  were  in  Brookville,  while  the  agents  had  the  colored 
people  hid  in  the  woods.  The  next  station  on  this  road  to  Canada  was 
at  the  house  of  William  Coon,  in  Clarington,  Pennsylvania.  Coon  would 
ferry  the  slaves  over  the  Clarion,  feed,  refresh,  and  start  them  through 
the  wilderness  for  Warren,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  Canada  was  finally 
reached,  the  poor  fugitive  could  sing  with  a  broken  heart  at  times,  thinking 
of  his  wife,  children,  and  parents  yet  in  bonds, — 

"  No  more  master's  call  for  me, 

No  more,  no  more. 
No  more  driver's  lash  for  me, 

No  more,  no  more. 
No  more  auction-block  for  me, 

No  more,  no  more. 
No  more  bloodhounds  hunt  for  me, 

No  more,  no  more. 
I'm  free,  I'm  free  at  last;  at  last, 

Thank  God,  I'm  free!" 

INDENTURED   APPRENTICES,  WHITE   SLAVERY,  AND   REDEMP- 

TIONERS. 

Colored  people  were  not  the  only  class  held  in  servitude  by  Pennsyl- 
vanians.  Another  form  of  slavery  was  carried  on  by  speculators  called 
Newlanders.  These  traders  in  "  white  people"  were  protected  by  custom 
and  legal  statutes.  They  ran  vessels  regularly  to  European  seaports,  and 
induced  people  to  emigrate  to  Pennsylvania.  By  delay  and  expensive 
formalities  these  emigrants  were  systematically  robbed  during  the  trip  of 
any  money  they  might  have,  and  upon  their  arrival  at  Philadelphia  would 
be  in  a  strange  country,  without  money  or  friends  to  pay  their  passage  or 
to  lift  their  goods  from  the  villanous  captains  and  owners  of  these  ves- 
sels which  brought  them  to  the  wharves  of  Philadelphia.  Imagine  the 
destitute  condition  of  these  emigrants.  Under  the  law  of  imprisonment 
for  debt  the  captain  or  merchant  either  sold  these  people  or  imprisoned 
them. 

284 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  Newlanders  were  the  first  German  emigrants  to  Pennsylvania. 
Actuated  by  sinister  motives,  the  Newlander  would  return  to  Germany, 
and  rely  on  his  personal  appearance  and  flattering  tongue  to  mislead  and 
induce  all  classes,  from  the  minister  down  to  the  lowest  strata  of  human- 
ity, to  migrate  to  the  New  World.  The  Newlanders  would  receive  from 
the  owner  or  captain  of  a  vessel  a  stipulated  sum  per  passenger.  By  arts 
and  representations  the  Newlander  ingratiated  himself  into  the  confidence 
of  the  emigrant,  securing  possession  of  his  property,  and  before  taking 
passage  the  emigrant  had  to  subscribe  to  a  written  contract  in  English, 
which  enabled  the  Newlander  the  more  fully  to  pluck  his  victim,  for 
when  the  vessel  arrived  at  Philadelphia  the  list  of  passengers  and  their 
agreements  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  merchants.  The  Newlander 
managed  it  so  that  the  emigrant  would  be  in  his  debt,  and  then  the  poor 
foreigners  had  to  be  sold  for  debt.  The  merchants  advertised  the  cargo  ; 
the  place  of  sale  on  the  ship.  The  purchasers  had  to  enter  the  ship, 
make  the  contract,  take  their  purchase  to  the  merchant  and  pay  the  price, 
and  then  legally  bind  the  transaction  before  a  magistrate.  Unmarried 
people  and  young  people,  of  course,  were  more  readily  sold,  and  brought 
better  prices.  Aged  and  decrepit  persons  were  poor  sale ;  but  if  they  had 
healthy  children,  these  children  were  sold  at  good  prices  for  the  combined 
debt,  and  to  different  masters  and  in  different  States,  perhaps  never  to  see 
each  other  in  this  world.  The  parents  then  were  turned  loose  to  beg. 
The  time  of  sale  was  from  two  to  seven  years  for  about  fifty  dollars  of  our 
money.  The  poor  people  on  board  the  ship  were  prisoners,  and  could 
neither  go  ashore  themselves  or  send  their  baggage  until  they  paid  what 
they  did  not  owe.  These  captains  made  more  money  out  of  the  deaths  of 
their  passengers  than  they  did  from  the  living,  as  this  gave  them  a  chance 
to  rob  chests  and  sell  children.  This  was  a  cruel,  murdering  trade.  Every 
cruel  device  was  resorted  to  in  order  to  gain  gold  through  the  misfortune 
of  these  poor  people.  One  John  Stedman,  in  1753,  bought  a  license  in 
Holland  that  no  captain  or  merchant  could  load  any  passengers  unless  he 
had  two  thousand.  He  treated  these  deluded  people  so  cruelly  on  ship- 
board that  two  thousand  in  less  than  one  year  were  thrown  overboard. 
This  was  monopoly. 

As  will  be  seen  in  this  chapter,  under  the  head  of  advertisements, 
many  of  the  leading  merchants  in  Philadelphia  were  engaged  in  this 
nefarious  business.  In  answer  to  the  daily  advertisements  of  "  Redemp- 
tioners  for  Sale,"  citizens  from  all  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  adjoining 
States  visited  Philadelphia  and  bought  these  poor  white  people,  the  same 
as  sheep  and  oxen.  Many  of  the  best  families  and  people  in  this  State 
are  descendants  of  these  "  white  slaves."  We  have  some  such  descendants 
in  Jefferson  County.  I  could  name  them. 

Under  this  debasing  system  of  indentured  apprentices,  the  legal  exist- 
ence of  African  slavery,  and  the  legalized  sale  of  white  emigrants  in  our 

285 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

State,  is  it  any  wonder  that  among  the  people  intemperance,  illiteracy, 
lottery  schemes  for  churches,  gambling,  and  profanity  was  the  rule,  or 
that  to  the  poor,  the  weak,  and  the  wretched  the  prisons  were  the  only 
homes  or  hospitals  for  them,  and  that  the  "  driver's  lash"  fell  alike  on  the 
back  of  the  old  and  young,  black  or  white,  minister,  school-master,  or 
layman  ? 

"  I  pity  the  mother,  careworn  and  weary, 
As  she  thinks  of  her  children  about  to  be  sold ; 
You  may  picture  the  bounds  of  the  rock-girdled  ocean, 
But  the  grief  of  that  mother  can  never  be  told." 

ACT   OF    1700. 

"AN  ACT  FOR  THE  BETTER  REGULATION  OF  SERVANTS  IN  THIS  PROVINCE 

AND  TERRITORIES. 

"  For  the  just  encouragement  of  servants  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duty,  and  the  prevention  of  their  deserting  their  masters'  or  owners'  ser- 
vice, Be  it  enacted,  That  no  servant,  bound  to  serve  his  or  her  time  in 
this  province,  or  counties  annexed,  shall  be  sold  or  disposed  of  to  any 
person  residing  in  any  other  province  or  government,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  said  servant,  and  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  the  county 
wherein  he  lives  or  is  sold,  under  the  penalty  of  ten  pounds ;  to  be  for- 
feited by  the  seller. 

"II.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  servant  shall  be  assigned 
over  to  another  person  by  any  in  this  province  or  territories,  but  in  the 
presence  of  one  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  county,  under  the  penalty  of 
ten  pounds ;  which  penalty,  with  all  others  in  this  act  expressed,  shall  be 
levied  by  distress  and  sale  of  goods  of  the  party  offending. 

"  III.  And  be  it  enacted,  That  every  servant  that  shall  faithfully  serve 
four  years,  or  more,  shall,  at  the  expiration  of  their  servitude,  have  a  dis- 
charge, and  shall  be  duly  clothed  with  two  complete  suits  of  apparel, 
whereof  one  shall  be  new,  and  shall  also  be  furnished  with  one  new  axe, 
one  grubbing-hoe,  and  one  weeding-hoe,  at  the  charge  of  their  master  or 
mistress. 

"  IV.  And  for  prevention  of  servants  quitting  their  masters'  service, 
Be  it  enacted,  That  if  any  servant  shall  absent  him  or  herself  from  the 
service  of  their  master  or  owner  for  the  space  of  one  day  or  more,  with- 
out leave  first  obtained  for  the  same,  every  such  servant  shall,  for  every 
such  day's  absence,  be  obliged  to  serve  five  days,  after  the  expiration  of 
his  or  her  time,  and  shall  further  make  such  satisfaction  to  his  or  her 
master  or  owner,  for  the  damages  and  charges  sustained  by  such  absence, 
as  the  respective  County  Court  shall  see  meet,  who  shall  order  as  well  the 
time  to  be  served,  as  other  recompense  for  damages  sustained. 

"  V.  And  whosoever  shall  apprehend  or  take  up  any  runaway  servant, 
and  shall  bring  him  or  her  to  the  Sheriff  of  the  county,  such  person  shall, 

286 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

for  every  such  servant,  if  taken  up  within  ten  miles  of  the  servant's  abode, 
receive  ten  shillings,  and  if  ten  miles  or  upwards,  twenty  shillings  reward, 
of  the  said  Sheriff,  who  is  hereby  required  to  pay  the  same,  and  forthwith 
to  send  notice  to  the  master  or  owner,  of  whom  he  shall  receive  five  shil- 
lings, prison  fees,  upon  delivery  of  the  said  servant,  together  with  all 
other  disbursements  and  reasonable  charges  for  and  upon  the  same. 

"VI.  And  to  prevent  the  clandestine  employing  of  other  men's  ser- 
vants, Be  it  enacted,  That  whosoever  shall  conceal  any  servant  of  this  prov- 
ince or  territories,  or  entertain  him  or  her  twenty-four  hours,  without  his 
or  her  master's  or  owner's  knowledge  and  consent,  and  shall  not  within 
the  said  time  give  an  account  thereof  to  some  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the 
county,  every  such  person  shall  forfeit  twenty  shillings  for  every  day's 
concealment.  And  in  case  the  said  Justice  shall  not,  within  twenty- four 
hours  after  complaint  made  to  him,  issue  his  warrant,  directed  to  the 
next  constable,  for  apprehending  and  seizing  the  said  servant,  and  com- 
mit him  or  her  to  the  custody  of  the  Sheriff  of  the  county,  such  Justice 
shall,  for  every  such  offence,  forfeit  five  pounds.  And  the  Sheriff  shall 
by  the  first  opportunity,  after  he  has  received  the  said  servant,  send 
notice  thereof  to  his  or  her  master  or  owner;  and  the  said  Sheriff, 
neglecting  or  omitting  in  any  case  to  give  notice  to  the  master  or  owner 
of  their  servant  being  in  his  custody  as  aforesaid,  shall  forfeit  five  shil- 
lings for  every  day's  neglect  after  an  opportunity  has  offered,  to  be 
proved  against  him  before  the  next  County  Court,  and  to  be  there 
adjudged. 

"VII.  And  for  the  more  effectual  discouragement  of  servants  imbez- 
zling  their  masters'  or  owners'  goods,  Be  it  enacted,  That  whosoever 
shall  clandestinely  deal  or  traffic  with  any  servant,  white  or  black,  for  any 
kind  of  goods  or  merchandise,  without  leave  or  order  from  his  or  her 
master  or  owner,  plainly  signified  or  appearing,  shall  forfeit  treble  the 
value  of  such  goods  to  the  owner ;  and  the  servant  if  a  white,  shall  make 
satisfaction  to  his  or  her  master  or  owner  by  servitude,  after  the  expira- 
tion of  his  or  her  time,  to  double  the  value  of  the  said  goods ;  And  if  the 
servant  be  a  black,  he  or  she  shall  be  severely  whipped,  in  the  most  public 
place  of  the  township  where  the  offence  was  committed." 


ACT   OF  1705. 

"  SECTION  2.  Provided,  That  no  person  shall  be  kept  in  prison  for 
debt  or  fines,  longer  than  the  second  day  of  the  next  session  after  his  or 
her  commitment,  unless  the  plaintiff  shall  make  it  appear  that  the  person 
imprisoned  hath  some  estate  that  he  will  not  produce,  in  which  case  the 
court  shall  examine  all  persons  suspected  to  be  privy  to  the  concealing 
of  such  estate  ;  and  if  no  estate  sufficient  shall  be  found,  the  debtor  shall 
make  satisfaction  by  servitude  to  the  judgment  of  the  court  where  such 

287 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

actionjs  tried  (not  exceeding  seven  years  if  a  single  person,  and  under 
the  age  of  fifty  and  three  years,  or  five  years  if  a  married  man,  and  under 
the  age  of  forty  and  six  years)  if  the  plaintiff  require  it ;  but  if  the  plain- 
tiff refuse  such  manner  of  satisfaction,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the 
court  as  aforesaid,  then  and  in  such  case  the  prisoner  shall  be  discharged 
in  open  court. 

"SECTION  3.  Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be 
construed  to  subject  any  master  of  ship  or  other  vessel,  trading  into  this 
province  from  other  parts,  to  make  satisfaction  for  debt  by  servitude  as 
above  said." 

Up  to  1842  this  law  of  Pennsylvania  authorized  the  imprisonment  of 
men  for  debt.  The  act  of  July  12  of  that  year  abolished  such  imprison- 
ment. Quite  a  number  of  men  were  committed  to  the  old  jail  in  Brook- 
ville  because  of  their  inability  to  pay  their  debts.  Sometimes  their 
friends  paid  the  debt  for  them,  and  sometimes  they  came  out  under  the 
insolvent  debtor's  law.  Below  I  give  an  exact  copy  of  an  execution 
issued  by  'Squire  Corbett,  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Brookville: 

"  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  ss. 

"The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  to  James  Cochran,  constable 
of  borough,  greeting :  Whereas  judgment  against  Stephen  Tibbits  for  the 
sum  of  5  dollars  and  27  cents  and  the  costs  was  had  the  6th  day  of  Jany, 
'39,  before  me,  at  the  suit  of  Heath,  Dunham  &  Co. :  These  are  there- 
fore in  the  name  of  the  commonwealth,  to  command  you  to  levy  distress 
on  the  goods  and  chattels  of  the  said  Stephen  Tibbits,  and  make  sale 
thereof  according  to  law  to  the  amount  of  said  debt  and  costs,  and  what 
may  accrue  thereon,  and  make  return  to  me  in  twenty  days  from  the  date 
thereof;  and  for  want  of  goods  and  chattels  whereon  to  levy,  you  are 
commanded  to  convey  the  body  of  said  Stephen  Tibbits  to  the  jail  of  the 
said  county,  the  jailer  whereof  is  hereby  commanded  to  receive  the  same, 
in  safe  custody  to  keep  until  the  said  debt  and  costs  are  paid,  or  other- 
wise discharged  by  due  course  of  law.  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal 

the  15  day  of  May,  1841. 

"JAMES  CORBETT." 

This  execution  was  numbered  8n.  The  debt  was  $5.27  ;  interest,  60 
cents ;  justice's  costs,  25  cents ;  execution  and  return,  20}^  cents ;  total, 
$6.32^.  The  whole  sum  was  paid  May  26,  1841. 

By  the  act  passed  April  8,  1785,  entitled  "An  Act  for  establishing  the 
office  of  a  register  of  all  German  passengers  who  shall  arrive  at  the  port 
of  Philadelphia,  and  of  all  indentures  by  which  any  of  them  shall  be 
bound  servants  for  their  freight,  and  of  the  assigments  of  such  servants 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,"  it  was  provided  that  the  register  should  un- 
derstand and  speak  both  German  and  English  languages,  and  that  he 
could  have  "all  the  powers  and  authorities  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  as 

288 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

far  as  the  same  shall  be  required  for  the  support  and  efficiency  of  his 
office,  and  the  laws  respecting  the  importation  of  German  passengers  and 
binding  them  out  servants."  All  indentures  and  assignments  to  be  made 
and  acknowledged  before  the  register  or  his  deputy,  and  he  to  register 
all  indentures  or  assignments,  as  servants'  indentures  or  assignments. 

Under  the  act  for  regulating  the  importation  of  German  and  other 
passengers,  passed  February  7,  1818,  the  captain  was  compelled  to  give 
a  bill  of  lading  of  merchandise  to  passengers,  under  a  penalty  of  one 
hundred  dollars.  Passengers  to  be  discharged  on  payment  of  freight. 
When  passengers  were  sold  for  servitude,  the  indenture  to  be  acknowl- 
edged before  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  "but  no  master, 
captain,  owner,  or  consignee  of  any  ship  or  vessel  shall  separate  any 
husband  and  wife,  who  came  passengers  in  any  such  ship  or  vessel,  by 
disposing  of  them  to  different  masters  or  mistresses,  unless  by  mutual 
consent  of  such  husband  and  wife ;  nor  shall  any  passenger,  without  his 
or  her  consent,  be  disposed  of  to  any  person  residing  out  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, under  the  penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars."  The  goods  of 
each  passenger  to  be  a  pledge  for  freight. 

AN   ACT   FOR   THE   RELIEF   OF   REDEMPTIONERS. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  several  provisions  of 
an  act  of  Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth,  passed  the  twenty-ninth  day 
of  September,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy,  entitled  '  An  Act 
for  the  regulation  of  apprentices  within  this  province,'  and  of  an  act 
passed  the  eleventh  day  of  April,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine,  entitled  a  supplement  to  the  act,  entitled  '  An  Act  for  the  regula- 
tion of  apprentices,'  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  extended  to  all  Redemp- 
tioners  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years. "  Passed  pth  February,  1820. 

ACT   OF   SEPTEMBER   29,  1770. 

"  SECTION  i.  All  and  every  person  or  persons  that  shall  be  bound  by 
indenture,  to  serve  an  apprentice  in  any  art,  mystery,  labour,  or  occupa- 
tion, with  the  assent  of  his  or  her  parent,  guardian  or  next  friend,  or 
with  the  assent  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  approbation  of  any  two 
Justices,  although  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  shall  be  within  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  at  the  time  of  making  their  several  indentures,  shall 
be  bound  to  serve  the  time  in  their  respective  indentures  contained,  so 
as  such  time  or  term  of  years  of  such  apprentice,  if  female,  do  expire  at 
or  before  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  and  if  a  male,  at  or  before  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  as  fully  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if  the  same 
apprentices  were  of  full  age  at  the  time  of  making  the  said  indentures. 

"  SECTION  2.  If  any  master  or  mistress  shall  misuse,  abuse,  or  evilly 

289 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

treat,  or  shall  not  discharge  his  or  her  duty  towards  his  or  her  apprentice, 
according  to  the  covenants  in  the  indentures  between  them  made,  or  if 
the  said  apprentice  shall  abscond  or  absent  him  or  herself  from  his  or  her 
master's  or  mistress's  service  without  leave,  or  shall  not  do  and  discharge 
his  or  her  duty  to  his  or  her  master  or  mistress,  according  to  his  or  her 
covenants  aforesaid,  the  said  master  or  mistress,  or  apprentice,  being 
aggrieved  in  the  premises,  shall  or  may  apply  to  any  one  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  of  any  county  or  city,  where  the  said  master  or  mistress  shall  re- 
side, who,  after  giving  due  notice  to  such  master  or  mistress,  or  appren- 
tice, if  he  or  she  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  appear,  shall  thereupon  issue 
his  warrant  for  bringing  him  or  her,  the  said  master,  mistress,  or  appren- 
tice, before  him,  and  take  such  order  and  direction,  between  the  said 
master  or  mistress  and  apprentice,  as  the  equity  and  justice  of  the  case 
shall  require :  And  if  the  said  Justice  shall  not  be  able  to  settle  and  ac- 
commodate the  difference  and  dispute  between  the  said  master  or  mistress 
and  apprentice,  through  a  want  of  conformity  in  the  master  or  mistress, 
then  the  said  Justice  shall  take  a  recognizance  of  the  said  master  or  mis- 
tress, and  bind  him  or  her  over,  to  appear  and  answer  the  complaint  of 
his  or  her  apprentice,  at  the  next  county  court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  to  be 
held  for  the  said  county  or  city,  and  take  such  order  with  respect  to  such 
apprentice  as  to  him  shall  seem  just ;  and  if  through  want  of  conformity 
in  the  said  apprentice  he  shall,  if  the  master  or  mistress  or  apprentice  re- 
quest it,  take  recognizance  of  him  or  her  with  one  sufficient  surety,  for  his 
or  her  appearance  at  the  said  sessions,  and  to  answer  the  complaint  of  his  or 
her  master  or  mistress,  or  commit  such  apprentice  for  want  of  such  surety, 
to  the  common  gaol  or  work-house  of  the  said  county  or  city  respectively ; 
and  upon  such  appearance  of  the  parties  and  hearing  of  their  respective 
proofs  and  allegations,  the  said  court  shall,  and  they  are  hereby  author- 
ized and  empowered,  if  they  see  cause,  to  discharge  the  said  apprentice 
of  and  from  his  or  her  apprenticeship,  and  of  and  from  all  and  every  the 
articles,  covenants,  and  agreements  in  his  or  her  said  indenture  con- 
tained ;  but  if  default  shall  be  found  in  the  said  apprentice,  then  the  said 
court  is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  cause,  if  they  see  sufficient 
occasion,  such  punishment  by  imprisonment  of  the  body,  and  confine- 
ment at  hard  labour,  to  be  inflicted  on  him  or  her,  as  to  them,  in  their 
discretion,  they  shall  think  his  or  her  offence  or  offences  shall  deserve.-" 

ACT   OF   APRIL    n,  1799. 

"SECTION  i.  If  any  apprentice  shall  absent  himself  or  herself  from 
the  service  of  his  or  her  master  or  mistress,  before  the  time  of  his  or  her 
apprenticeship  shall  be  expired,  without  leave  first  obtained,  every  such 
apprentice,  at  any  time  after  he  or  she  arrives  at  the  age  of  twenty- one 
years,  shall  be  liable  to,  and  the  master  or  mistress,  their  heirs,  executors, 
or  administrators,  are  hereby  enabled  to  sustain  all  such  actions,  and 

290 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

other  remedies  against  him  or  her,  as  if  the  said  apprentice  had  been  of 
full  age  at  the  time  of  executing  his  or  her  indenture  of  apprenticeship. 

"SECTION  2.  When  any  master  or  mistress  shall  die  before  the  term 
of  apprenticeship  shall  be  expired,  the  executors  or  administrators  of 
such  master  or  mistress,  provided  the  term  of  the  indenture  extended  to 
executors  and  administrators,  shall  and  may  have  a  right  to  assign  over 
the  remainder  of  the  term  of  such  apprenticeship  to  such  suitable  person 
of  the  same  trade  or  calling  mentioned  in  the  indenture,  as  shall  be 
approved  of  by  the  court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  county  where  the 
master  or  mistress  lived,  and  the  assignee  to  have  the  same  right  to  the 
service  of  such  apprentice  as  the  master  or  mistress  had  at  the  time  of  his 
or  her  death  ;  and  also  when  any  master  or  mistress  shall  assign  over  his 
or  her  apprentice  to  any  person  of  the  same  trade  or  calling  mentioned 
in  the  indenture,  the  said  assignment  shall  be  legal,  provided  the  terms  of 
the  indenture  extended  to  assigns,  and  provided  the  apprentice,  or  his  or 
her  parents,  guardian  or  guardians,  shall  give  his,  her,  or  their  consent 
to  such  assignment  before  some  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  county  where 
the  master  or  mistress  shall  live. ' ' 

These  advertisements  are  selected  from  a  large  number  of  a  similar 
kind  that  are  found  in  Relf's  Philadelphia  Gazette  and  Daily  Advertiser 
for  the  years  1804-5  : 

"  GERMAN   REDEMPTIONERS. 

"  To  be  disposed  of,  the  time  of  a  number  of  German  Redemptioners, 
consisting  of  Clerks,  Shoemakers,  Taylors,  Cloth  makers,  Weavers,  Stock- 
ing weavers,  Blacksmiths,  Watch  makers,  Miniature  painters  &c.  on  board 
the  Ship  Cato,  Capt.  Barden,  from  the  river  Jade,  lying  off  Vine  Street, 
apply  to  the  captain  on  board  Cato. 

"SMITH  RIDGWAY  &  Co. 

"  No.  50  n.  front  street. 
"  Nov.  3rd  (1804)." 

"TO   BE   DISPOSED   OF. 

"  The  Time  of  a  German  Servant  Girl,  who  has  eight  years  to  serve. 
She  is  strong  and  hearty,  understands  English,  and  can  be  well  recom- 
mended. Enquire  at  No.  15  South  Third  Street. 

"  January  gth  1805." 

"  GERMAN   REDEMPTIONERS. 

"A  number  of  German  Redemptioners  of  different  ages  and  profes- 
sions, to  be  disposed  of  on  board  ship  Venus  from  Amsterdam.  For 
terms  apply  on  board,  opposite  Callowhill  street. 

"  Sept.  gth  1805." 

"SWISS   AND   GERMAN   PASSENGERS. 

"The  Time 

"  Of  the  following  passengers  mostly  farmers  and  a  few  mechanics, 
viz:  17  men,  n  women,  13  boys  and  14  girls  now  to  be  seen  at  the 

291 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Spread  Eagle  Tavern,  Callowhill  street  near  the  water,  to  be  disposed  of 
by  their  agents  Winkleblick  &  Bund,  at  the  Red  Lion  Tavern,  Market 
Street,  between  6  and  7  street,  South  from  9  in  the  morning  till  6  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  payment  to  be  made  at  the  counting  house  of  Mr. 
L.  Huson,  No.  19  South  Wharves." 

"GERMAN   REDEMPTIONERS. 

"  On  board  the  ship  Indostan  laying  in  the  stream  above  Vine  street, 
consisting  of  carpenters,  bakers,  butchers,  gardeners,  blacksmiths,  sugar 
refiners,  glass  makers,  taylors,  servants  &c.  &c.  whose  times  are  to  be 
disposed  of,  by 

"  ISAAC  HAZELHURST  &  SONS. 

"  April  l6th  1804." 

"20   DOLLARS   REWARD. 

"RAN  AWAY  on  Saturday  last  from  the  subscriber,  a  German  in- 
dentured servant  man,  named  Tobias  Schwenck,  a  weaver  by  trade,  about 
25  years  of  age,  about  5  feet  6  inches  high.  When  he  speaks  he  has 
a  fashion  of  swinging  his  arms  in  a  very  passionate  manner,  pale  face, 
slender  made,  light  straight  hair,  speaks  a  little  English ;  took  with  him 
.a  tight  body  blue  coat  made  in  the  German  fashion,  a  blue  surtout  coat, 
two  pair  of  Russia  sheeting  trousers,  and  a  pair  of  blue  velvet  pantaloons, 
and  a  number  of  other  clothing,  a  pair  of  new  full  boots  broad  round 
toed. 

"  Whoever  secures  the  above  run -away  in  any  gaol,  or  delivers  him 
to  the  subscriber,  shall  receive  the  above  reward  and  reasonable  charges 
paid  by 

"  HENRY  DOTTERER, 
"Sign  of  the  Buck,  Second  street,  Philadelphia. 

"Oct.  1804." 

"2   DOLLARS   REWARD. 

"Ran  away,  an  indentured  Dutch  servant  girl,  (the  property  of 
Richard  Baily,  near  the  7  mile  stone,  Germantown)  about  8  years  of 
age,  light  complection,  named  Maria,  was  dressed  in  a  striped  lindsey 
short  gown  and  petticoat,  blue  worsted  stockings,  and  speaks  but  little 
of  her  native  language.  All  persons  are  cautioned  against  detaining  or 
harboring  the  said  girl.  In  addition  to  the  above  reward,  any  reason- 
able expense  will  be  allowed. 

"Dec.  1 8th  1804." 

"  10   DOLLARS    REWARD. 

"  Ran  away  from  the  subscriber  living  in  the  village  of  New- Holland, 
Lancaster  County,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  last,  a  German  indentured 
servant  Girl,  named  Anna  Maria  Wagner,  she  came  from  Germany  last 
fall  in  the  brig  Newton,  Capt.  Reilly.  She  is  about  19  or  20  years  old, 

292 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  a  low  stature,  she  hath  short  and  sandy  hair,  freckled  face,  her  arms, 
hands,  and  feet,  very  small.  Had  on  when  she  went  away,  a  blue  and 
white  striped  petticoat  of  German  manufacture,  and  a  blue  jacket,  which 
is  remarkable,  being  lined  after  the  German  manner  with  whalebone.  It 
is  said  that  she  hath  a  sister  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kutz  town, 
Berks  county,  bound  to  Mr.  Lesher.  Whoever  will  secure  and  deliver 
her  in  any  gaol,  and  give  notice  to  the  subscriber  thereof,  so  that  he  may 
get  her  again,  shall  have  the  above  reward,  and  reasonable  charges  paid. 
All  persons  are  hereby  forewarned  not  to  harbour  her  at  their  peril. 

"  JONATHAN  ROLAND. 
"  NEW-HOLLAND,  Jan.  3rd  1805." 

"In  law,  this  system  was  known  as  an  apprenticeship,  or  service  en- 
tered into  by  a  free  person,  voluntary,  by  contract  for  a  term  of  years  on 
wages  advanced  before  the  service  was  entered.  The  servants,  by  per- 
forming the  service,  were  redeeming  themselves,  and  therefore  called  '  Re- 
demptioners.'  In  practice,  however,  with  a  certain  class  of  people,  and 
in  instances  hereinafter  related,  this  system  was  as  revoltingly  brutal  and 
degenerating  as  the  negro  slavery  abolished  in  our  own  time  in  its  worst 
aspects. 

"  It  was  conceived  and  had  its  beginning  in  the  harmless  and  in 
some  respects  benevolent  idea  to  help  a  poor  person  in  Europe  who 
wished  to  emigrate  to  America  and  had  not  the  money  to  pay  for  his 
passage  across  the  ocean,  by  giving  him  credit  for  his  passage-money,  on 
condition  that  he  should  work  for  it  after  his  arrival  here,  by  hiring  as  a 
servant  for  a  term  of  years  to  a  person  who  would  advance  him  his  wages 
by  paying  his  passage-money  to  the  owner  or  master  of  the  vessel. 

"There  are  instances  on  record  when  school-teachers,  and  even  min- 
isters of  the  gospel,  were  in  this  manner  bought  by  congregations  to 
render  their  services  in  their  respective  offices.  Laws  were  passed  for  the 
protection  of  the  masters  and  of  the  servants.  Whilst  this  is  the  bright 
side  of  the  Redemptioners'  life,  it  had  also  a  very  dark  side.  The  Re- 
demptioners  on  their  arrival  here  were  not  allowed  to  choose  their  mas- 
ters nor  kind  of  service  most  suitable  to  them.  They  were  often  sepa- 
rated from  their  family,  the  wife  from  the  husband,  and  children  from 
their  parents  ;  were  disposed  of  for  the  term  of  years,  often  at  public  sale, 
to  masters  living  far  apart,  and  always  to  the  greatest  advantage  of  the 
shipper.  I  have  read  many  reports  of  the  barbarous  treatment  they  re- 
ceived, how  they  were  literally  worked  to  death,  receiving  insufficient 
food,  scanty  clothing,  and  poor  lodging.  Cruel  punishments  were  in- 
flicted on  them  for  slight  offences  when  they  were  at  the  mercy  of  a  hard 
and  brutal  master.  Their  fellow  black  slave  was  often  treated  better,  for 
he  was  a  slave  for  life,  and  it  was  in  the  interest  of  the  master  to  treat 
him  well  to  preserve  him,  whilst  the  poor  Redemptioner  was  a  slave  for 

293 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

a  number  of  years  only,  and  all  his  vital  force  was  worked  out  of  him 
during  the  years  of  his  service. 

"  No  public  records  were  kept  of  the  contracts  entered  into  abroad 
by  the  Redemptioners,  nor  of  the  time  of  the  expiration  of  their  service. 
The  Redemptioners  were  not  furnished  with  duplicates  of  their  contracts. 
They  were  sometimes,  and  could  be,  mortgaged,  hired  out  for  a  shorter 
period,  sold,  and  transferred  like  chattel  by  their  masters.  The  Redemp- 
tioners belonging  to  the  poor  and  most  of  them  to  the  ignorant  class,  it 
is  apparent  that  under  these  conditions  they  were  at  a  great  disadvantage 
against  a  rapacious  master,  who  kept  them  in  servitude  after  the  expiration 
of  their  true  contract  time,  claiming  their  services  for  a  longer  period. 

"For  many  years  the  Redemptioners  in  Maryland  had  come  prin- 
cipally from  England  and  Ireland.  The  abuses  of  the  system  having  be- 
come known  in  England,  rigorous  laws  and  measures  were  adopted  in 
England  for  their  better  protection,  and  letters  and  articles  appeared  in 
the  newspapers  warning  the  poor  people  from  entering  into  these  con- 
tracts. The  first  and  early  immigration  of  Germans  came  into  Maryland 
from  Pennsylvania.  From  Lancaster  County  it  extended  into  Baltimore, 
Harford,  Frederick,  and  the  western  counties  of  our  State.  As  wages 
advanced,  the  trade  of  shipping  Redemptioners  to  the  colony  became 
highly  lucrative.  Large  profits  were  made  in  a  successful  voyage  with  a 
full  cargo  of  human  beings,  who,  on  their  arrival  here,  were  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder  for  a  term  of  years. 

"The  Dutch,  who,  in  1620,  had  sent  the  first  cargo  of  negro  slaves 
to  this  country,  and  had  amassed  great  wealth  in  the  pursuit  of  the  negro 
slave-trade  from  distant  Africa,  discovered  that  it  was  less  troublesome 
and  equally  remunerative  to  engage  in  a  sort  of  a  white  slave-trade,  by 
shipping  Redemptioners  from  their  own  country,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
and  adjoining  countries,  to  the  American  colonies.  The  shipping  mer- 
chants of  Holland  would  send  regular  agents,  or  drummers,  as  we  now 
would  call  them,  who  received  one-half  of  a  doubloon  for  every  Redemp- 
tioner  shipped  by  them  into  these  colonies.  These  agents  generally  ap- 
peared in  gaudy  dress,  with  flourish  of  trumpets,  and  in  glowing  language 
depicted  the  wealth  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  this  country,  whereof 
all  could  partake  if  they  only  would  come  here ;  that  they  did  not  need 
any  money  for  their  passage,  as  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  sign  a  contract 
that  on  their  arrival  here  they  would  pay  for  the  same  out  of  their  first 
earnings.  In  this  manner  these  agents  would  travel  from  village  to  vil- 
lage, deluding  the  poorest  and  most  ignorant  to  follow  them  to  the  New 
Eldorado. 

"  Whenever  such  an  agent  had  collected  a  sufficient  number,  he  would 
take  them  personally  to  the  shipping  harbor  in  Holland.  It  was  a  gay 
crowd  which  travelled  in  this  manner  in  wagons  across  the  country.  The 
horses  and  wagons  were  decorated  with  gay  ribbons,  and  joyous  songs 

294 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

were  heard  from  the  emigrants,  who  believed  they  were  leaving  toil  and 
poverty  to  go  to  the  fabulously  rich  America  to  enjoy  the  ease  and  plenty 
of  this  world's  goods.     This  spirit  was  artificially  kept  up  by  the  liberal- 
ity of  the  agent  until  they  were  safely  aboard  the  ship.     From  thence 
such  a  life  of  suffering,  privation,  and  hardship  commenced,  that  it  seems 
incredible  that  the  Christian  nations  of  Europe  and  America  should  have 
permitted  such  a  trade  to  flourish  up  to  nearly  the  end  of  the  first  quarter 
of  the  present  century.     I  myself  know  several  very  old  persons  yet  living 
in  Baltimore  who  came  to  this  country  in  this  manner.     The  contracts 
which  these  Redemptioners  had  to  sign  in  Holland,  and  which  few  of 
them  then  understood,  contained  the  proviso  that  if  any  passenger  died 
on  the  voyage,  the  surviving  members  of  the  family,  or  the  surviving  Re- 
demptioner  passengers,  would  make  good  his  loss.     Thereby  a  wife  who 
had  lost  her  husband  during  the  sea-voyage,  or  her  children,  on  her  arrival 
here  would  be  sold  for  five  years  for  her  own  voyage  and  additional  five 
more  years  for  the  passage-money  of  her  dead  husband  or  dead  children, 
although  they  may  have  died  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  voyage.     If 
there  were  no  members  of  the  family  surviving,  the  time  of  the  dead  was 
added  to  the  time  of  service  of  the  surviving  fellow- passengers.     The 
effects  and  property  of  the  dead  were  confiscated  and  kept  by  the  cap- 
tain.    By  this  the  shipping  merchant  and  the  captain  of  the  vessel  would 
gain  by  the  death  of  a  part  of  the  passengers,  for  the  dead  did  not  require 
any  more  food  and  provision.     It  seems  that  many  acted  on  this  prin- 
ciple.   The  ships  were  often  so  overcrowded  that  a  part  of  the  passengers 
had  to  sleep  on  deck.     Christoph  Saur,  in  his  petition  to  the  governor 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1775,  asserts  that  at  times  there  were  not  more  than 
twelve  inches  room  for  each  passenger  (I  presume  he  means  sleeping 
room  below  deck),  and  but  half  sufficient  bread  and  water.      Casper 
Wister,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1752,  writes,  'Last  year  a  ship  was  twenty- 
four  weeks  at  sea,  and  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  passengers  on  board 
thereof  more  than  one  hundred  died  of  hunger  and  privation,  and  the 
survivors  were  imprisoned  and  compelled  to  pay  the  entire  passage-money 
for  themselves  and  the  deceased.'     In  this  year  ten  ships  arrived  in 
Philadelphia  with  five   thousand   passengers.     One  ship  was  seventeen 
weeks  at  sea,  and  about  sixty  passengers  thereof  died.     Christoph  Saur, 
in   1758,  estimates  that  two  thousand  of  the  passengers  on  the  fifteen 
ships  which  arrived  that  year  died  during  the  voyage.     Heinrich  Kep- 
pele,  the  first  president  of  the  German  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  writes  in 
his  diary  that  of  the  three  hundred  and  twelve  passengers  on  board  of  the 
ship  wherein  he  crossed  the  ocean,  two  hundred  and  fifty  died  during 
the  voyage.      In  February,    1775,    Christoph  Saur  relates  in  his  news-' 
paper,   'Another  ship  has  arrived.       Of  the  four  hundred  passengers, 
not  more  than  fifty  are  reported  alive.     They  received  their  bread  every 
two  weeks.    Some  ate  their  portion  in  four,  five,  and  six  days,  which 

295 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

should  have  lasted  fifteen  days.  If  they  received  no  cooked  victuals 
in  eight  days,  their  bread  gave  out  the  sooner,  and  as  they  had  to  wait 
until  the  fifteen  days  were  over,  they  starved,  unless  they  had  money  with 
which  to  buy  of  the  mate  flour  at  three  pence  sterling  a  pound,  and  a 
bottle  of  wine  for  seven  kopstick  thalers.'  Then  he  relates  how  a  man 
and  his  wife,  who  had  ate  their  bread  within  eight  days,  crawled  to  the 
captain  and  begged  him  to  throw  them  overboard,  to  relieve  them  of 
their  misery,  as  they  could  not  survive  till  bread-day.  The  captain  re- 
fused to  do  it,  and  the  mate  in  mockery  gave  them  a  bag  filled  with  sand 
and  coals.  The  man  and  his  wife  died  of  hunger  before  the  bread-day 
arrived.  But,  notwithstanding,  the  survivors  had  to  pay  for  the  bread 
which  the  dead  ought  to  have  had.  Pennsylvania,  in  1765,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  German  Society,  passed  rigorous  laws  for  the  protection  of 
the  Redemptioners,  but  Maryland  remained  inactive  until  more  than 
fifty  years  later." — Hennighausen. 

In  Pennsylvania  this  traffic  in  white  people  continued  until  about 
1820-25,  when  public  sentiment  compelled  it  to  be  discontinued. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

PIONEER  MONEY. 

"  THE  subject  of  a  national  mint  for  the  United  States  was  first  intro- 
duced by  Robert  Morris,  the  patriot  and  financier  of  the  Revolution.  As 
head  of  the  finance  department,  Mr.  Morris  was  instructed  by  Congress 
to  prepare  a  report  on  the  foreign  coins  then  in'  circulation  in  the  United 
States.  On  the  i5th  of  January,  1782,  he  laid  before  Congress  an  expo- 
sition of  the  whole  subject.  Accompanying  this  report  was  a  plan  for 
American  coinage.  But  it  was  mainly  through  his  efforts,  in  connection 
with  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Alexander  Hamilton,  that  a  mint  was  estab- 
lished in  the  early  history  of  the  Union  of  the  States.  On  the  i5th  ot 
April,  1 790,  Congress  instructed  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  to  prepare  and  report  a  proper  plan  for  the  establishment  of  a 
national  mint,  and  Mr.  Hamilton  presented  his  report  at  the  next  session. 
An  act  was  framed  establishing  the  mint,  which  finally  passed  both 
houses  and  received  President  Washington's  approval  April  2,  1792. 

"A  lot  of  ground  was  purchased  on  Seventh  Street  near  Arch,  and 
appropriations  were  made  for  erecting  the  requisite  buildings.  An  old 
still- house,  which  stood  on  the  lot,  had  first  to  be  removed.  In  an 
account-book  of  that  time  we  find  an  entry  on  the  3151  of  July,  1792,  of 
the  sale  of  some  old  materials  of  the  still-house  for  seven  shillings  and 

296 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

sixpence,  which  '  Mr.  Rittenhouse  directed  should  be  laid  out  for  punch  in 
laying  the  foundation-stone.' 

"The  first  building  erected  in  the  United  States  for  public  use  under 
the  authority  of  the  federal  government  was  a  structure  for  the  United 
States  Mint.  This  was  a  plain  brick  edifice,  on  the  east  side  of  Seventh 
Street  near  Arch,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  the  corner-stone  of  which 
was  laid  by  David  Rittenhouse,  director  of  the  mint,  on  July  31,  1792. 
In  the  following  October  operations  of  coining  commenced.  It  was 
occupied  for  about  forty  years.  On  the  igth  of  May,  1829,  an  act  was 
passed  by  Congress  locating  the  United  States  Mint  on  its  present  site. 

"The  first  coinage  of  the  United  States  was  silver  half-dimes,  in 
October,  1792,  of  which  Washington  makes  mention  in  his  address  to 
Congress,  on  November  6,  1792,  as  follows  :  'There  has  been  a  small 
beginning  in  the  coinage  of  half-dimes,  the  want  of  small  coins  in  circu- 
lation calling  the  first  attention  to  them.'  The  first  metal  purchased  for 
coinage  was  six  pounds  of  old  copper  at  one  shilling  and  three  pence  per 
pound,  which  was  coined  and  delivered  to  the  treasurer  in  1793.  The 
first  deposit  of  silver  bullion  was  made  on  July  18,  1794,  by  the  Bank  of 
Maryland.  It  consisted  of  '  coins  of  France,'  amounting  to  eighty  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  and  seventy-three  and  a  half  cents. 
The  first  returns  of  silver  coins  to  the  treasurer  was  made  on  October, 
15,  1794.  The  first  deposit  of  gold  bullion  for  coinage  was  made  by 
Moses  Brown,  merchant,  of  Boston,  on  February  12,  1795;  it  was  of 
gold  ingots,  worth  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  dollars  and 
seventy-two  cents,  which  was  paid  for  in  silver  coins. 

"The  first  return  of  gold  coinage  was  on  July  31,  1795,  and  con- 
sisted of  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  half-eagles.  The  first  delivery  of 
eagles  was  on  September  22,  same  year,  and  consisted  of  four  hundred 
pieces. 

"Previous  to  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars  at  the  Philadelphia  Mint, 
in  1794,  the  following  amusing  incidents  occurred  in  Congress  while  the 
emblems  and  devices  proposed  for  the  reverse  field  of  that  coin  were 
being  discussed. 

"A  member  of  the  House  from  the  South  bitterly  opposed  the  choice 
of  the  eagle,  on  the  ground  of  its  being  the  '  king  of  birds,'  and  hence 
neither  proper  nor  suitable  to  represent  a  nation  whose  institutions  and 
interests  were  wholly  inimical  to  monarchical  forms  of  government. 
Judge  Thatcher  playfully,  in  reply,  suggested  that  perhaps  a  goose  might 
suit  the  gentleman,  as  it  was  a  rather  humble  and  republican  bird,  and 
would  also  be  serviceable  in  other  respects,  as  the  goslings  would  answer 
to  place  upon  the  dimes.  This  answer  created  considerable  merriment, 
and  the  irate  Southerner,  conceiving  the  humorous  rejoinder  as  an  insult, 
sent  a  challenge  to  the  judge,  who  promptly  declined  it.  The  bearer, 
rather  astonished,  asked,  '  Will  you  be  branded  as  a  coward  ?'  '  Cer- 
20  297 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tainly,  if  he  pleases,'  replied  Thatcher;  '  I  always  was  one,  and  he  knew 
it,  or  he  would  never  have  risked  a  challenge.'  The  affair  occasioned 
much  mirth,  and,  in  due  time,  former  existing  cordial  relations  were 
restored  between  the  parties,  the  irritable  Southerner  concluding  there 
was  nothing  to  be  gained  in  fighting  with  one  who  fired  nothing  but 
jokes. 

"  Previous  to  the  passage  of  the  law  by  the  federal  government  for 
regulating  the  coins  of  the  United  States,  much  perplexity  arose  from  the 
use  of  no  less  than  four  different  currencies  or  rates,  at  which  one  species 
of  coin  was  recoined,  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Union.  Thus,  in 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Ver- 
mont, Virginia,  and  Kentucky  the  dollar  was  recoined  at  six  shillings  ;  in 
New  York  and  North  Carolina  at  eight  shillings ;  in  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Maryland  at  seven  shillings  and  six  pence  ;  in  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina  at  four  shillings  and  eight  pence.  The  subject  had  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  the  Congress  of  the  old  confederation,  and  the 
present  system  of  the  coins  is  formed  upon  the  principles  laid  down  in 
their  resolution  of  1786,  by  which  the  denominations  of  money  of  ac- 
count were  required  to  be  dollars  (the  dollar  to  be  the  unit),  dimes  or 
tenths,  cents  or  hundredths,  and  mills  or  thousandths  of  a  dollar.  Noth- 
ing can  be  more  simple  or  convenient  than  this  decimal  subdivision.  The 
terms  are  proper  because  they  express  the  proportions  which  they  are  in- 
tended to  designate.  The  dollar  was  wisely  chosen,  as  it  corresponded 
with  the  Spanish  coin,  with  which  we  had  been  long  familiar." — G.  G. 
Evans1  s  History  of  the  United  States  Mint. 

TABLE   OF   THE   DENOMINATIONS    OF    UNITED    STATES    MONEY. 

Standard  Weight  as  established  by  Law. 

Dwt.  Gr. 

\  cent 3  12 

10  mills  make  I  cent 7  oo 

\  dime o  2Oi8<y 

10  cents  make  I  dime I  I7^g 

\  dollar 4                8 

\  dollar 8  16 

10  dimes  make  I  dollar 17                8 

\  eagle 2  i6/ff 

\  ea8le 5  9 

10  dollars  make  I  eagle 10  18 

The  mills  were  imaginary  and  never  coined.  The  old  cents  were 
made  of  copper,  round,  and  about  one  inch  in  diameter  and  one-sixth  of 
an  inch  in  thickness. 

PIONEER   BANKS. 

The  pioneer  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  regulating  banks 
was  passed  March  21,  1813,  but  Governor  Snyder  vetoed  the  bill.  On 

298 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  2ist  of  March,  1814,  this  bill  was  "log-rolled"  through  the  Legis- 
lature and  became  a  law  over  Governor  Snyder's  veto.  Previous  to  that 
time  banks  were  organized  under  articles  of  association. 

CURRENCY. 

"  The  best  currency  of  those  times  was  New  York  bank-notes,  and 
the  poorest  those  of  the  Western  banks.  Pennsylvania  bank-notes  had 
only  a  small  circulation  in  the  county,  and  held  a  place  in  popular  esti- 
mation intermediate  between  the  above.  There  was  a  discount  on  all 
these,  ranging  from  one  to  twenty  per  cent.  It  was  for  the  interest  of  the 
private  bankers  to  circulate  the  notes  on  which  there  was  the  largest 
discount,  and  as  a  consequence  the  county  was  flooded  with  the  bills  of 
banks  the  locations  of  which  were  hardly  known.  Every  business  man 
had  to  keep  a  'Bank-Note  Detector,'  revised  and  published  monthly 
or  weekly,  on  hand,  and  was  not  sure  then  that  the  notes  he  accepted 
would  not  be  pronounced  worthless  by  the  next  mail.  There  was  hardly 
a  week  without  a  bank  failure,  and  nearly  every  man  had  bills  of  broken 
banks  in  his  possession.  To  add  to  the  perplexities  of  the  situation, 
there  were  innumerable  counterfeits  which  could  with  difficulty  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  genuine.  Granting  that  the  bank  was  good,  and 
that  the  discount  was  properly  figured,  there  was  no  assurance  that  the 
bill  was  what  it  purported  to  be.  All  this  was  a  terrible  annoyance  and 
loss  to  the  people,  but  it  was  a  regular  bonanza  to  the  'shaving-shops.' 
Even  of  the  uncertain  bank-notes  there  was  not  enough  to  do  the  busi- 
ness of  the  community.  Most  of  the  buying  and  selling  was  done  on 
long  credit,  and  occasionally  a  manufacturing  firm,  to  ease  itself  along 
and  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  public,  would  issue  a  mongrel  coin, 
which  went  by  the  name  of  '  pewterinctum.'  ' 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
" SCOTCH-IRISH" — ORIGIN  OF  THE  TERM  UNDER  JAMES   i. — LORDS  AND 

LAIRDS — EARLY  SETTLERS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA — THE  PIONEER  AND  EARLY 
SETTLERS    IN   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

SCOTCH-IRISH. 

THE  term  "Scotch-Irish"  is  so  frequently  used,  particularly  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  is  so  little  understood,  even  by  those  who  claim  such 
relationship,  that  I  consider  it  appropriate  in  this  place  to  explain  its 
derivation.  In  the  time  of  James  I.  of  England  the  Irish  earls  of  Tyrone 
and  Tyrconnell  conspired  against  his  government,  fled  from  Ireland, 
were  proclaimed  outlaws,  and  their  estates,  consisting  of  about  five  hun- 

299 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dred  thousand  acres  of  land,  were  seized  by  the  crown.  The  king 
divided  these  lands  into  small  tracts,  and  gave  tracts  to  persons  from 
his  o\vn  country  (Scotland),  on  the  sole  condition  that  each  individual 
securing  a  tract  of  land  should  cross  over  into  Ireland  within  four  years 
and  reside  upon  the  land  permanently.  A  second  insurrection  soon 
after  gave  occasion  for  another  large  forfeiture,  and  nearly  six  counties  in 
the  province  of  Ulster  were  confiscated  and  taken  possession  of  by  the 
officers  of  the  crown.  King  James  was  a  zealous  sectarian,  and  his 
primary  object  was  to  root  out  the  native  Irish,  who  were  all  Catholics, 
hostile  to  his  government,  and  almost  continually  plotting  against  it, 
and  to  populate  Ireland  with  those  from  his  own  country,  Scotland, 
whom  he  knew  would  be  loyal  to  him. 

The  distance  from  Scotland  to  County  Antrim,  in  Ireland,  was  but 
twenty  miles.  The  lands  offered  by  James  free  of  cost  were  among 
the  best  and  most  productive  in  the  Emerald  Isle,  though  they  had  been 
made  barren  by  the  strifes  of  the  times  and  the  indolence  of  a  degraded 
peasantry.  Having  the  power  of  the  government  to  encourage  and  pro- 
tect them,  the  inducements  offered  to  the  industrious  Scotch  could  not 
be  resisted.  Thousands  went  over.  Many  of  them,  though  not  lords, 
were  lairds,  or  those  who  held  lands  direct  from  the  crown,  and  all  were 
men  of  enterprise  and  energy,  and  above  the  average  in  intelligence. 
They  went  to  work  to  restore  the  land  to  fruitfulness,  and  to  show  the 
superiority  of  their  habits  and  belief  compared  with  those  of  the  natives 
among  whom  they  settled.  They  soon  made  to  blossom  as  a  rose  the 
counties  of  Antrim,  Armagh,  Caven,  Donegal,  Down,  Fermanagh,  Lon- 
donderry, Monaghan,  and  Tyrone, — all  names  familiar  to  Jefferson 
County  and  Pennsylvania  settlers. 

These  were  the  first  Protestants  to  settle  in  Ireland,  and  they  at  once 
secured  the  ascendency  in  the  counties  in  which  they  settled,  and  their 
descendants  have  maintained  that  ascendency  to  the  present  time  against 
the  efforts  of  the  Church  of  England  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  on  the  other.  These  Scots  refused  to  intermarry  with 
the  Irish  who  surrounded  them.  The  Scotch  were  Saxon  in  blood  and 
Presbyterian  in  religion,  while  the  Irish  were  Celtic  in  blood  and  Roman 
Catholic  in  religion.  These  were  elements  that  would  not  coalesce ; 
hence  the  races  are  as  distinct  in  Ireland  to-day,  after  a  lapse  of  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  as  when  the  Scotch  first  crossed  over. 
The  term  Scotch-Irish  is  purely  American.  It  is  not  used  in  Ireland ;  in 
the  United  States  it  is  given  to  the  Protestant  emigrants  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  simply  because  they  were  descendants  of  the  Scots  who  had 
in  former  times  taken  up  their  residence  in  Ireland. 

But  few  Scotch-Irish  emigrants  found  their  way  to  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania  prior  to  1719.  Those  that  came  in  that  year  came  from 
the  north  of  Ireland.  Subsequently  the  descendants  of  the  Scots  in  Ire- 

300 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

land  were  bitterly  persecuted  by  the  English  government ;  hence  thou- 
sands of  them  migrated  to  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1729 
thousands  of  Scotch-Irish  arrived  in  Philadelphia  from  Ireland,  as  well 
as  some  English,  Welsh,  and  Scotch  people,  many  of  whom  were  sold  in 
servitude  for  a  term  of  from  three  to  seven  years,  for  about  forty  dollars 
each,  to  pay  passage-money  or  for  their  goods.  For  a  further  description 
of  this  form  of  slavery,  see  Chapter  XV.,  German  Redemptioners. 

In  September,  1736,  one  thousand  Scotch-Irish  families  sailed  from 
Belfast  because  of  an  inability  to  rene\v  their  land  leases  upon  satisfactory 
terms,  and  the  most  of  these  people  settled  in  the  eastern  and  middle 
counties  of  Pennsylvania.  By  a  change  of  residence  they  hoped  to  find 
an  unrestrained  field  for  the  exercise  of  industry  and  skill,  and  for  the 
enjoyment  of  religious  opinions.  They  brought  with  them  a  hatred  of 
oppression  and  a  love  of  freedom  that  served  much  to  give  that  inde- 
pendent tone  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  province  which  pre- 
vailed in  their  controversies  with  the  English  government  years  before 
these  Scots  entertained  a  thought  of  American  political  independence. 

The  Scotch-Irish  who  settled  in  the  Cumberland  Valley  of  Pennsyl- 
vania brought  its  fair  lands  under  cultivation.  They  fought  the  savages 
and  stood  as  a  wall  of  fire  against  savage  forays  eastward.  It  is  said  that 
between  1771  and  1773  over  twenty -five  thousand  of  these  Scotch-Irish 
were  driven  from  Ireland  by  the  rapacity  of  Irish  lairds  or  landlords, 
and  located  either  in  that  rich  valley  or  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains 
in  Pennsylvania.  This  was  just  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  while 
the  angry  controversies  that  preceded  it  were  taking  place  between  the 
colonists  and  the  English  government.  Hence  these  Pennsylvanians 
were  in  just  the  right  frame  of  mind  to  make  them  espouse  to  a  man  the 
side  of  the  patriots.  A  Tory  was  unheard  of  among  them.  They  were 
found  as  military  leaders  in  all  times  of  danger,  and  were  among  the 
most  prominent  law-makers  through  and  after  the  seven  years'  struggle 
for  freedom  and  human  rights.  The  Scotch-Irish  in  the  United  States 
have  furnished  Presidents,  United  States  Senators,  Congressmen,  judges, 
and  many  others  in  civil  as  well  as  in  all  stations  of  life. 

The  pioneers  of  Westmoreland,  Indiana,  and  Jefferson  Counties  were 
made  up  principally  of  these  Scotch-Irish  or  their  descendants.*  I  am 
indebted  to  the  "History  of  Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania,"  1876,  for 
the  data  and  facts  contained  in  this  article. 

PIONEER   RECORD   OF   CIVIL   LIST. 

Roster  of  State  Officers  in  1804,  at  Organization. — Thomas  McKean, 
Governor ;  Thomas  McKean  Thompson,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth ; 

*  The  Harrietts  and  others  were  of  this  origin.  Washington  township  was  settled 
almost  exclusively  by  them. 

301 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

George  Duffield,  Auditor-General ;  Andrew  Ellicott,  Secretary  of  Land- 
Office  ;  Timothy  Matlack,  Master  of  Rolls ;  John  McKissick,  Receiver- 
General  ;  Samuel  Bryan,  Controller-General ;  Clement  Biddle,  Escheator- 
General ;  Samuel  Cochran,  Surveyor- General ;  Isaac  Weaver,  State 
Treasurer ;  Joseph  B.  McKean,  Attorney-General ;  Richard  Hampton, 
Adjutant-General ;  Simon  Snyder,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives ;  Robert  Whitehill,  Speaker  of  the  Senate ;  Edward  Shippen,  Chief 
Justice  of  Supreme  Court.  Pennsylvania  then  had  eighteen  Congressmen. 
Her  United  States  Senators  were  George  Logan  and  Samuel  Maclay. 

In  1838  the  amended  constitution  as  adopted  limited  the  rights  of 
any  one  man  to  serve  in  the  office  of  governor  to  six  years  out  of  nine. 
Under  the  first  constitution  of  1790  the  limit  of  service  in  this  office 
was  nine  years  out  of  twelve. 

Up  to  1840  the  judges  were  all  appointed  by  the  governor  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  Supreme  Court  judges  were 
appointed  for  fifteen  years,  district  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  were  appointed  for  ten  years,  and  the  associate  judges  were 
appointed  for  five  years. 

OFFICIALS   OF   WESTMORELAND   AND   JEFFERSON   COUNTIES. 
President  judge,  1805,  Alexander  Addison  ;   1806,  John  Young. 

OFFICIALS   OF   INDIANA   AND   JEFFERSON   COUNTIES. 

Jefferson  was  attached  to  Indiana  from  1806  until  1830.  Hon.  John 
Young,  of  Greensburg,  was  president  judge  from  1806  until  1830. 

Associate  Judges  appointed  and  elected. — James  Smith,  Charles  Camp- 
bell, 1806;  Joshua  Lewis,  1818;  John  Taylor,  1828;  Andrew  Browning, 
1829;  Samuel  Morehead,  1830. 

Prothonotary ',  Clerk,  and  Register  and  Recorder. — James  McLain, 
1806-18;  John  Taylor,  1818-21. 

Prothonotary,  Clerk,  etc. — James  McCahan,  1821-24;  Alexander 
Taylor,  1824-28;  William  Banks,  1828-30. 

Register  and  Recorder. — James  Speer,  1821-24;  Alexander  Taylor, 
1824-28;  William  Banks,  1828-30. 

Sheriff. — Thos.  McCartney,  1806-9;  Thos.  Sutton,  1809-12;  Robert 
Robinson,  1812-15;  Thos.  Sutton,  1815-18;  James  Elliott,  1818-21; 
Henry  Kinter,  1821-24;  Clements  McGara,  1824-27;  and  James  Gor- 
don, 1827-30. 

Treasurer. — James  McKnight,  1811-12;  Thos.  Sutton,  1813;  John 
Taylor,  1815-16;  William  Lucas,  1817-18;  William  Douglass,  1820-21 ; 
Alexander  Taylor,  1822-23;  William  Trimble,  1824-26;  William  Lucas, 
1827-29  ;  and  Blaney  Adair,  1830. 

Commissioners. — William  Clark,  1806-7;  James  Johnson,  1806; 

302 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Alexander  McLain,  1806;  Wm.  Clark,  1808;  Alexander  McLain,  1808; 
Wm.  Clark,  1809;  Rev.  John  Jamison,  1809;  James  McKnight,  1810; 
Rev.  John  Jamison,  1810;  Robt.  Robinson,  1810— n;  Joshua  Lewis, 
1811-12;  Rev.  John  Jamison,  1811;  Robt.  Robinson,  1812;  Joseph 
Moorhead,  1812;  Francis  Boals,  1813-14;  Joshua  Lewis,  1813;  Joseph 
Moorhead,  1813-14;  Francis  Boals,  1814-15  ;  Alexander  McLain,  1814- 
16;  Garvin  Sutton,  1815-17;  Thomas  Sharp,  1816-18;  John  Smith, 
1817-19;  Thomas  Laughlin,  1818-19;  Joseph  Henderson,  1819-21; 
Wm.  Clark,  1820;  John  Smith,  1820;  Clements  McGara,  1821-22; 
Stewart  Davis,  1822-24;  Wm.  Clark,  1822;  Clements  McGara,  1823; 
Alexander  Pattison,  1823-24;  James  Gordon,  1824-25. 

Clerk  to  Commissioners. — James  Riddle,  1806;  James  McKnight, 
1807;  Daniel  Stannard  and  James  M.  Biddle,  1808;  Daniel  Stannard, 
1809-10;  James  McKnight,  1811;  James  M.  Kelley,  1812-13;  John 
Wilson  and  James  Coulter,  1814;  John  Wilson  and  John  Taylor,  1815  ; 
Garvin  Sutton  and  John  Taylor,  1816;  Daniel  Stannard  and  Stewart 
Davis,  1817;  Stewart  Davis,  1818-20;  Robert  Young,  1822-23; 
Ephraim  Carpenter,  1824. 

In  1824  Jefferson  County  elected  three  commissioners  independent 
of  Indiana. 

The  pioneer  elections  in  Jefferson  County  for  President  and  governor 
were  as  follows  : 

For  President. — 1832,  Andrew  Jackson,  175;  William  Wirt,  105. 
1836,  Martin  Van  Buren,  244;  William  H.  Harrison,  231.  1840, 
Martin  Van  Buren,  592;  William  H.  Harrison,  476.  1844,  James  K. 
Polk,  731 ;  Henry  Clay,  591.  . 

For  Governor. — 1832,  Geo.  Wolf,  250;  Joseph  Ritner,  173.  1835, 
Geo.  Wolf,  356;  Joseph  Ritner,  246  ;  Muhlenberg,  3.  1838,  David  R. 
Porter,  591;  Joseph  Ritner,  421.  1841,  David  R.  Porter,  678;  John 
Banks,  447.  1844,  Francis  R.  Shunk,  727;  Joseph  Markle,  617. 

Pioneer  Congressional  Districts  and  Early  Members. — Pioneer  district, 
Indiana,  Westmoreland,  and  Jefferson:  1816-17,  David  Marchand ; 
1820-24,  Rev.  Plummer;  1826-28-30,  Richard  Coulter.  Early  districts, 
Armstrong,  Butler,  Clearfield,  and  Jefferson:  1832-34,  Samuel  S.  Harri- 
son; 1836-38,  William  Beatty;  1840,  William  Jack,  first  Congressman 
from  Jefferson  County.  Clearfield,  McKean,  Warren,  Potter,  Erie, 
Venango,  and  Jefferson:  1833,  Chas.  M.  Reed. 

Pioneer  Senatorial  Districts  and  Senators. — Pioneer  district,  Indiana, 
Westmoreland,  and  Jefferson:  1815,  John  Reed;  1819,  Henry  Alls- 
house.  Early  districts,  Indiana,  Cambria,  Armstrong,  Venango,  Warren, 
and  Jefferson:  1822,  Robert  Orr,  Jr.;  1825,  Ebon  S.  Kelley.  Jefferson, 
Indiana,  Armstrong,  Venango,  and  Warren:  1829,  Joseph  Fox;  1830, 
William  D.  Barclay;  1831,  Philip  Mechling ;  1834,  Meek  Kelley.  Jef- 
ferson, Venango,  Warren,  McKean,  and  Tioga:  1838,  Samuel  Hays. 

303 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Elk,  Jefferson,  McKean,  Potter,  Warren,  and  Clarion:   1842,  William  P. 
Wilcox.     Twenty-eight  years  and  Jefferson  no  Senator. 

Pioneer  Legislative  Districts  and  Members. — Pioneer  district,  Jeffer- 
son, Indiana,  and  Armstrong:  1816,  Joshua  Lewis,  James  M.  Kelley ; 
1817,  James  M.  Kelley,  Samuel  Houston;  1818,  Samuel  Houston, 
Robert  Orr,  Jr.  ;  1819,  Robert  Orr,  Jr.  ;  1820,  Robert  Orr,  Jr.,  Robert 
Mitchell ;  1821,  Robert  Mitchell,  James  Taylor  ;  1822-23,  John  Taylor, 
Joseph  Rankin  ;  1824,  Joseph  Rankin,  William  Lawson;  1825.  William 
Lawson,  Thomas  Johnson;  1826,  David  Lawson,  Joseph  Rankin;  1827, 
Robert  Mitchell,  Joseph  Rankin;  1828,  Joseph  Rankin,  David  Lawson. 
Early  districts,  Indiana  and  Jefferson,  with  one  member:  1829,  Robert 
Mitchell;  1830-31,  William  Houston;  1832,  James  M.  Stewart;  1833- 
34,  William  Banks;  1835,  James  Taylor;  thirty  years  connected  with 
Indiana  and  Jefferson  never  conceded  a  member  by  Indiana.  Jefferson, 
Warren,  and  McKean,  with  one  member:  1836-37,  C.  B.  Curtis;  1838- 
39,  William  P.  Wilcox;  1840,  James  L.  Gillis,  first  member  from  Jeffer- 
son ;  1841,  Lewis  B.  Dunham,  of  Jefferson;  1842,  Joseph  Y.  James. 
In  1843  another  district  was  formed,  and  James  Dowling,  of  Jefferson, 
was  elected  in  1844. 

"At  the  election  held  in  1835  votes  were  cast  on  the  question  of  a 
convention  to  amend  the  constitution  of  the  State,  which  resulted  in 
Jefferson  as  follows  :  for  a  convention,  424;  against  a  convention,  59. 

"In  1836  the  votes  cast  for  delegate  to  the  convention  were  as  follows  : 
Thomas  Hastings,  303;  O.  Hamlin,  284;  Benjamin  Bartholomew,  127  ; 
and Powell,  10. 

"  In  1838  the  vote  on  the  amendment  .to  the  constitution  stood  as  fol- 
lows :  for  amendment,  593;  against  amendment,  356. 

"At  the  general  election  in  1839  the  first  prothonotary  was  chosen. 
Levi  G.  Clover  received  therefor  544  votes,  and  William  Campbell  358 
votes. 

"  The  first  county  treasurer  chosen  by  the  people  was  at  the  election  in 
the  year  1841.  Samuel  Craig  received  357  votes  ;  Thomas  Hastings,  300  ; 
David  Henry,  230;  and  Samuel  Carey,  219. 

"The  act  of  Assembly,  passed  April  8,  1830,  having  bestowed  full 
powers,  rights,  and  privileges  upon  the  citizens  of  Jefferson,  and  invest- 
ing complete  authority  in  the  county,  as  an  organized  body  politic,  the 
first  general  election  for  State  and  county  officers  was  held  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  October  of  that  year.  The  number  of  townships  was  then 
five, — viz. :  Pine  Creek,  Ridgeway,  Perry,  Rose,  and  Young.  The  officers 
voted  for  and  the  number  of  votes  received  by  each  candidate  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Congress. — Richard  Coulter,  162  ;  James  Pollock,  121. 

"Senate. — Philip  Mechling,  143;  Joseph  M.  Fox,  41  ;  William  D. 
Barclay,  103. 

304 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Assembly. — William  Houston,  176  ;  Meek  Kelley,  108. 

Sheriff. — Thomas  McKee,  130;  Frederick  Heterick,  129;  William 
Bowers,  93. 

" Coroner. — John  Lucas,  230;  John  Barnett,  2;  Joseph  Long,  51; 
John  Hess,  i. 

"Commissioner. — Robert  Andrews,  90;  Jacob  Hoover,  83  ;  John  Lat- 
timer,  36  ;  William  Kennedy,  6  ;  Isaac  Lewis,  59  ;  John  McClelland,  13. 

"Auditor. — John  Hess,  138  ;  John  Welsh,  102  ;  John  Eason,  20  ;  John 
Bell,  2  ;  Peter  Button,  i."—  Atlas. 

The  county  was  erected  in  1804,  but  there  was  no  election  of  any 
kind  held  until  Friday,  March  20,  1807.  Pine  Creek  township  was  estab- 
lished in  1806,  and  the  election  district  made  at  Joseph  Barnett's.  In 
1819,  Perry  was  created.  This  made  two  election  districts,  one  at  Bar- 
nett's and  one  at  Bell's.  Little  Sandy  was  the  dividing  line.  Previous 
to  1826  all  the  settlers  on  the  north  of  this  line  had  to  vote  at  Port  Bar- 
nett, and  all  south  at  John  Bell's.  All  legal  business  had  to  be  trans- 
acted at  Indiana  until  1830.  No  voters  in  the  county  before  1814  could 
vote  at  a  general  election.  Yet  even  after  1814  there  was  no  record  of 
our  vote,  for  Jefferson  votes  were  counted  in  with  Indiana. 

PIONEER  ANNOUNCEMENTS  FOR  OFFICE  PREVIOUS  TO  NOMINATING 

CONVENTIONS. 

"To  the  free  and  independent  electors  of  Jefferson  County,  who 
are  opposed  to  petty  aristocracies  and  serving  friends  out  of  the  public 
treasury,  I  offer  myself  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  COUNTY  AUDITOR, 
and  pledge  myself,  if  elected,  to  pay  some  regard  to  the  oath  of  office, 
and  oppose  the  settling  of  any  account  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury  that 
is  not  strictly  legal. 

"ELIJAH  HEATH." 
— Brookville  Republican,  August  24,  1837. 

"TO   THE    FREE   AND    INDEPENDENT    ELECTORS   OF   JEFFERSON    COUNTY. 

"  To  all  who  are  opposed  to  petty  aristocracies,  to  serving  friends  and 
pensioners  out  of  the  public  treasury,  and,  in  short,  to  all  who  are  op- 
posed to  petty  monopolies,  petty  larceny,  and  to  those  who  sacrifice 
honor,  truth,  and  honesty  at  the  shrine  of  Mammon,  or  in  any  manner 
worship  the  golden  calf  at  the  hazard  of  the  damnation  of  their  souls,  I, 
on  the  suggestion,  and  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  many  friends,  offer 
myself,  at  the  ensuing  election,  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  COUNTY 
AUDITOR,  and  I  hereby  stand  pledged,  if  elected,  to  pay  full  and  com- 
plete regard  to  the  oath  of  office  and  to  oppose  settlement  of  any  account 
not  in  good  faith  strictly  honest. 

"  C.  A.  ALEXANDER." 
— Brookville  Republican,  August  31,  1837. 

305 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

PIONEER  ATTEMPT  TO  ESTABLISH  NOMINATING  CONVENTIONS  FOR 
COUNTY   OFFICERS   IN   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

Previous  and  up  to  the  year  1837  everybody  who  wished  announced 
and  ran  for  office  in  the  county  without  a  caucus  nomination,  but  in  that 
year  the  pioneer  effort  was  made  to  organize  a  party  system  of  nominating 
candidates, — viz.  : 

"  PUBLIC   MEETING. 

"  In  pursuance  of  a  notice  in  the  Brookville  Republican  the  Democratic 
citizens  of  Jefferson  County  assembled  at  the  court-house  in  the  borough 
of  Brookville,  on  Saturday,  the  26th  of  August,  instant,  to  take  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  electing  delegates  to  meet  similar  dele- 
gates at  Montmorency  from  the  counties  of  Warren  and  McKean,  to 
put  in  nomination  a  suitable  person  to  be  supported  at  the  next  general 
election  to  represent  the  district  composed  of  the  counties  of  Warren, 
McKean,  and  Jefferson. 

"On  motion,  Richard  Arthurs,  Esq.,  was  appointed  President,  Wil- 
liam Rodgers,  Esq.,  and  Daniel  Coder,  Vice-Presidents,  and  Jesse  G. 
Clark,  Secretary. 

"  The  object  of  the  meeting  being  briefly  and  ably  stated  by  John  J. 
Y.  Thompson,  Esq.,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted, — viz.  : 

"  Resolved,  That  Uriah  Matson  and  Thomas  Hastings,  Esqrs.,  be  ap- 
pointed delegates  of  the  Democratic  party  to  meet  similar  delegates  from 
Warren  and  McKean  Counties,  at  Montmorency,  on  the  3oth  day  of 
August,  inst.,  to  put  in  nomination  a  suitable  person  to  be  supported  at 
the  general  election  to  represent  this  district  in  the  next  Legislature. 

"Resolved,  That  a  notice  be  published  in  the  Brookville  Republican, 
requesting  the  several  townships  in  the  county  to  send  delegates  to  meet 
at  the  court-house  on  the  Wednesday  evening  of  the  next  September 
court,  to  put  in  nomination  suitable  persons  to  fill  the  various  offices  in 
said  county,  to  be  supported  at  the  next  annual  election. 

"Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  signed  by  the 
officers  and  published  in  the  Brookville  Republican. 

"  R.  ARTHURS, 

President. 
WILLIAM  RODGERS, 
DANIEL  CODER, 

Vice  -Presidents. 
JESSE  G.  CLARK, 

Secretary. ' ' 

PIONEER  NOMINATING  CONVENTION— ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SYS- 
TEM OF  CONVENTION  NOMINATIONS  IN  THE  COUNTY. 

"  TOWNSHIP  MEETINGS. 

"The  citizens  of  the  several  townships  throughout  this  county  are 
requested  to  hold  meetings  in  their  several  townships,  and  appoint  dele- 

306 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

gates  to  meet  in  convention,  in  the  court-house,  on  Wednesday  evening, 
the  1 3th  of  September  next  (court  week),  for  the  purpose  of  putting  in 
nomination  suitable  persons  to  be  supported  by  the  Democratic  Anti- 
Bank,  Anti-Shinplaster  party  for  the  several  county  officers. 

"  DEMOCRATS." 
— Brookville  Democrat- Republican,  August  31,  1837. 

PIONEER      ELECTION      OF       DELEGATES— DEMOCRATIC      GENERAL 
COUNTY    MEETING. 

"  Pursuant  to  a  resolution  of  the  convention  which  assembled  in  War- 
ren on  the  6th  of  September  last,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  can- 
didate to  represent  the  legislative  district  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Jefferson,  Warren,  and  McKean  in  the  General  Assembly,  it  is  enjoined 
on  the  several  counties  in  the  assembly  district  to  appoint  two  delegates 
from  each  county  to  meet  in  convention  on  future  occasions  to  bring  up  a 
candidate  for  this  district,  and  that  they  assemble  for  said  purpose  at  the 
house  of  Gould  Richardson,  in  Montmorency,  Jefferson  County,  on  the 
last  Wednesday  in  August  next. 

"Agreeable  to  the  foregoing  resolve  the  Democratic  citizens  of  Jeffer- 
son will  meet  at  the  court-house,  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  on  Satur- 
day, the  26th  instant,  at  five  o'clock,  to  appoint  two  delegates  to  confer 
with  the  delegates  from  other  counties  in  said  convention. 

"  MANY  DEMOCRATS." 
— Brookville  Republican,  August  10,  1837. 

PIONEER   JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 

It  appears  by  the  records  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
monwealth at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  that  the  pioneer  justices  of  the 
peace  for  Jefferson  County  were  appointed  in  the  year  1809, — viz.  : 
Thomas  Lucas,  on  the  i6th  of  January,  A.D.  1809,  and  John  Scott  on 
the  1 7th  of  March,  A.D.  1809. 

In  the  books  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  containing  the  appoint- 
ments of  justices  of  the  peace  from  the  year  1809  until  the  year  1840, 
when  the  office  became  elective,  the  following  record  of  justices  of  the 
peace  of  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  appears : 

FIRST  DISTRICT. 

Composed  of  the  townships  of  Perry  and  Young  and  that  part  of  Pine 
Creek  lying  south  of  the  State  Road  leading  from  Milesburg  to  Erie, 
bounded  by  the  county  line  and  said  road  : 

John  Bell,  appointed  March  8,  1818. 

Thomas  Lucas,  appointed  January  16,  1809. 

Charles  C.  Gaskill,  appointed  August  15,  1822.  Resigned  March  12, 
1824. 

307 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Andrew  H.  Bowman,  appointed  February  28,  1826.     Resigned. 

Elijah  Heath,  appointed  May  16,  1828. 

John  Hess,  Sr.,  appointed  August  20,  1830.    Resigned  March  7,  1831. 

John  Winslow,  appointed  May  20,  1831. 

William  Stunkard,  appointed  October  22,  1831. 

James  Bell,  appointed  November  13,  1832. 

John  Robinson,  appointed  May  27,  1833. 

Alexander  McKnight,  appointed  October  25,  1833. 

Martin  Shoaf,  appointed  October  31,  1833. 

James  M.  Steedman,  appointed  January  i,  1834. 

William  Ferguson,  appointed  May  27,  1835. 

John  Robinson,  appointed  in  1836. 

James  Corbett,  appointed  June,  1837,  for  District  No.  i,  composed 
of  the  townships  of  Perry,  Young,  and  that  part  of  Pine  Creek  lying 
south  of  the  State  Road  leading  from  Milesburg  to  Erie,  bounded  by  the 
county  line  and  said  road,  including  the  borough  of  Brookville. 

SECOND  DISTRICT. 

To  include  the  remainder  of  said  county  lying  north  of  the  State 
Road  leading  from  Milesburg  to  Erie,  bounded 'by  the  county  line  and 
said  State  Road,  including  Ridgeway  township : 

Joseph  McCullough,  appointed  December  i,  1823. 

John  Stratton,  appointed  March,  31,  1837. 

Reuben  A.  Aylesworth,  appointed  February  18,  1832,  and  resides  in 
Ridgeway  township.  Resigned  March  15,  1836. 

John  Wilson,  appointed  January  8,  1835. 

Stephen  Tibbetts,  appointed  February  14,  1835. 

EARLY  JUSTICES  OF   THE  PEACE— PIONEER  ELECTION,   1840. 
Young  Township. — William  Davis,  Lemuel  Carey. 
Porter  Township  — John  Robinson. 
Paradise  Township. — 

Pine  Creek  Township. — John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Nathaniel  Butler. 
Washington  Township. — Andrew  Smith,  William  Reynolds. 
Eldred  Township. — William  McNeil,  David  Lamb. 
Snyder  Township. — Milton  Johnston,  Asaph  M.  Clarke. 
Barnett  Township. — Oran  Butterfield,  John  A.  Maize. 
Ridgeway  Township. — James  Gallagher,  Lyman  Wilmarth. 
Tionesta  Township. — John  G.  Williamson. 
Jenks  Township. — Cyrus  Blood. 

1842. 

Rose  Township. — William  Kelso. 
Clover  Township. — Darius  Carrier. 
Porter  Township. — Martin  H.  Shannon. 

308 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Snyder  Township. — Isaac  Ingalls. 
Pine  Creek  Township. — Samuel  Howe. 
Jenks  Township. — Russell  Buffum. 

JEFFERSON   COUNTY   ROSTER. 

The  various  offices  in  Jefferson  County  have  been  filled  by  the  fol- 
lowing persons,  either  by  election  or  appointment,  since  1824.  The 
commissioners,  treasurer,  and  auditors,  being  the  first  officers  of  the  pro- 
visional county,  we  commence  with  them.  The  figures  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  line  denote  the  year  they  were  elected  or  appointed. 

Year.  Commissioners.  Treasurers.  Auditors. 

(And.  Barnett 
John  Lucas 
J.  W.  Jenks 

(A.  Baldwin. 
James  Corbett. 
T.  Robinson. 

1826 F.  Heterick J.  Brockway. 

1827 Thos.  McKee Christopher  Barr  ....  Jonathan  Coon. 

1828 Thos.  Lucas John  Christy. 

1829 Elijah  Heath Andrew  Barnett  .    .    .    .  J.  McCullough. 

1830 R.  Andrews     . John  Hess. 

1831 J.  Henderson J.  B.  Evans Wm.  Kelso. 

1832 C.  R.  Barclay D.  Postlethwait. 

1833 L.  G.  Clover Wm.  A.  Sloan      ....  John  Welsh. 

1834 Jas.  Corbett J.  M.  Stedman     ....  Wm.  Ferguson. 

1835 Jas.  Winslow   .....  Jas.  L.  Gillis J.  J.  Y.  Thompson. 

1836 J.  Philliber A.  McKnight H.  Robinson. 

1837 John  Pierce C.  Alexander. 

1838 Daniel  Coder Daniel  Smith    ....  Jesse  Smith. 

1839 Irwin  Robinson  ....  Wm.  Rodgers M.  Johnston. 

1840 B.  McCreight J.  G.  Clark James  Gray. 

1841 Joel  Spyker Nathaniel  Butler  ....  James  Perry. 

1842 J.  Gallagher Samuel  Craig W.  Reynolds. 

1843 John  Drum J.  Henderson John  Pifer. 

1844 Enoch  Hall A.  McKinstry. 

The  first  election  for  treasurer  took  place  in  1841,  when  Samuel 
Craig  was  elected.  Previous  to  that  time  they  were  appointed  by  the 
commissioners  for  one  year,  and  were  eligible  to  reappointment. 

Jonathan  Coon  died  in  the  spring  of  1838,  and  Samuel  Newcomb 
was  elected  in  his  place  at  the  general  election  to  fill  the  unexpired  term 
as  auditor. 

Charles  R.  Barclay,  commissioner,  resigned  in  the  spring  of  1834. 
John  Lattimer  was  appointed  until  the  election,  and  then  James  Winslow 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  one  year. 

Treasurer  McKnight  died  June  20,  1837,  and  on  the  22d  of  the  same 
month  Daniel  Smith  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

309 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Prothonotaries  were  appointed  by  the  governor  until  1839,  the  amended 
constitution  making  them  elective  for  three  years.  James  Corbett,  ap- 
pointed in  1830;  Thomas  Hastings  in  1832;  Thomas  Lucas  in  1835; 
Levi  G.  Clover,  appointed  in  1839,  and  elected  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year;  John  McCrea,  elected  in  1842. 

Sheriffs. — 1830,  Thomas  McKee ;  1833,  William  Jack,  appointed  in 
June,  in  room  of  McKee,  dead  ;  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  William 
Clark  was  elected;  in  1836,  Joseph  Henderson  elected;  1839,  John 
Smith;  1842,  Thompson  Barr. 

Coroners. — 1830,  John  Lucas;  1833,  J.  Christy;  1836,  Joseph  Sharp; 
1838,  John  Earheart;  1839,  John  Lucas;  1842,  Henry  Frease.  The  office 
of  coroner  has  been  considered  of  such  small  importance  that  but  few 
persons  lift  their  commissions. 

President  Judges. — 1830,  Thomas  Burnside  appointed;  resigned  in 
1835,  and  Nathaniel  B.  Eldred  appointed;  Eldred  resigned  in  1839,  and 
Alexander  McCalmont  appointed,  whose  term  expired  in  1849. 

Associate  Judges. — In  1830,  John  W.  Jenks  and  Elijah  Heath  were 
appointed;  Heath  resigned  in  1835,  and  William  Jack  was  appointed; 
Jack  resigned  in  1837,  and  Andrew  Barnett  was  appointed.  In  1841 
James  Winslow  was  appointed  in  room  of  John  W.  Jenks,  whose  term  of 
office  expired  under  the  amended  constitution.  In  February,  1843, 
Andrew  Barnett's  time  expired,  and  James  L.  Gillis  was  appointed,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  erection  of  Elk  County,  Gillis  resigned  in  Novem- 
ber of  the  same  year,  and  Levi  G.  Clover  was  appointed. 

COMMISSIONERS'  CLERKS. 

1824-26,  Ira  White;  1828,  James  Diven ;  1829,  William  Morrison; 
1830-31,  William  M.  Kennedy;  1832,  Benjamin  Bartholomew;  1833, 
Jesse  Smith;  1834-35,  John  Beck;  1836,  John  Wilson;  1838-39,  Jesse 
G.  Clark;  1840-41,  William  Rodgers;  1842-43,  Hugh  Brady. 

PIONEER   APPEALS. 
"NOTICE. 

"The  taxable  inhabitants  of  Jefferson  County  will  take  notice  that 
the  commissioners  will  hold  the  appeals  for  said  county  as  follows, — viz. : 

"On  Tuesday,  the  iyth  day  of  February  next,  at  James  Caldwell's 
in  Punxsutawny  for  Young  township. 

"On  Wednesday,  the  i8th  February  next,  at  Sprankle's  Mill  for 
Perry  township. 

"  On  Thursday,  the  igth  day  of  February  next,  at  Andrew  Barnett's 
for  Pine  Creek  township. 

"On  Friday,  the  2oth  day  of  February  next,  at  the  commissioners' 
office  in  Brookville  for  Rose  township. 

"  On  Tuesday,  the  24th  day  of  February  next,  at  James  Gallagher's  for 
Ridgeway  township. 

310 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  On  Tuesday,  the  24th  day  of  February  next,  at  William  Armstrong's 
for  Barnett  township. 

"  By  order  of  the  commissioners. 

"  JOHN  BECK,  Clerk. 

"COMMISSIONERS'  OFFICE,  BROOKVILLE,  Feb.   12,   1835. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

FROM    1830    TO    1840. 

I  COPY  from  a  book  published  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1832, 
the  following  : 

"  Jefferson  County  was  provisionally  erected  by  an  act  of  26th  March, 
1804,  and  is  bounded  north  by  McKean  and  Warren,  east  by  McKean 
and  Clearfield,  south  by  Indiana,  and  west  by  Armstrong  and  Yenango 
Counties.  Greatest  length  46  miles,  mean  breadth  26 ;  area,  1200  square 
miles.  Central  lat.  41°  15'  N.,  long.  2°  W.  from  W.  C. 

"  Like  the  rest  of  Northwestern  Pennsylvania,  the  county  is  hilly,  and 
iron  and  coal  are  in  abundance ;  the  latter  is  in  every  part  of  the  county. 
The  soil  in  the  valleys  is  in  many  places  highly  fertile,  but  the  great  body 
of  the  county  cannot  be  rated  above  second  quality.  It  is  abundantly 
watered,  having  on  the  south  Mahoning  Creek ;  on  the.  west  Little 
Sandy  Lick  Creek  and  Big  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  whose  branches  stretch 
across  the  county.  Clarion  River,  or  Toby's  Creek,  with  its  many  and 
large  ramifications,  intersects  the  northern  half  of  the  county  in  every 
direction. 

"The  State  Road  from  Kittanning  to  Hamilton,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  runs  diagonally  across  the  county  from  southwest  to  northeast,  and 
the  turnpike  road  from  Phillipsburg  to  Franklin  traverses  it  from  south- 
east to  northwest,  passing  through  the  town  of  Brookville ;  and  a  company 
has  lately  been  incorporated  for  making  a  turnpike  road  from  Ridgeway, 
through  Warren  County,  to  the  State  line  in  New  York,  in  the  direction 
of  Jamestown. 

"There  are  three  small  villages  in  the  county,  including  the  seat  of 
justice, — viz.  :  Brookville,  Punxsutawney,  and  Ridgeway.  At  the  first, 
which  was  commenced  in  August,  1830,  there  are  about  40  dwellings,  4 
taverns,  and  4  stores;  at  Punxsutawney  10  or  15  dwellings,  2  taverns, 
and  i  store ;  and  at  Ridgeway  some  half-dozen  dwellings,  etc.  Port 
Barnett,  Centre,  Cooper,  and  Jefferson  are  marked  on  the  map  as  towns. 
There  is  a  tavern  at  the  first.  The  others  are  mere  names. 

"  There  are  two  or  three  grist-mills  only,  but  more  than  four  times  as 
many  saw-mills,  and  the  export  of  the  county  is  lumber  solely,  unless 
venison  hams  be  included.  Two  million  of  feet  of  white  pine  boards, 

3" 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


etc.,  were  cut  in  1830  and  rafted  down  the  Big  Mahoning,  Red  Bank, 
or  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  and  Clarion  River,  to  the  Allegheny  River,  and 
thence  to  Pittsburg  and  other  towns  on  the  Ohio. 

"The  population  is  composed  of  Germans,  some  English,  and  some 
settlers  from  New  York,  and  consisted,  by  the  census  of  1830,  of  2025. 
That  there  is  room  for  great  increase  is  obvious,  when  we  observe  that 
this  population  might  be  comfortably  supported  on  2000  acres,  whilst 
766,000  acres  are  unsettled.  There  are  several  sects  of  Christians  in 
these  wilds,  chiefly  Presbyterians,  Seceders,  and  Methodists.  But  there 
is  not  a  church  in  the  county.* 

"  Venango,  Warren,  Armstrong,  Indiana,  and  Jefferson  form  the 
twenty-fourth  senatorial  district  of  the  State,  sending  one  member  to  the 
Senate.  Indiana  and  Jefferson,  united,  send  one  member  to  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Jefferson  belongs  to  the  fourth  judicial  district,  and 
to  the  western  district  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and,  connected  with  West- 
moreland and  Indiana,  constitutes  the  seventeenth  Congressional  district. 

"This  county  paid  into  the  State  treasury  in  1831  for — 

"Tax  on  writs,  $35;  for  tavern  licenses,  $33.44;  for  duties  on 
dealers  in  foreign  merchandise,  $31.69;  total,  $100.13.  Value  of  tax- 
able property  in  1829,  real  estate,  $509,801 ;  of  personal  estate,  $14,777  > 
rate  of  levy,  7*4  mills  on  the  dollar. 

"  Unimproved  lands  are  offered  for  sale  in  this  county  at  from  150  to 
200  cents  per  acre." 

"STATISTICAL   TABLE   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  1832. 


Townships. 

Greatest 

Area  in  Acres. 

Population. 

Taxables. 

Perry  

Length. 
II 

15 

39 
23 
9 

Breadth. 

9 
12 
12 

17 

9 

49,280 
85,760 
289,520 
262,040 

5  i  ,840 

1820. 
205 
356 

1830. 
2025  in 
the  whole 
county. 

86 
49 

"I 

26 

70 

Pine  Creek     .... 
Rose    

Ridgeway               .    . 

Young     

"  The  population  has  not  been  classed  by  townships  in  1830. 
"JEFFERSON   COUNTY,    1832. 


Post-Offices. 


Names  of  Postmasters. 


Miles  from 
Washington. 


Brockwayville Alonzo  Brockway    ....  226 

Brookville Jared  B.  Evans 238 

Montmorency James  L.  Gillis 242 

Punxsutawney John  W.  Jenks 216 

Ridgeway Reuben  A.  Aylesworth  .    .  236 

—  Gordon's  Gazetteer,  1832. 


Miles  from 
Harrisburg. 

154 
I65 

171 
1 60 
I65." 


*  There  was  one  abandoned  log  church  building  in  the  county  near  Roseville, — 
viz. :  Rehoboth. — McKNlGHT. 

3" 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

OFFICIAL   ELECTION   RETURNS   FOR   JEFFERSON   COUNTY,   1837. 

Borough.    Rose.      ^.^      Young.     Perry      Snyder.    Eldred.    ^|e"    Barnett. 
ASSEMBLY. 

Carleton  B.  Curtis .    22  27  13  2  4  815  15  26 

William  Clawson  .52          64          47         115  84  9  9 


I  6 

.    .  i 

14 

I4  2 

•    •  3 

.    .  i 

i 


COMMISSIONER. 

John  Pierce     .    .    . 

32 

28 

28 

12 

9 

7 

12 

Christopher  Barr    . 

20 

34 

18 

4 

28 

I 

6 

David  Henry  .    .    . 

13 

5 

48 

7 

I 

3 

William  Kelso    .    . 

6 

50 

i 

16 

2 

John  Smith      .    .    . 

2 

4 

53 

12 

12 

I 

Robert  K.  Scott     . 

6 

5 

I 

2 

.     . 

James  P.  Stewart  . 

7 

i 

22 

3 

AUDITOR. 


Daniel  Coder     .  .    24  33  6  10  16  9  5  5  5 

C.  A.  Alexander  .43  6  42  93  69  6  14  .    .  6 

Elijah  Heath .    .  .    13  18  14  15  2  8  i  2  9 

Joseph  Magiffin  .6  43  I  ..  7  ..  5  ..  n 

1837— APPOINTED   BY   THE   COMMISSIONERS. 

"Alexander  McKnight,  Esq.,  to  be  treasurer  of  Jefferson  County  for 
the  current  year  of  1837  from  the  ist  instant. 

"(NOTE. — We  are  gratified  to  be  able  to  announce  the  reappoint- 
ment  of  Esquire  McKnight.  He  has  filled  the  office  with  honor  to  him- 
self and  credit  to  the  county.)" — Brookville  Republican,  January  12, 

1837. 

"  DIED. 

"In  this  borough,  on  Thursday  last,  of  pulmonary  consumption, 
ALEXANDER  MCKNIGHT,  Esquire,  treasurer  of  Jefferson  County,  aged 
twenty-seven  years  and  six  days,  leaving  a  disconsolate  widow  and  three 
helpless  children  to  deplore  his  untimely  exit. 

"In  the  death  of  Esquire  McKnight  it  may  truly  be  said  that  this 
county  and  community  at  large  have  sustained  an  irreparable  loss.  His 
deportment  through  life  was  frank,  open,  and  circumspect.  Honesty 
was  one  of  his  most  ennobling  characteristics.  Esteemed  by  those  with 
whom  he  had  intercourse  in  life,  his  decease  was  equally  lamented.  In 
a  word,  he  was  a  faithful  officer,  the  honest  man,  and  the  good  citizen. 
Peace  to  his  memory. — Brookville  Democrat- Republican,  June  22,  1837. 

Pioneer  book-  and  medicine-store  advertised  in  the  Brookville  Repub- 
lican, August  31,  1837  : 

"  '  BOOKS  AND  MEDICINES' 
"just  received  and  for  sale  at  this  office." 

*:£;><#***#* 
21  313 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

A   RAILROAD   COLLISION   OF    1837. 
"  FATAL  RAILROAD  ACCIDENT. 

"  STEAMBOAT  '  COLUMBUS,' 
"  August  12,  1837. 

"The  most  serious  accident  has  occurred  in  Eastern  Virginia  since 
my  recollection  happened  on  the  Portsmouth  and  Roanoke  Railroad,  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  Suffolk,  yesterday,  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock. 
A  company,  consisting  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, from  the  counties  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Nansemond,  and  Southamp- 
ton, came  down  on  the  railroad  on  Thursday,  the  loth  inst,  with  the 
view  of  visiting  Portsmouth,  Norfolk,  Fortress  Monroe,  and  returning  the 
next  day.  On  their  return,  at  the  time  and  place  above  mentioned,  they 
met  a  locomotive  and  train  of  burden-cars,  and,  horrible  to  relate,  the 
two  ran  together  while  going  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  an  hour. ' ' 
— Brookrillc  Republican,  August  31,  1837. 

NOTICE. 

"LIST    OF   RETAILERS. 

"  In  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Assembly,  approved  the  yth  day  of  April, 
1830,  requiring  the  county  treasurer  to  publish  a  list  of  the  retailers  of 
foreign  merchandise,  designating  those  who  have  and  those  who  have  not 
paid  for  license  on  or  before  the  ist  day  of  June,  I  publish  the  following 
list,  certified  by  the  associate  judges  and  commissioners  on  the  i4th  day 
of  February,  1837  : 

Retailers.  Class.  Paid. 

William  Campbell 7  Not. 

Charles  R.  Barclay 8               " 

James  McKennon  &  Co 7                " 

James  Robinson 8                " 

Evans  &  Clover 6               " 

Jared  B.  Evans 7                " 

Heath,  Dunham  &  Co 6               " 

Enos  Gillis 8  " 

Hughes  &  Dickenson 8  " 

"All  retailing  foreign  merchandise  in  Jefferson  County  and  not  enu- 
merated in  the  above  list  are  requested,  under  penalty  of  law,  to  take  out 
license. 

"  The  eighth  section  of  the  above  act  requires  the  treasurer  to  bring 
suits  in  June  against  all  delinquent  retailers  of  foreign  merchandise. 

"It  is  hoped  that  those  interested  will  prevent  legal  action  by  calling 
in  due  time  for  the  license.  Those  who  neglect  may  rest  assured  the 
requisitions  of  the  law  will  be  strictly  complied  with.  All  persons  having 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

obtained  liberty  to  keep  public  houses  are  requested  to  call  and  take  their 
license.     Those  who  neglect  will  be  returned  to  court  as  the  law  directs. 

"A.  MCKNIGHT, 

"  Treasurer. 
"TREASURER'S  OFFICE,  BROOKVILLE,  May  15,  1837." 

Table  of  taxable  inhabitants  of  Jefferson  County,  together  with  the 
seated  and  unseated  township  taxes,  for  the  year  1837  : 

Township.                                             Inhabitants.  Seated  Tax.  Unseated  Tax. 

Ridgeway 40  $42.32  $38.27 

Harriett 76  74.34  74.34 

Eldred 37  39.14  36.43 

Perry ....  209  221.12  205.80 

Pine  Creek 103  108.97  101.38 

Rose 252  264.50  248.14 

Snyder 41  43.38  40.37 

Young 146  I54-46  143-47 

Table  of  township  assessors  for  the  year  1837  : 

Rose  township Samuel  Lucas. 

Perry  township Thomas  Gourley. 

Ridgeway  township Lyman  Wilmarth. 

Eldred  township John  Wilson. 

Tionesta  township David  Mead. 

Barnett  township      James  Aharrah. 

Jenks  township Cyrus  Blood. 

Pine  Creek  township Joseph  Carr. 

Washington  township Henry  Keys. 

Snyder  township Joseph  McAfee. 

Young  township John  Grube. 

"ONE   CENT   REWARD. 

"  Ran  away  from  the  subscriber  on  the  5th  inst.  an  indentured  ap- 
prentice to  the  tailoring  business,  named  Michael  Stine,  of  German  de- 
scent. His  clothing  consisted  of  a  straw  hat,  flannel  roundabout,  black 
cloth  pantaloons,  and  coarse  shoes.  Any  person  returning  said  runaway 
shall  receive  the  above  reward,  but  neither  thanks  nor  charges. 

"BENJAMIN  MCCREIGHT. 

"  BROOKVILLE,  March  7,  1837." 

PAMPHLET   LAWS. 

"  Persons  wishing  to  subscribe  for  the  pamphlet  laws  of  the  present 
session  will  do  well  to  apply  soon. 

"A.  McKxiGHT, 

"  Treasurer. 

"TREASURER'S  OFFICE,  BROOKVILLE,  December  22,  1836." 

315 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  laws  were  bound  in  "board"  and  sold  at  fifty  cents,  and  were 
then  published  in  English  and  German  editions. 

"JACKSON   DEMOCRATIC   REPUBLICAN   CELEBRATION. 

"Pursuant  to  previous  arrangements,  the  citizens  commemorated  the 
4th  day  of  July  by  appointing 

"Colonel  Wm.  Jack,  president  of  the  day. 

"Hon.  E.  Heath,  vice-president. 

"C.  G.  M.  Prime,  orator. 

"  L.  B.  Dunham,  reader  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  J.  J.  Y.  Thompson,  reader  of  toasts. 

"  Colonel  John  Smith,  marshal  of  the  day. 

"REGULAR  TOASTS. 

"  i.  The  day  we  celebrate. 

"2.  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

"  3.  General  George  Washington.  His  virtue  and  patriotism  will 
long  remain  in  the  minds  of  the  American  people.  May  laurels  thicken 
around  his  grave. 

"  4.  The  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  who  fought  our  battles  and  in  the 
dark  days  of  our  adversity  wrought  out  our  political  salvation ;  men  whose 
disinterested  achievements  are  not  transcended  in  all  the  annals  of 
chivalry,  and  who  for  us  confronted  horrors  not  surpassed  in  all  the 
history  of  the  martyrs.  They  are  entitled  to  the  gratitude  and  liberality 
of  American  people. 

"5.  Governor  Wolf,  our  venerable  chief  magistrate,  a  consistent 
Democrat  and  faithful  servant  of  the  people,  his  administration  insures 
him  the  suffrages  and  gratitude  of  his  constituents. 

"  6.  General  Lafayette,  the  benefactor  of  the  old  and  the  liberator 
of  the  new  world.  His  generous  virtue  and  patriotic  principles,  more 
powerful  than  the  armed  hosts  of  nations,  swayed  empires  and  controlled 
the  destinies  of  the  earth.  Alas  !  death  has  summoned  his  choice  spirit 
home  to  that  celestial  bower,  where  he  sits  in  the  highest  niche  in  that 
bright  constellation  of  patriots.  His  memory  is  indelibly  engraven  on 
the  hearts  of  all  freemen.  The  hero,  philanthropist,  and  champion  of 
liberty. 

"7.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  highest  evidence 
of  learning,  genius,  profound  wisdom,  and  devout  patriotism ;  our 
nation's  most  redoubtable  fortress  defends  the  invasions  of  aspiring 
demagogues  or  intriguing  political  jugglers.  The  first  who  dare  attack 
it,  may  he  perish  beneath  its  ramparts. 

"8.  The  United  States  Bank.  Old  Nick's  kingdom.  Satan  and  his 
angels  are  roving  to  and  fro,  from  the  east  to  the  west,  seeking  whom 

316 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

they  may  devour;  but,  fortunate  for  America's  people,  the  meridian  is 
fast  approximating,  when  Satan  shall  be  bound  and  his  kingdom  washed 
away. 

"9.  United  States  Senate.  An  ambitious  and  turbulent  cabal ;  they 
present  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  a  perfect  picture  of  what  man 
is  when  deprived  of  the  divine  faculty  of  reason. 

"  10.  Agriculture  and  commerce.  The  bone  and  sinew  of  our  re- 
public ;  our  stronghold  in  war,  our  wealth  in  peace ;  twin  stars  that  will 
light  us  into  prosperity  and  glory. 

"n.  Arts  and  manufactures.  To  encourage  and  foster  them  is 
placing  a  dome  over  our  national  fabric,  and  finishing  the  stately  edifice 
with  the  touch  of  a  masterly  hand. 

"  12.  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  illustrious  author  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  the  able  supporter  and  advocate  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, the  champion  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

"13.  The  American  fair.  Last  in  our  toasts,  first  in  our  hearts,  and 
last  to  be  forgotten. 

" '  The  fair,  how  fairer  can  they  be  ? 

From  all  corruptions  and  faults  are  free. 
Their  hearts  all  beat  for  sacred  liberty, 
For  union  to  a  man,  and  so  are  we.' 

"VOLUNTEER   TOASTS. 

"By  the  president  of  the  day,  Colonel  Wm.  Jack.  Samuel  McKean. 
Unworthy  the  situation  he  holds,  the  next  Legislature  will  request  his 
retiring  to  his  original  obscurity. 

"  By  the  vice-president  of  the  day,  Hon.  Elijah  Heath.  The  judiciary 
of  Pennsylvania.  May  they  always  keep  themselves  untrammelled  from 
politics. 

"  By  the  orator  of  the  day,  C.  G.  M.  Prime.  Andrew  Jackson.  Like 
Moses,  he  has  rescued  us  by  the  rod  of  his  miracles ;  but  unlike  Aaron, 
with  that  rod  he  smote  the  Golden  Calf. 

"  By  C.  J.  Dunham.  Anti-Masons.  Although  the  noisy  advocates 
of  '  law  and  order,'  they  are  usually  the  first  to  outrage  the  one  and  mar 
the  harmony  of  the  other. 

"By  John  Dougherty.  The  hero  of  New  Orleans.  The  undaunted 
chieftain,  ever  ready  to  drop  the  gauntlet  to  the  foes  of  freedom.  The 
liberal  sons  of  Neptune  in  Charleston  have  rigged  him  with  a  constitu- 
tional shillalah  from  the  timber  of  old  Ironsides.  May  it  defend  the 
deposits  from  the  grasp  of  King  Biddle,  as  it  did  liberty  from  the  chains 
of  King  George. 

"By  J.  J.  Y.  Thompson.  Hon.  Samuel  McKean.  The  fawning 
sycophant  of  Clay,  Webster  and  Co.,  against  whom  no  prudence  can 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,,  PENNA. 

guard,  no  courage  defend.  The  insidious  smile  upon  his  cheek  should 
warn  his  constituents  of  the  canker  in  his  heart. 

"  By  Robert  Larrimore.  Anti-Masonry.  A  rotten  ladder  for  down- 
hill politicians  to  climb  to  power. 

"By  Jesse  Clark.  General  Lafayette.  He  sat  by  the  cradle  of  our 
independence,  and  never  in  a  long  and  eventful  life  was  he  for  a  moment 
unfaithful  to  the  principles  of  our  independence,  to  the  maintenance  of 
which  his  youth  and  manhood  were  devoted.  Americans  will  hold  him 
in  grateful  remembrance  while  the  earth  bears  a  plant  or  the  sea  rolls  a 
wave. 

"  By  Richard  Arthurs.  May  Congress  lay  by  their  political  weapons 
of  rebellion  and  unite  in  protecting  the  Union. 

"By  John  Gallagher.  The  President  of  the  United  States.  In  spite 
of  nullifiers  and  blue  lights,  he  will  ride  out  the  storm  in  safety,  the 
vestal  fire  of  liberty,  whose  light  illuminates  the  path  of  the  patriot  to 
the  temple  of  freedom,  may  its  genial  rays  not  be  shed  in  vain  o'er  the 
green  fields  of  America. 

"  By  L.  B.  Dunham.  Henry  Clay,  the  great  grand  high  priest  of 
envy,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness.  His  efforts  to  sacrifice  our  be- 
loved President  at  the  altar  of  his  horrid  deity,  the  United  States  Bank, 
will  only  sink  him  deeper  in  the  bog. 

"  By  John  B.  Butler.  Martin  Van  Buren.  May  the  laurels  he  has 
won  so  nobly  in  defending  the  principles  of  Andrew  Jackson  and  hurling 
political  Anti-Masonry  to  the  regions  of  darkness  eventually  elevate  him 
to  the  Presidential  chair. 

"  By  Colonel  John  Smith.  John  Quincy  Adams.  A  great  politcal 
sinner. 

"  By  Wm.  Clark,  Esq.  Martin  Van  Buren.  The  next  candidate  for 
the  Presidential  chair.  All  opposition  to  him  will  be  in  vain.  His 
enemies  will  vanish  away  like  snow  in  the  grasp  of  a  heated  hand. 

"By  John  Earheart.  To  the  afflicted.  Down-hill  politicians  are 
hereby  informed  that  there  is  yet  room  for  them  in  the  Anti-Masonic 
ranks. 

"By  John  Beck.  Hon.  William  Wilkins,  our  talented  Senator  in 
Congress.  His  able  and  zealous  support  of  our  venerable  President  and 
the  acts  of  his  administration,  particularly  in  reference  to  the  British 
bank,  merits  and  will  receive  the  approbation  of  all  true  Pennsylvanians. 

"By  George  R.  Barrett.  The  Democratic  party  of  Jefferson  County. 
God  speed  its  progress  ! 

"By  C.  Blood.  The  citizens  of  Brookville.  May  peace,  prosperity, 
and  independence  ever  attend  them  for  their  disinterested  attention  and 
hospitality  to  strangers. 

"By  C.  J.  Dunham.  The  orator  of  the  day.  Mighty  in  the  cause 
of  truth. 


V 

PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 
"  By  Daniel  Smith.     The  fair  sex. 

"  '  Auld  nature  smiles,  his  lovely  dears 
Her  noblest  work  she  classes,  O. 
Her  'prentice  han'  she  tried  on  man, 
And  then  she  made  the  lasses,  O.' 

"By  L.  B.  Dunham.  The  fair  sex.  The  patent  work  of  God's 
invention. 

"  By  Richard  Arthurs.  He  that  tramples  upon  the  rights  and  speaks 
disdainful  of  the  fair  sex,  may  all  good  society  treat  him  with  unlimited 
contempt. 

"  By  a  guest.  Political  blacklegs  :  Senator  Clay,  two  bullets  and  a 
bragger.  Hard  case  !  Senator  Forsyth,  two  bullets  and  a  bragger,  and 
the  eldest  hand.  Do  you  give  it  up?  Tune,  Sweep-Stakes. 

"  By  a  guest.  The  liberty  pole.  May  we  see  it  rising  in  strength  as 
long  as  Democracy  shall  dwell  in  the  breasts  of  man,  and  those  who 
would  attempt  to  put  it  down  be  treated  as  tyrants  trampling  upon  the 
liberties  of  their  country. 

"  By  the  company.  The  officers  of  the  day.  The  dignity  with 
which  they  presided  and  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty  is  calculated 
to  raise  them  in  the  estimation  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

"  By  the  company.  Our  worthy  host  and  hostess  :  for  our  excellent 
entertainment  receive  our  warmest  thanks." 

"FOURTH    OF  JULY. 
' '  JACKSON    CELEBRATION. 

"The  citizens  of  Brookville  and  vicinity  friendly  to  a  National 
and  State  administration  celebrated  the  fifty-eighth  anniversary  of 
American  independence  in  a  manner  creditable  to  themselves  and  to  the 
party  to  which  they  have  the  honor  to  belong.  The  evening  immediately 
preceding  the  Fourth  of  July  preparations  were  made  to  raise  a  liberty 
pole,  which  had  been  previously  drawn  to  the  place  for  that  purpose  (a 
hickory-tree  about  one  hundred  feet  in  length).  Our  opponents  boasted 
through  the  streets  that  our  force  was  too  weak,  and  that  we  would  not 
find  ten  Jackson  men  in  our  town  to  aid  in  planting  our  POLE.  But 
when  we  made  an  attempt  to  rally  our  force,  we  soon  found  forty  stern 
Democrats  surrounding  the  tree,  and  some  of  them  willingly  yielded  their 
services  to  guard  it  until  morning,  for  fear  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy. 

"  Our  cannon  was  prepared  ;  but  some  person,  having  no  other  way 
of  giving  vent  to  a  confined  genius  or  displaying  their  cunning,  stole  it 
from  the  place  where  it  had  been  left.  We  wish  it  to  be  understood  that 
we  do  not,  neither  do  we  believe  it  to  be  the  opinion  of  one  of  the 

319 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

party,  that  any  of  the  respectable  citizens  would  be  guilty  of  so  mean 
and  contemptible  an  act ;  none  would  condescend  to  such  insignificance. 
We  believe  the  act  to  be  done  by  some  wag,  hawbuck,  or  scullion  pos- 
sessing more  impudence  than  brains,  willing  to  be  called  the  ready  tool 
of  every  sycophant  who  would  put  themselves  on  a  level  with  him. 

"  The  morning  of  the  Fourth  every  preparation  was  made,  and  at  one 
o'clock  a  large  and  respectable  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  as- 
sembled at  the  court-house  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  where  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  read  by  L.  B.  Dunham,  Esq.,  and  an  excellent 
address  delivered  by  C.  G.  M.  Prime,  Esq.,  well  adapted  to  the  occasion. 

"  After  which  the  company  repaired  in  perfect  order  to  the  Franklin 
House,  and  partook  of  an  excellent  dinner,  and  we  are  much  pleased  to 
state  that  the  ladies  to  a  considerable  number — we  know  not  exactly  how 
many — honored  us  with  their  presence,  and,  to  the  great  gratification  of 
the  guests  and  credit  of  our  village,  participated  in  the  festival,  joined  us 
in  a  glass  of  wine,  etc.,  after  which  they  were  accompanied  to  their 
respective  homes.  We  must  say  to  the  credit  of  our  village  that  we  doubt 
indeed  whether  we  have  a  precedent  in  any  of  the  country  towns  in  the 
western  part  of  Pennsylvania.  The  ladies  were  dressed  rich  and  ele- 
gant,— in  the  line  of  procession  from  the  court-house  as  well  as  at  the 
dinner-table,  presented  a  most  magnificent  appearance.  We  wish  our 
readers  to  remember,  when  we  speak  of  the  manner  in  which  the  birthday 
of  American  Independence  was  celebrated  by  the  citizens  of  Brookville, 
that  four  years  ago  the  place  where  this  town  now  stands  was  an  entire 
wilderness ;  where  stately  edifices  are  now  erected  four  years  ago  was  the 
abode  of  beasts  of  the  forest ;  the  ground  where  the  liberty  pole  now 
stands  was  then  probably  occupied  by  a  howling  wolf  or  panther.  Little 
did  any  who  then  viewed  the  site  where  our  flourishing  village  is  situated 
expect  four  years  hence  to  see  the  tall  pines  and  scrubby  oaks  removed, 
and  in  their  stead  stately  dwellings  reared  ;  little  did  they  expect  at  this 
time  to  see  a  court-house  not  surpassed  in  the  western  country  where  then 
the  prospective  eye  could  only  view  a  doleful-looking  forest.  However, 
we  will  not  at  this  time  leave  the  subject  which  we  have  commenced  to 
portray,  the  grandeur  of  our  village  and  its  rapid  progress. 

"After  the  ladies  had  retired  the  cloth  was  removed,  and  the  table 
covered  with  the  choicest  and  best  selection  of  liquors  ;  the  company  re- 
assembled and  drank  their  toasts  with  loud  cheers.  Every  member  of 
the  celebration  displayed  great  zeal  in  defending  the  administration  of 
General  Andrew  Jackson.  After  the  toasts  which  had  been  committed  to 
paper  were  passed,  a  proposition  was  made  that  each  member  should  give 
a  sentiment  extemporaneously,  which  was  complied  with  by  several  gen- 
tlemen present,  some  of  which  we  will  cite :  '  Hon.  John  McLean,  of 
Ohio,  the  Devil  on  two  sticks;'  second,  '  General  Andrew  Jackson  :  may 
the  sons  of  America  appreciate  his  worth,  and  never  suffer  the  indepen- 

320 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dence  which  he  aided  in  achieving  to  be  trampled  by  the  foes  of  American 
freedom.'  Received  with  cheers  and  shouts  of  applause.  The  company 
were  blessed  while  together  with  the  prevalence  of  an  unanimity  of  sen- 
timent and  identity  of  feeling  ;  they  joined,  as  we  predicted,  like  a  band 
of  brothers  cemented  together  by  the  fond  endearing  ties  of  Jacksonism, 
and  celebrated  the  day  without  a  single  occurrence  calculated  to  disturb 
their  peace  or  mar  their  harmony.  They  separated  in  the  evening  in 
perfect  order." — The  Jcffersonian,  Brookville,  Pennsylvania,  Thursday, 
July  10,  1834.  George  R.  Barrett,  editor.  Mr.  Barrett  afterwards  be- 
came the  distinguished  Judge  Barrett. 

A  CALL  FOR  AND  A  REPORT  OF  THE  DOINGS,  AND  AN  EDITORIAL 
NOTICE  OF  AN  OLD-TIME  POLITICAL  FOURTH  OF  JULY  CELE- 
BRATION. 

"JACKSON  DEMOCRATIC  REPUBLICAN  MEETING. 

"A  large  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  Democratic  Republican  cit- 
izens of  Brookville  and  vicinity,  friendly  to  the  national  and  State  ad- 
ministration, convened  at  the  house  of  William  Clark,  Esq.,  on  Monday, 
the  23d  inst.,  for  the  purpose  of  making  arrangements  preparatory  to 
celebrating  the  approaching  anniversary  of  our  National  independence. 

"  On  motion,  Colonel  William  Jack  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  J.  J. 
Y.  Thompson  appointed  secretary. 

"Whereupon  the  following  persons  were  chosen  a  committee  of 
arrangements :  C.  G.  M.  Prime,  J-  T-  V.  Thompson,  A.  McKnight,  J. 
Beck,  and  William  Rodgers,  Esqrs.  On  motion, 

"  Resolved,  That  C.  G.  M.  Prime,  C.  J.  Dunham,  G.  R.  Barrett,  be  a 
committee  to  draft  regular  toasts  suitable  to  the  occasion." 

"  FOURTH  OF   JULY. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed  to  make  arrangements 
for  celebrating  the  anniversary  of  American  independence,  beg  leave  to 
inform  their  constituents  and  the  public  that  in  pursuance  of  the  duties 
incumbent  upon  them  they  have  made  necessary  arrangements  for  the 
entertainments  of  that  day.  A  dinner  will  be  prepared  at  the  Frank- 
lin House  by  Mr.  Clark,  and  an  appropriate  address  delivered  in  the 
court-house  at  the  hour  of  twelve  o'clock. 

"  WILLIAM  RODGERS, 
C.  G.  M.  PRIME, 
J.  J.  Y.  THOMPSON, 
J.  BECK, 

ALEXANDER  MCKNIGHT. 
"  BROOKVILLE,  June  25,  1834." 
—  The  Jeffersonian. 

321 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

IMPROVEMENT   MEETING— RESIGNATION   OF  JUDGE   BURNSIDE. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Jefferson  County,  on  Thursday  after- 
noon of  court  week,  the  following  proceedings  were  adopted  : 

"  On  motion,  James  Clover  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  R.  A.  Ayles- 
worth  appointed  secretary. 

"  On  motion, 

"  Resolved)  That  the  following  persons  compose  a  committee  to  draft 
resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting,  to  be  reported  at  an  ad- 
journed meeting  to  be  held  in  the  court-house  this  evening  at  early  can- 
dle-light,— viz.  :  William  Jack,  Thomas  Hastings,  G.  R.  Barrett,  A. 
McKnight,  and  R.  A.  Aylesworth. 

"Resolved,  That  James  M.  Stedman,  James  Clover,  and  John  Galla- 
gher be  a  committee  to  wait  on  the  Hon.  Thomas  Burnside  and  General 
William  R.  Smith,  and  solicit  them  to  address  the  meeting  this  evening. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  meeting  adjourn  to  meet  this  evening  at  early 
candle-light. 

"ADJOURNED  MEETING. 

"At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Jefferson  County,  held 
at  the  court-house  on  Thursday  evening  of  the  February  court,  the  fol- 
lowing proceedings  were  had  : 

"  On  motion,  the  Hon.  Elijah  Heath  was  called  to  the  chair. 

"  Thomas  Lucas  and  James  H.  Bell,  Esqs.,  vice-presidents. 

"James  M.  Steedman  and  John  Beck,  Esqrs.,  secretaries. 

"  When  Judge  Burnside  opened  the  meeting  by  reading  the  part  of 
the  bill  relative  to  extending  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  to  the  mouth  of 
French  Creek,  by  means  of  canal  or  railway,  and,  to  the  gratification  of 
all  present,  delivered  a  very  elaborate  and  appropriate  address. 

"  He  was  succeeded  by  General  William  R.  Smith,  who  addressed  the 
meeting  with  great  earnestness  in  a  brief  but  pithy  address,  after  which 
the  committee  reported  the  following  resolutions  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  view  with  deep  interest  the  importance  of  extend- 
ing the  West  Branch  Canal,  or  slack- water  navigation,  to  the  mouth  of 
Anderson's  Creek,  in  Clearfield  County,  and  from  thence  a  water  navi- 
gation, by  means  of  canal  or  slack-water,  along  the  Sinnamahoning  and 
Clarion  Rivers,  or  railway  through  Jefferson  and  Armstrong  Counties  to 
connect  the  French  Creek  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal. 

"Resolved,  That  Jefferson  County  is  large  in  territory  and  embraces 
a  body  of  land  with  soil  unsurpassed  in  Pennsylvania,  covered  with  tim- 
ber of  the  first  order,  with  large  bodies  of  stone-coal,  salt- wells,  and  iron 
ore  in  abundance,  and,  in  fact,  everything  calculated  to  advance  the 
interest  and  further  the  improvement  of  our  county. 

322 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  highly  approve  of  the  measures  of  the  canal 
commissioners  for  the  improvement  of  this  our  important  section  of 
the  county. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  the  facilities  which 
will  be  afforded  by  the  contemplated  connection  of  the  eastern  and 
western  waters  are  too  vitally  important  to  be  looked  over.  The  trade 
passing  east  and  west  by  way  of  this  communication  will  surpass  the  most 
sanguine  expectations  of  the  people. 

"  Resolved,  That  if  the  present  contemplated  connection  is  carried 
into  effect  it  will  ere  long  form  the  most  prominent  part  of  our  im- 
provement. 

"A  motion  was  then  made  that  the  meeting  adjourn,  and  the  people 
invited  to  keep  their  seats  to  hear  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  meeting  with  loud  cheers  of  applause,  every 
one  responding  to  the  sentiment  : 

"Resolved,  That  we  appreciate  the  talents,  stability,  character,  and 
public  worth  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Burnside,  and  that  the  citizens  of  this 
county  and  members  of  the  bar  sincerely  regret  his  departure  as  presi- 
dent judge  of  this  district ;  that  the  highest  testimonial  of  respect  we  are 
able  to  pay  him  is  the  assurance  that  he  carries  with  him  our  best  wishes 
for  his  future  happiness,  and  we  will  ever  cherish  a  grateful  remembrance 
of  our  former  acquaintance." 

BURNSIDE'S  RESPONSE. 

"  GENTLEMEN, — I  have  this  day  received  the  flattering  resolution 
passed  unanimously  by  the  meeting  over  which  you  presided  last  evening 
at  the  court-house. 

"  I  want  words  to  express  my  thanks  and  my  feelings  for  this  mark 
of  respect  from  the  people  and  the  bar  of  Jefferson  County. 

"It  is  grateful  to  my  heart  to  have  their  confidence  both  in  my  public 
and  private  capacity. 

"  I  bear  testimony  to  the  kindness  of  the  people,  their  regard  for  the 
law,  and  their  promptness  on  all  occasions  to  maintain  it.  It  is  due  to 
the  bar  to  declare  my  entire  approbation  of  their  correct  and  gentle- 
manly deportment,  and  I  part  with  them  all  with  feelings  of  kindness 
and  respect.  I  shall  always  remember  them  with  the  deepest  sense  of 
gratitude. 

"Accept,  gentlemen,-  my  most  grateful  respects,  and  permit  me  to 
tender  through  you  to  the  people  of  Jefferson  County  and  the  bar  my 
unfeigned  thanks  for  the  kind  and  flattering  sentiments  conveyed  in  their 
resolution. 

"THOMAS  BURNSIDE. 

"  Directed  to  the  officers  of  the  meeting." 
—  The  Jeffersonian,  February  19,  1835. 

323 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

SHOOTING-STARS   IN    1833— A  SHOWER   OF   FIRE— NATURAL 
PHENOMENON. 

"  The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  O  Lord." 

On  Wednesday,  November  13,  1833,  about  5  o'clock  A.M.,  the 
heavens  presented  a  spectacle  in  this  wilderness  as  has  seldom  been  seen 
in  the  world.  To  those  who  saw  it  in  this  county  it  struck  terror  to  their 
hearts,  and  many  ran  away  from  home  to  their  neighbors,  declaring  that 
the  "day  of  judgment  had  arrived."  The  duration  of  the  display  was 
about  an  hour.  One  account  says, — 

"Yesterday  morning,  between  the  hours  of  five  and  six  o'clock,  the 
heavens  presented  a  very  unusual  and  brilliant  display  of  shooting  me- 
teors, a  more  full  account  of  which,  I  hope,  will  be  furnished  by  those 
better  versed  in  astography  than  the  writer  of  this. 

"At  one  period  probably  more  than  one  hundred,  of  various  sizes 
and  brightness,  appeared  shooting  forth  from  zenith  to  the  horizon,  illumi- 
nating not  only  the  azure  vault,  already  bright  and  clear  with  the  vast  num- 
ber of  stars  with  which  it  was  studded,  but  actually  lighting  up  our  very 
chambers,  as  if  to  allure  the  slothful  to  a  scene  very  rarely  to  be  wit- 
nessed. They  were  attended  with  no  noise,  at  least  distinguishable  to  us, 
but  were  remarkable  for  their  number,  their  startling  velocity,  and  bright- 
ness with  which  they  seemed  to  dart  athwart  the  sky,  and  the  brilliant 
track  they  left  behind. 

"The  phenomenon  continued  until  the  approach  of  the  sun,  when 
the  light  of  the  meteors  was  lost  in  the  near  effulgence  of  his  blaze. 

"In  a  book  recently  published,  called  'The  Geography  of  the 
Heavens,  with  a  Celestial  Atlas,'  by  E.  H.  Barritt,  A.M.,  pages  104- 
195^,  an  account  is  given  of  a  scene  similar  to  the  above. 

"  '  Mr.  Andrew  Ellicott,  who  was  sent  out  as  our  commissioner  to  fix 
the  boundary  between  the  Spanish  possessions  in  North  America  and  the 
United  States,  witnessed  a  very  extraordinary  flight  of  shooting-stars, 
which  filled  the  whole  atmosphere  from  Cape  Florida  to  the  West  India 
Islands.  This  grand  phenomenon  took  place  the  i2th  of  November, 
1799,  and  is  thus  described:  "I  was  called  up,"  says  Mr.  Ellicott, 
"  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  see  the  shooting-stars,  as  they  are 
called.  The  whole  heavens  appeared  as  if  illuminated  with  sky-rockets, 
which  disappeared  only  by  the  light  of  the  sun  after  daybreak.  The 
meteors,  which  at  any  one  instant  of  time  appeared  as  numerous  as  the 
stars,  flew  in  all  possible  directions,  except  from  the  earth,  towards  which 
they  all  inclined  more  or  less,  and  some  of  them  descended  perpendicu- 
larly over  the  vessel  we  were  in,  so  that  I  was  in  constant  expectation  of 
their  falling  upon  us." 

"The  notion  that  this  phenomenon  betokens  high  winds  is  of  great 
antiquity.  Virgil,  in  the  first  book  of  '  Georgica,'  expresses  the  same  idea : 

324 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  '  And  oft,  before  temptations  winds  arise, 

The  seeming  stars  fall  headlong  from  the  skies, 
And  shooting  through  the  darkness,  gild  the  night 
With  sleeping  glories  and  long  tails  of  light.'  " 

—  The  Jeffersonian. 

THE  PIONEER  TEMPERANCE  WORK  IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY— THE 
PIONEER  TEMPERANCE  WORKERS— ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  JEF- 
FERSON COUNTY  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY,  AN  AUXILIARY  TO 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY— WASHING- 
TONIANS. 

In  what  year  this  society  was  formed  and  by  whom  is  unknown.  I 
find  the  following  call  in  The  Jeffersonian,  Thursday,  April  3,  1834: 

"TEMPERANCE  MEETING. 

"  A  meeting  of  the  Jefferson  County  Temperance  Society  will  be 
held  in  the  court-house  on  Monday  evening,  the  yth  day  of  April  next. 
An  address  will  be  delivered  by  Mr.  John  Wilson.  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen  are  invited  to  attend. 

"  J.  J.  Y.  THOMPSON, 

' '  Secretary. ' ' 

A  temperance  society  was  formed  in  Brookville  by  a  small  number, 
principally  young  men,  on  the  evening  of  the  23d  of  September,  1836. 
At  this  meeting  there  were  only  ten  names  signed  to  the  pledge.  The 
following  officers  were  duly  chosen, — viz.  :  President,  Andrew  C.  Hall; 
Yice-Presidents,  Samuel  Craig,  ^Yilliam  A.  Sloan ;  Recording  Secretary, 
James  M.  Craig  ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  James  McCrackin  ;  Treasurer, 
James  Park  ;  Managers,  Thomas  McGinty,  Thomas  M.  Barr,  John  Shrenk. 

The  pledge  was  at  first  "  only  to  abstain  from  ardent  spirits ;"  but  on 
the  zd  of  January,  1837,  after  several  meetings  held  in  the  school-house, 
it  was  changed  "to  that  of  total  abstinence."  The  secretaries,  in  a  re- 
port to  the  society,  on  the  evening  of  March  6,  1836,  say  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  society  seven  meetings  have  been  held,  at  which  the  names 
of  forty '-one  persons,  at  different  times,  have  been  added. 

"  The  secretaries  feel  that  they,  in  common  with  all  other  members  of 
this  society,  owe  a  tribute  to  the  ladies  of  Brookville  and  vicinity,  no  less 
than  nineteen  of  whom  have  nobly  come  out  and  attached  their  names 
to  the  pledge."  Rev.  Hallock,  Rev.  Barris,  Thomas  Lucas,  and  other 
speakers  addressed  the  monthly  meetings. 

This  society  was  the  only  one  organized  body  in  the  temperance  work 
in  the  county  until  1842,  when  the  "\Vashingtonians  organized  their  socie- 
ties. Colonel  Hugh  Brady,  S.  B.  Bishop,  Esq.,  and  others  led  this 
movement. 

325 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

CONTINUOUS   WATER   COMMUNICATION   BETWEEN   THE   EASTERN 
AND   WESTERN   WATERS. 

"  To  carry  out  successfully  the  gigantic  project  of  uniting  the  great 
eastern  with  the  great  western  waters  was  supposed  to  require  an  amount 
of  capital  and  of  credit  beyond  the  control  of  any  joint-stock  company, 
and  the  pre  eminent  power  and  credit  of  the  State  herself  was  enlisted  in 
the  enterprise.  Unfortunately,  to  do  this  required  legislative  votes,  and 
these  votes  were  not  to  be  had  without  extending  the  ramifications  of  the 
system  throughout  all  the  counties  whose  patronage  was  necessary  to  carry 
the  measure.  In  March,  1824,  commissioners  were  appointed  to  explore 
a  route  for  a  canal  from  Harrisburg  to  Pittsburg  by  the  way  of  the  Juniata 
and  Conemaugh,  and  by  the  way  of  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna, 
Sinnemahoning,  and  the  Allegheny,  and  also  between  the  head- waters  of 
the  Schuylkill,  by  Mahanoy  Creek,  to  the  Susquehanna,  with  other  pro- 
jects. In  1825  canal  commissioners  were  appointed  to  explore  a  number 
of  routes  in  various  directions  through  the  State.  In  August,  1825,  a 
convention  of  the  friends  of  internal  improvement,  consisting  of  delegates 
from  forty- six  counties,  met  at  Harrisburg,  and  passed  resolutions  in 
favor  of  '  opening  an  entire  and  complete  communication  from  the  Sus- 
quehanna to  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio,  and  from  the  Allegheny  to  Lake 
Erie,  by  the  nearest  and  best  practicable  route.'  The  starting  impulse 
being  thus  given,  the  great  enterprise  moved  on,  increasing  in  strength 
and  magnitude  as  each  successive  Legislature  convened ;  and  the  citizens 
of  every  section  were  highly  excited,  not  to  say  intoxicated,  with  local 
schemes  of  internal  improvement.  Contemporaneously  with  these  enter- 
prises, anthracite  coal  began  to  be  successfully  introduced  for  family  use  ; 
and,  besides,  the  discovery  of  vast  and  rich  deposits  of  this  mineral, 
almost  exclusively  in  Pennsylvania,  the  circumstance  was  an  additional 
reason  for  the  construction  of  improvements.  Iron-mines  and  salt-wells 
were  also  opened,  stimulated  by  the  high  tariff  of  1828,  and  the  rich  bitu- 
minous coal-fields  west  of  the  Allegheny  invited  enterprise  and  specula- 
tion to  that  quarter.  To  describe  the  various  public  works  that  grew  out 
of  the  powerful  impulse  given  from  1826  to  1836  would  require  itself  a 
small  volume.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  October,  1834,  the  Philadelphia 
and  Columbia  Railroad  was  opened  for  travelling.  The  main  line  of 
canal  had  been  previously  completed,  and  in  the  same  month,  on  the 
completion  of  the  Allegheny  Portage  Railroad,  an  emigrant's  boat,  from 
the  North  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  actually  passed  over  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  with  all  its  family  on  board,  and  being  launched  into  the 
canal  at  Johnstown,  proceeded  on  its  route  to  St.  Louis!" — Day's 
Recollections. 

"  Yesterday  the  report  of  B.  Aycrigg,  Esq.,  the  engineer  employed 
by  the  State  to  examine  and  report  on  the  practicability  of  a  continuous 

326 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

water  communication  between  the  Susquehanna  and  Allegheny  Rivers, 
was  received,  accompanied  by  his  estimate  of  the  expense.  The  House 
ordered  two  thousand  copies  to  be  printed. 

"  The  canal  will  be  129  miles  long,  and  is  estimated  to  cost  $3.767,377  ; 
add  five  per  cent.,  $188,368  ;  making  a  total  of  $3,955,745- 

"  Mr.  Aycrigg  remarks  that  the  estimate  is  not  of  the  probable,  but 
of  the  greatest  expense,  and  that  he  believes  if  the  work  be  properly  con- 
structed a  considerable  surplus  will  be  left. 

"  The  tunnel,  according  to  his  estimate,  will  cost  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  will  take  two  years  longer  to  make  than  the 
other  parts  of  the  canal.  He  therefore  recommends  an  immediate  appro- 
priation to  that  part  of  the  work,  including  the  heavy  embankments 
forming  the  reservoir. 

"  We  think  this  is  the  most  important  State  object  that  can  occupy 
the  attention  of  the  Commonwealth.  It  will  open  an  avenue  by  water  to 
Philadelphia,  not  only  for  the  commerce  of  the  Ohio,  but  the  commerce 
of  the  Great  Lakes.  It  will  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  a  transship- 
ment over  the  mountains,  and  it  will  crown  our  canals,  so  as  in  a  short 
time  to  require  double  locks,  and  not  only  contribute  to  our  commercial 
prosperity,  but  enrich  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  Legisla- 
ture, then,  ought  not  a  moment  to  delay  its  action.  If  any  improvement 
is  to  be  delayed,  let  it  be  some  of  the  almost  useless  ones  that  have  re- 
ceived the  favor  of  the  Committee  on  Internal  Improvements,  as  will  be 
seen  by  a  reference  to  the  appropriation  bill  now  on  the  files  of  the 
House." — Pennsylvania  Intelligencer,  March  9,  1837. 

"  We  are  pleased  to  learn  by  our  Harrisburg  papers  that  Mr.  Aycrigg 
— the  engineer  who  was  engaged  last  summer  in  exploring  the  country 
between  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Allegheny  Rivers — made  his 
report  to  the  Legislature  on  Thursday  morning  last,  the  i5th.  What 
will  be  most  gratifying  to  the  citizens  of  this  section  of  country  is  the 
fact  that  the  report  is  favorable  to  the  Red  Bank  route.  The  Pennsylva- 
nia Intelligencer  says,  '  We  have  taken  the  trouble  to  read  his  report  in 
manuscript,  and  are  pleased  with  the  valuable  information  it  contains. 
He  has  found  a  route  by  the  way  of  Anderson's  Creek,  which  empties 
into  the  West  Branch,  and  Red  Bank,  which  empties  into  the  Allegheny, 
where  a  water  communication  can  be  made.  He  recommends  a  reservoir 
on  the  summit.  By  constructing  a  mound  40  feet  high,  across  the  valley 
of  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  three  eighths  of  a  mile  in  length,  a  reservoir  of  3 
square  miles  can  be  made,  which  will  contain  1,672,704,000  cubic  feet 
of  water,  and  that  water  can  be  supplied  there  during  240  days  to  pass 
115,600  boats.  The  lockage  is  693  feet, — by  83  locks  westward  to  the 
Allegheny  River  at  the  mouth  of  Red  Bank,  and  by  99  locks  eastward  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Sinnamahoning.  The  whole  distance  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Sinnamahoning  to  the  mouth  of  Red  Bank  is  128^  miles.' 

327 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

' '  It  may  be  remembered  that  we  during  the  course  of  the  past 
season  took  occasion  to  remark  that  it  was  our  opinion,  and  we  thought 
well  founded,  too,  that  Mr.  Aycrigg  would  report  in  favor  of  this  route. 
Though  we  do  not  pretend  to  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  yet  we  felt  certain 
that  our  prediction  would,  as  it  did,  prove  true.  But  a  word  with  regard 
to  the  great  advantages  that  will  arise  to  this  county.  Perhaps  no  docu- 
ment ever  issued  from  the  press  is  of  more  vital  importance  to  our  citizens 
than  the  report  in  question.  It  involves  the  interests  of  the  farmer  and 
mechanic,  and  deeply  interests  the  merchant  and  tradingman.  Our  un- 
improved lands  must  immediately  rise  in  value ;  our  timber  will  prove  a 
source  of  wealth,  and  for  years  an  almost  inexhaustible  quantity  of  it  will 
be  found ;  our  bituminous  coal,  iron  ore,  and  other  minerals  make  the 
prospects  of  our  county  equally  flattering,  should  this  contemplated  im- 
provement be  completed,  with  any  other  in  Western  Pennsylvania." — 
The  Jeffersonian,  December  22,  1836. 

It  is  needless  to  say  this  great  enterprise  was  never  consummated. 

PIONEER   COUNTY   BRIDGE   ACROSS   RED   BANK. 

"  Petition  for  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek  at  Brookville.  Re- 
corded on  Road  Docket,  January  19,  1836. 

"  THOMAS  HASTINGS,  Clerk. 

"  To  THE  JUDGES  OF  THE  COURT  OF  COMMON  PLEAS  OF  THE  COUNTY  OF 
JEFFERSON  NOW  HOLDING  A  COURT  OF  QUARTER  SESSIONS  OF  THE 
PEACE  IN  AND  FOR  SAID  COUNTY  : 

"  The  petition  of  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Rose 
in  said  county,  respectfully  represent  that  a  bridge  is  much  wanted  over 
Red  Bank  Creek  at  the  place  where  the  public  highway  from  the  borough 
of  Brookville  to  Indiana  crosses  the  said  creek  in  the  township  of  Rose 
in  said  county,  and  that  the  erection  of  said  bridge  will  require  more 
expense  than  it  is  reasonable  the  said  township  should  bear. 

"Your  petitioners  therefore  pray  the  Court  to  appoint  proper  persons 
to  view  the  premises,  and  to  take  such  order  on  the  subject  as  is  required 
and  directed  by  the  act  of  Assembly  in  such  case  made  and  provided. 
And  they  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

"John  J.  Y.  Thompson.  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  John  Beck,  Wm.  Corden, 
John  Rhoads,  James  Shields,  Wm.  Thompson,  Joseph  Magiffin,  Robt. 
Andrews,  Wm.  B.  Kennedy,  Robert  Morrison,  Jacob  Milliron,  Sheridan 
McCullough,  John  Love,  William  Steele,  John  Jones,  John  McAninch, 

James  Clover,  Henry  Smith,  John  Brownlee,  Jacob  M.  ,  Isaac 

Hallon,  John  Rine,  Peter  Groff,  Philip  Burns,  Wm.  Clark,  Robert  E. 
Kennedy,  Lewis  Sharer,  John  Wilson,  Thos.  Lucas,  Thomas  Witherow, 
Robert  Witherow,  Frederick  Heterick,  Joseph  Hughes,  Isaac  Covert, 
Joseph  Hall,  Ramsey  Potter,  Wm.  Kennedy,  Thomas  Hastings,  John  A. 

328 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Matthews,  D.  M.  Riddle,  Paul  Vandevort,  John  Smith,  Miran  Gibbs, 
Jacob  Mason,  Cyrus  Blood,  James  M.  Craig,  George  Darling,  James 
Fullerton,  James  Henry,  Wm.  Rodgers,  Christopher  Barr,  William  Fer- 
guson, Joseph  Sharpe,  John  Christy." 

This  pioneer  county  covered  bridge  was  a  wooden  one,  made  of  pine 
timber.  It  was  erected  across  Red  Bank  Creek  in  the  borough  of  Brook - 
ville,  a  few  feet  west  of  where  the  present  iron  structure  on  Pickering 
Street  now  stands.  There  were  no  iron  nails  used  in  its  construction, 
and  only  a  few  hand- made  iron  spikes.  The  timbers  were  mortised  and 
tenoned,  and  put  together  with  wooden  pins.  This  was  a  single  span 
bridge  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  with  no  centre  pier, 
and  of  the  burr  truss  plan.  It  had  two  strings  of  circle  arches,  resting 
on  the  stone  abutments.  I  find  the  following  official  records  in  the  court 
dockets : 

"At  the  February  session  of  court,  February  13,  1836,  'upon  the 
petition  to  the  honorable  judges  of  said  court  of  many  inhabitants  of 
Jefferson  County,  setting  forth  that  they  labor  under  great  inconvenience 
for  want  of  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek,  where  the  Hamilton  road 
enters  Pickering  Street  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  asking  the  Court  to 
appoint  viewers,  whereupon  the  Court  appointed  the  following-named 
persons  to  view  the  road  and  make  a  report  to  the  Court, — viz.  :  John 
Dougherty,  John  Matson,  Sr.,  James  K.  Huffman,  Daniel  Coder,  Robert 
Morrison,  and  John  Philliber. '  '  These  viewers  made  their  report  to  the 
Court  May  10,  1836,  "that  the  bridge  was  indisputably  necessary." 

At  the  September  session,  1836,  the  Court  approved  this  report  and 
ordered  the  county  to  pay  four  hundred  dollars  to  the  construction  of  the 
bridge. 

The  following  official  advertisement  for  bids  I  copy  from  the  Brook- 
ville Jeffersonian  for  1836: 

"  NOTICE. 

"  The  building  of  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek,  on  Pickering 
Street,  will  be  sold  to  the  lowest  bidder  on  Thursday,  the  i5th  day  of 
September  next,  at  i  o'clock  P.M. 

"A  plan  of  said  bridge  will  be  shown  at  the  commissioners'  office, 
on  Monday,  12.  Sufficient  security  will  be  requested  of  the  undertaker 
for  the  faithful  performance. 

"  By  order  of  the  commissioners. 

"JOHN  WILSON,  Clerk. 

"  COMMISSIONERS'  OFFICE,  BROOKVILLE,  November  24,  1836." 

The  bridge  was  let  by  the  commissioners  December  15,   1836,  to 
Messrs.  Thomas  Hall  and  Richard  Arthurs,  contractors.     The  contract, 
called  for  the  completion  of  the  bridge  by  September,  1837.     The  ac- 
22  329 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

cepted  contract  bid  was  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five  dollars.  When 
finished  the  bridge  was  a  good  solid  structure,  but  was  a  curious  pile  of 
wood  and  stones. 

Many  memories  to  the  old  citizen  clustered  around  this  bridge,  but 
time  has  effaced  the  bridge  and  will  efface  the  memories.  On  its  planks 
generations  have  met,  passed,  and  repassed,  and  from  its  stringers  fishers 
dropped  many  a  hook  and  line.  Up  to  and  later  than  1843,  Brookville 
had  three  natatoriums,  or  swimming-pools, — viz.,  one  at  the  head  of 
what  is  now  Heidrick,  Coleman  &  Co. 's  dam  on  the  North  Fork,  one  at 
the  "  Deep  Hole"  near  the  Sand  Spring,  on  the  Sandy  Lick,  and  one  at 
or  underneath  the  covered  bridge  on  Red  Bank.  In  those  days,  from 
the  time  we  had  May  flowers  until  the  chilling  blasts  of  November  ar- 
rived, one  of  the  principal  sports  of  the  men  and  boys  was  swimming 
in  these  "pools."  We  boys,  in  summer  months,  all  day  long  played  on 
the  bosom  of  these  waters  or  on  the  border-land.  The  busy  men,  the 
doctor,  the  statesman,  the  lawyer,  the  parson,  the  merchant,  the  farmer, 
the  mechanic,  and  the  day  laborer,  all  met  here  in  the  summer  eve  with 
boisterous  shouts  of  joy  and  mirth  to  welcome  up  the  moon.  Of  course, 
we  had  some  skilful  plungers  and  swimmers,  who  were  as  much  at  home 
in  these  waters  as  the  wild  ducks  and  geese  of  that  day.  An  artist 
could  swim  on  his  back,  on  either  side,  under  the  water,  float  on  his 
back,  tread  or  walk  in  the  water,  and  plunge  or  dive  from  almost  any 
height.  The  beginner  or  boy,  though,  always  commenced  his  apprentice- 
ship in  this  graceful  profession  by  swimming  with  his  breast  on  a  piece  of 
plank,  board,  or  old  slab.  But  alas  to  the  pioneer, — 

"  Swimming  sports,  once  deemed  attractive, 

Haunts  amidst  the  bloom  of  laurel  flowers, 
Radiant  charms  that  pleased  my  senses 

In  my  boyhood's  sunny  hours, 
Have  departed  like  illusions, 
And  will  never  more  be  ours." 


POPULATION   OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 

Counties.  Year  1840. 

Adams 23,044 

Allegheny 81,235 

Armstrong 28,365 

Beaver 29,368 

Bedford 29,335 

Berks 64,569 

Bradford '  . 32*769 

Bucks 48,107 

Butler 22,378 

Cambria 11,256 

Centre      . 20.492 

Chester - 57-5I5 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Counties.  Year  1840. 

Clarion 9,500 

Clearfield 7,834 

Clinton 8,323 

Columbia 24,267 

Crawford 31,724 

Cumberland 3°,953 

Dauphin 30,118 

Delaware 19,791 

Erie 3,412 

Fayette 33,574 

Franklin      37,793 

Greene J9,I47 

Huntingdon 35,484 

Indiana 20,782 

Jefferson      7>253 

Juniata 11,080 

Lancaster 84,203 

Lebanon      ,  21,872 

Lehigh 25,787 

Luzerne 35>9°6 

Lycoming 22,649 

McKean 2,975 

Mercer 32,873 

Mifflin 13,092 

Monroe 9,879 

Montgomery 47,241 

Northampton 40,996 

Northumberland 20,027 

Perry 17,096 

Philadelphia 258,037 

Pike 3,832 

Potter 3,371 

Schuylkill 29,053 

Somerset 19,650 

Susquehanna 21,195 

Tioga 15,498 

Union      22,787 

Venango 17,900 

Warren 9,278 

Washington 41,279 

Wayne 11,848 

Westmoreland 42,699 

Wyoming 8,100 

York 47,oio 

1,705,601 

Jefferson  County  was  not  organized  in  1830,  and  the  census  was  not 
reported,  only  as  a  whole.  Males  in  county,  1065  ;  females,  940;  total, 
2005. 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


PIONEER   AND    EARLY   COUNTIES,  DATE   OF   FORMATION,  AND 
NUMBER   OF   ACRES   IN   EACH. 


No.  |             Name.                Date  of  Formation. 

Acres. 

I 

Philadelphia     .      March  10,  1682 

One  of  Penn's  original  counties  .    . 

80,840 

2 

Chester  ....          "       10,  1682 

«                u                «                it           ^     f 

472,320 

3 

Bucks     ....          "       10,  1682 

it                it                tt                tt 

387,200 

4 

Lancaster  .    .    .      May      10,  1729 

From  a  part  of  Chester     

608,000 

5 

York  Aug.     19,  1749 

"           "           Lancaster    .... 

576,000 

6     Cumberland  .    .     Jan.       27,  1750 

"           "           Lancaster  .... 

348,160 

7 

Berks     ....      March  II,  1752 

"           "           Philadelphia,  Ches- 

ter, and  Lancas- 

ter   ...... 

588,800 

8 

Northampton     .          "       1  1,  1752 

"           "           Bucks  

240,000 

9 

Bedford     ...          "         9,  1771 

"           "          Cumberland    .    .    . 

636,160 

10 

Northumberland 

27,  1772 

Cumberland,  Berks, 

Bedford,         and 

Northampton  .    . 

292,480 

II 

Westmoreland  . 

Feb.     26,  1773 

"           "          Bedford,  and  in  1785 

part  of  the  Indian 

purchase  of  1784 

was  added    .    .    . 

672,000 

12 

Washington  .    .      March  28,  1781 

"                       Westmoreland    .    . 

573,440 

13      Fayette  .    .    .    .  ,  Sept.     26,  1783 

"           "           Westmoreland    ,    . 

527,360 

14     Franklin    ...        "           9,  1784 

"                       Cumberland    .    .    .  : 

480,000 

15     Montgomery.    .        "         10,  1784 

"                       Philadelphia    ... 

303,080 

16     Dauphin    .        .      March    4,  1785 

"                       Lancaster    .... 

357,76o 

17     Luzerne     ...     Sept.     25,  1782 

"                       Northumberland    . 

896,000 

18      Huntingdon  .    .  !      "         20,  1787 

«                       Bedford   

537,600 

19     Allegheny.    .    .        "        24,1788 

"                       Westmoreland    and 

Washington    .    . 

482,560 

20 

Mifflin    ....         "         19,  1789 

"                       Cumberland       and 

Northumberland 

286,800 

21 

Delaware  ...        "         26,  1789 

"                       Chester    

113,280 

22 

Somerset    .                Anril      17.  I7OC 

"                       Bedford  

682,240 

23  j  Greene  ....     Feb.       9,  1796 

"                       Washington     ... 

389,120 

24  1  Wayne   ....     March  26,  1796 

"                       Northampton  .    .    . 

460,800 

25 

Lycoming  .    .    .     April     13,  1796 

"                       Northumberland    . 

691,200 

26 

Adams   ....     Jan.       22,  1800 

"                       York    ! 

337,920 

27 

Centre    ....      Feb.      13,  1800 

"                       Mifflin,     Northum-  | 

berland,      Lyco- 

ming, and  Hunt- 

ingdon    .... 

688,000 

28 

Armstrong     .    . 

March  12,  1  800 

"           "           Allegheny,     West- 

moreland,     and 

Lycoming    .    .    .  ' 

408,960 

29 

Beaver   .... 

"       12,  1800 

"           "           Allegheny          and 

Washington    . 

298,240 

30 

Butler     ....                  12,  1800 

"           "          Allegheny   ... 

502,400 

31     Crawford  ...                  12,  1800 

"           "          Allegheny   ... 

629,760 

32     Erie    12.  1800 

"           "          Allegheny   .    .    . 

480,000 

33     Mercer  .... 

12,  1800 

"           "          Allegheny   .    .    . 

416,000 

34 

Venango    ...                  13,  1800 

"           "          Allegheny  and  Ly    \ 

coming     .    .    . 

330,240 

35 

Warren  ....          "       12,  1800 

"           "           Allegheny  and  Ly 

coming    .... 

551,040 

36 

Indiana      .    .    . 

"      30,  1803 

"           "           Westmoreland  and 

Lycoming   ... 

492,800 

37 

McKean     .    .    .          "       20,  1804 

"           "           Lycoming    .... 

716,800 

332 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

PIONEER   AND   EARLY    COUNTIES,  DATE   OF   FORMATION,  AND 
NUMBER   OF   ACRES   IN   EACH.— Continued. 


No. 

Name. 

Date  of  Formation. 

Acres. 

38 

39 
40 

4i 

42 
43 

44 

Clearfield  .  .  . 

Jefferson  .  .  . 
Potter  .... 
Cambria  .  .  . 

Tioga  .... 
Bradford  *  .  . 

Susquehanna 

March  26,  1804 

"        26,  1804 
"       26,  1804 
"        26,  1804 

"       26,   1804 
Feb.      21,  1810 

"         21.  1810 

From  a  part  of  Lycoming           and 
Northumberland 
"           "           Lycoming    .... 
"           "           Lycoming    .... 
"           "          Huntingdon,   Som- 
erset, and  Bedford 
"           "           Lycoming    .... 
"            "           Luzerne    and    Ly- 
coming   .... 
"           "           Luzerne  

761,600 
412,800 
384,000 

428,800 
714,240 

751,300 
510,080 

45 

Schuylkill  .  .  . 

March    i,  1811 

"           "           Berks    and   North- 
ampton 

4.8  ;  ,400 

46 
47 

Lehigh  .... 
Lebanon  .  .  .  , 

"        6,  1812 
Feb.      16,  1813 

"           "          Northampton  .    .    . 
"           ''          Dauphin  and  Lan- 
caster   

232,960 

195,840 

48 
49 

"iO 

Columbia  .  .  . 
Union  .... 
Pike  

March  22,  1813 

"        22,  1813 
"        26,  l8l4 

"           "           Northumberland     . 
"           "           Northumberland     . 
"           "           ^Vayne                 .    . 

275,840 
165,120 
384,000 

51 

Perrv  .  . 

"        22,  l82O 

"           "           Cumberland    .    .    . 

344,960 

C2 

Juniata 

"            2,   1831 

«           «<           Mifflin      

224,640 

S3 

Monroe  .... 

April       I,  1836 

"           "           Northampton     and 
Pike     .... 

184,000 

54 

Clarion  .... 

March  II,  1839 

"           "          Venango  and  Arm- 
strong   

384,000 

55 

Clinton  .... 

June     21,  1839 

"           "           Lycoming  and  Cen- 
tre      

501,760 

56 

57 
58 

Wyoming  .  .  . 
Carbon  .... 
Elk  .... 

April      4,  1842 
March  13,  1843 
April     18,  1843 

"           "          Northumberland 
and  Luzerne   .    . 
"           "           Northampton     and 
Monroe    .... 
"           "          Jefferson,  Clearfield, 

261,760 
256,000 

and  McKean   .    . 

446,720 

*  Previous  to  March  24,  1812,  this  county  was  called  Ontario. 


333 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

PIONEER  SETTLEMENT  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA — PIONEER  PENNSYL- 
VANIA INDIAN  TRADERS — THE  PIONEER  ROAD  BY  WAY  OF  THE  SOUTH 
BRANCH  OF  THE  POTOMAC  AND  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  KISKIMINITAS — THE 
PIONEER  ROAD  FROM  EAST  TO  WEST,  FROM  RAYSTOWN,  NOW  BEDFORD, 
TO  FORT  DUQUESNE,  NOW  PITTSBURG,  A  MILITARY  NECESSITY — GEN- 
ERAL JOHN  FORBES  OPENS  IT  IN  THE  SUMMER  AND  FALL  OF  1758 — 
COLONEL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  OPPOSED  TO  THE  NEW  ROAD  AND  IN 
FAVOR  OF  THE  POTOMAC  ROAD — DEATH  OF  GENERAL  JOHN  FORBES  — 
PIONEER  MAIL-COACHES,  MAIL-ROUTES,  AND  POST-OFFICES. 

"  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA  was  untrodden  by  the  foot  of  the  white 
man  before  the  year  1700.  As  early  as  1715  and  1720  occasionally  a 
trader  would  venture  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountain,  and  of  these  the 
first  was  James  Le  Tort,  who  resided  in  1 700  east  of  the  Susquehanna, 
but  took  up  his  residence  west  of  it,  Le  Tort  Spring,  Carlisle,  in  1720. 
Peter  Cheaver,  John  Evans,  Henry  DeVoy,  Owen  Nicholson,  Alexander 
Magenty,  Patrick  Burns,  George  Hutchison,  all  of  Cumberland  County ; 
Barnaby  Currin,  John  McGuire,  a  Mr.  Frazier,  the  latter  of  whom  had 
at  an  early  day  a  trading-house  at  Venango,  but  afterwards  at  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  were  all  traders  among  the 
Indians.  But  no  attempt  had  been  made  by  the  whites  at  settlements  in 
the  region  now  occupied  by  the  several  counties  west  of  the  Alleghenies 
before  1748,  when  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed.  This  company  sent 
out  the  undaunted  Christopher  Gist,  in  1750,  to  explore  the  country  and 
make  report.  He,  it  is  said,  explored  the  country  '  from  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Potomac  northward  to  the  heads  of  the  Juniata  River, 
crossed  the  mountains,  and  reached  the  Allegheny  by  the  valley  of  Kis- 
kiminitas.  He  crossed  the  Allegheny  about  four  miles  above  the  forks, 
where  Pittsburg  now  stands,  thence  went  down  the  Ohio  to  some  point 
below  Beaver  River,  and  thence  over  to  the  Muskingum  valley.'  The 
first  actual  settlement  made  was  within  the  present  limits  of  Fayette 
County,  in  1752,  by  Mr.  Gist  himself,  on  a  tract  of  land,  now  well  known 
there  as  Mount  Braddock,  west  of  the  Youghiogheny  River.  Mr.  Gist 
induced  eleven  families  to  settle  around  him  on  lands  presumed  to  be 
within  the  Ohio  Company's  grant. 

"  The  more  southern  part  of  Western  Pennsylvania  (Greene,  Wash- 
ington, Fayette,  and  part  of  Somerset),  which  was  supposed  to  be  within 
the  boundaries  of  Virginia,  was  visited  by  adventurers  from  Maryland 

334 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

prior  to  1754.  Among  these  were  Wendel  Brown  and  his  two  sons 
and  Frederick  Waltzer,  who  lived  four  miles  west  of  Uniontown.  David 
Tygart  had  settled  in  the  valley  which  still  bears  his  name  in  Northwest- 
ern Virginia ;  several  other  families  came  here  a  few  years  afterwards. 
These  were  the  only  settlements  attempted  prior  to  Braddock's  defeat, 
and  those  made  immediately  afterwards,  or  prior  to  1760,  were  repeatedly 
molested,  families  murdered,  cabins  burnt,  and,  for  a  time,  broken  up, 
alternately  abandoned  and  again  occupied. 

"  The  treaty  of  1762  brought  quiet  and  repose  to  some  extent  to  the 
English  colonies,  and  the  first  settlers  on  the  frontiers  returned  to  their 
abandoned  farms,  but  they  were  soon  again  obliged  to  leave  their  homes 
and  retire  for  safety  to  the  more  densely  settled  parts.  Bouquet  prosecuted 
his  campaign  with  success  against  the  Indians,  and  in  November,  1764, 
compelled  the  turbulent  and  restless  Kyashuta  to  sue  for  peace  and  bury 
the  hatchet  on  the  plains  of  Muskingum,  and  finally  humbled  the  Delawares 
and  Shawanese.  Soon  after  the  refugee  settlers  returned  to  their  cabins 
and  clearings,  resumed  their  labors,  extended  their  improvements,  and 
cultivated  their  lands.  From  this  time  forth  the  prosperity  of  Pennsyl- 
vania increased  rapidly,  and  the  tide  of  immigration  with  consequent 
settlements  rolled  westward,  though  the  pioneer  settlers  were  afterwards 
greatly  exposed. 

"  Previous  to  1758,  Westmoreland  was  a  wilderness  trodden  by  the 
wild  beast,  the  savage,  and,  like  other  portions  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
by  an  occasional  white  trader  or  frontiersman.  No  settlements  were 
attempted  prior  to  this  date,  when  Fort  Duquesne,  afterwards  Fort  Pitt, 
was  abandoned  by  the  French,  became  an  English  military  post,  and 
formed  a  nucleus  for  an  English  settlement,  and  two  years  afterwards 
(1760)  a  small  town  was  built  near  Fort  Pitt,  which  contained  nearly  two 
hundred  souls,  but  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war,  in  1763,  the 
inhabitants  retired  into  the  fort,  and  their  dwellings  were  suffered  to  fall 
into  decay.  In  1 765,  Pittsburg  was  laid  out." — History  of  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. 

This  southern  exploration  was  through  what  is  now  Somerset,  Fayette, 
Westmoreland,  and  Allegheny  Counties.  In  1754,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
George  Washington,  then  twenty-one  years  old,  penetrated  this  wilder- 
ness and  improved  this  road.  In  1755,  General  Braddock,  accompanied 
by  Washington,  marched  his  army  over  this  road.  Hence  the  road  has 
always  been  called  Braddock's  road. 

The  pioneer  road  from  east  to  west  was  opened  up  in  September, 
1758,  by  General  John  Forbes.  He  commanded  an  army  of  about  eight 
thousand  men.  General  Forbes  marched  in  the  spring  from  Philadelphia 
with  his  troops  to  Raystown  (now  Bedford),  but  on  account  of  the  small- 
pox in  his  army  he  was  detained  at  Carlisle,  and  failed  to  reach  what  is 
now  Bedford  until  the  middle  of  September.  At  a  consultation  of  his 

335 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

officers  at  this  point  it  was  decided  to  cut  out  a  new  road  over  the 
mountains  from  Kaystown  to  Loyalhanna,  now  in  Westmoreland  County, 
a  distance  of  forty-five  miles. 

This  new  road  passed  through  what  is  now  Bedford,  Somerset,  and 
Westmoreland  Counties.  Colonel  Bouquet,  with  twenty-five  hundred 
men,  cut  out  the  road  in  September  and  October  of  that  year. 

Colonel  Washington  was  at  this  consultation,  and  was  opposed  to  the 
new  road.  Washington's  arguments  in  favor  of  the  southern  route  were 
as  follows : 

"CAMP  AT  FORT  CUMBERLAND,  August  2,  1758. 

"  SIR, — The  matters  of  which  we  spoke  relative  to  the  roads  have, 
since  our  parting,  been  the  subject  of  my  closest  reflection,  and  so  far 
am  I  from  altering  my  opinion  that  the  more  time  and  attention  I  bestow 
the  more  I  am  confirmed  in  it,  and  the  reasons  for  taking  Braddock's 
road  appear  in  a  stronger  point  of  view.  To  enumerate  the  whole  of 
these  reasons  would  be  tedious,  and  to  you,  who  are  become  so  much 
master  of  the  subject,  unnecessary.  I  shall,  therefore,  briefly  mention  a 
few  only,  which  I  think  so  obvious  in  themselves,  that  they  must  effect- 
ually remove  objections. 

"Several  years  ago  the  Virginians  and  Pennsylvanians  commenced  a 
trade  with  the  Indians  settled  on  the  Ohio,  and,  to  obviate  the  many  in- 
conveniences of  a  bad  road,  they,  after  reiterated  and  ineffectual  efforts 
to  discover  where  a  good  one  might  be  made,  employed  for  the  purpose 
several  of  the  most  intelligent  Indians,  who,  in  the  course  of  many  years' 
hunting,  had  acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  on  these  mountains.  The 
Indians,  having  taken  the  greatest  pains  to  gain  the  rewards  offered  for 
this  discovery,  declared  that  the  path  leading  from  Will's  Creek  was  in- 
finitely preferable  to  any  that  could  be  made  at  any  other  place.  Time 
and  experience  so  clearly  demonstrated  this  truth  that  the  Pennsylvania 
traders  commonly  carried  out  their  goods  by  Will's  Creek.  Therefore 
the  Ohio  Company,  in  1753,  at  a  considerable  expense,  opened  the  road. 
In  1754  the  troops  whom  I  had  the  honor  to  command  greatly  repaired 
it,  as  far  as  Gist's  plantation,  and  in  1755  it  was  widened  and  completed 
by  General  Braddock  to  within  six  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne.  A  road  that 
has  so  long  been  opened  and  so  well  and  so  often  repaired  must  be  much 
firmer  and  better  than  a  new  one,  allowing  the  ground  to  be  equally 
good. 

"  But  supposing  it  were  practicable  to  make  a  road  from  Raystown 
quite  as  good  as  General  Braddock's,  I  ask,  have  we  time  to  do  it  ?  Cer- 
tainly not.  To  surmount  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  making  it 
over  such  mountains,  covered  with  woods  and  rocks,  would  require  so 
much  time  as  to  blast  our  otherwise  well-grounded  hopes  of  striking  the 
important  stroke  this  season. 

336 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  favorable  accounts  that  some  give  of  the  forage  on  the  Rays- 
town  road,  as  being  so  much  better  than  that  on  the  other,  are  certainly 
exaggerated.  It  is  well  known  that  on  both  routes  the  rich  valleys  be- 
tween the  mountains  abound  with  good  forage,  and  that  those  which  are 
stony  and  bushy  are  destitute  of  it.  Colonel  Byrd  and  the  engineer  who 
accompanied  him  confirm  this  fact.  Surely  the  meadows  on  Braddock's 
road  would  greatly  overbalance  the  advantage  of  having  grass  to  the  foot 
of  the  ridge,  on  the  Raystown  road  ;  and  all  agree  that  a  more  barren 
road  is  nowhere  to  be  found  than  that  from  Raystown  to  the  inhabitants, 
which  is  likewise  to  be  considered. 

"  Another  principal  objection  made  to  General  Braddock's  road  is  in 
regard  to  the  waters.  But  these  seldom  swell  so  much  as  to  obstruct  the 
passage.  The  Youghiogheny  River,  which  is  the  most  rapid  and  soonest 
filled,  I  have  crossed  with  a  body  of  troops  after  more  than  thirty  days 
almost  continued  rain.  In  fine,  any  difficulties  on  this  score  are  so 
trivial  that  they  really  are  not  worth  mentioning.  The  Monongahela, 
the  largest  of  all  these  rivers,  may,  if  necessary,  easily  be  avoided,  as 
Mr.  Frazier,  the  principal  guide,  informs  me,  by  passing  a  defile,  and 
even  that,  he  says,  may  be  shunned. 

"Again,  it  is  said  there  are  many  defiles  on  this  road.  I  grant  that 
there  are  some,  but  I  know  of  none  that  may  not  be  traversed,  and  I 
should  be  glad  to  be  informed  where  a  road  can  be  had  over  these  moun- 
tains not  subject  to  the  same  inconvenience.  The  shortness  of  the  dis- 
tance between  Raystown  and  Loyal  Hanna  is  used  as  an  argument  against 
this  road,  which  bears  in  it  something  unaccountable  to  me,  for  I  must 
beg  leave  to  ask  whether  it  requires  more  time  or  is  more  difficult  and 
expensive  to  go  one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles  on  a  good  road  already 
made  to  our  hands  than  to  cut  one  hundred  miles  anew,  and  a  great  part 
of  the  way  over  impassable  mountains. 

"  That  the  old  road  is  many  miles  nearer  Winchester  in  Virginia  and 
Fort  Frederick  in  Maryland  than  the  contemplated  one  is  incontestable, 
and  I  will  here  show  the  distance  from  Carlisle  by  the  two  routes,  fixing 
the  different  stages,  some  of  which  I  have  from  information  only,  but 
others  I  believe  to  be  exact. 

FROM  CARLISLE  TO  FORT  DUQUESNE  BY  WAY  OF  RAYSTOWN. 

Miles. 
From  Carlisle  to  Shippensburg 21 

"  Shippensburg  to  Fort  Loudon 24 

"  Fort  Loudon  to  Fort  Littleton 20 

"  Littleton  to  Juniata  Crossing 14 

"  Juniata  Crossing  to  Raystown 14 

93 
"       Raystown  to  Fort  Duquesne 100 

193 

337 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENXA. 


FROM  CARLISLE  TO   FORT   DUQUESXE   BY  WAY  OF    FORT   FREDERIC  AND   CUM- 
BERLAND. 

Miles. 

From  Carlisle  to  Shippensburg 21 

"      Shippensburg  to  Chamber's 12 

"      Chambers  to  Pacelin's 12 

"       Pacelin  to  Fort  Frederic 12 

"       Fort  Frederic  to  Fort  Cumberland 40 

97 
"       Fort  Cumberland  to  Fort  Duquesne 115 


"  From  this  computation  there  appears  to  be  a  difference  of  nineteen 
miles  only.  Were  all  the  supplies  necessarily  to  come  from  Carlisle,  it  is 
well  known  that  the  goodness  of  the  old  road  is  a  sufficient  compensation 
for  the  shortness  of  the  other,  as  the  wrecked  and  broken  wagons  there 
clearly  demonstrate. " — The  Olden  Time,  vol.  i. 

For  many  years  all  government  supplies  for  western  forts,  groceries, 
salt,  and  goods  of  every  kind,  were  carried  from  the  east  on  pack-horses 
over  this  Forbes  road.  One  man  would  sometimes  have  under  his  con- 
trol from  fifty  to  one  hundred  pack-horses.  A  panel  pack-saddle  was 
on  each  horse,  and  the  load  for  a  horse  was  about  two  hundred  pounds. 
Forts  were  established  along  the  line  of  the  road,  and  guards  from  the 
militia  accompanied  these  horse-trains,  guarding  them  by  night  in  their 
"encampments"  and  protecting  them  by  day  through  and  over  the 
mountains. 

This  Braddock  road  and  Raystown  road  were  nothing  more  than 
trails  or  military  roads,  and  it  was  not  until  1784  or  1785  that  the  State 
opened  a  road  from  the  east  to  the  west  over  Forbes's  military  trail. 

General  John  Forbes  died  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  i5th 
of  March,  1759. 

One  hundred  years  ago  this  pioneer  road  was  crowded  by  carriers  with 
their  pack-horses  going  westward,  laden  with  people,  salt,  iron,  and 
merchandise. 

"  The  pack-horses  then  travelled  in  divisions  of  twelve  or  fifteen,  going 
single-file,  each  horse  carrying  about  two  hundred-weight ;  one  man  pre- 
ceded and  one  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  file.  Later  on  the  carriers,  to 
their  bitter  indignation,  were  supplanted  by  the  Conestoga  wagons,  with 
their  proud  six-horse  teams,  with  huge  belled  collars,  the  wagon  stored 
with  groceries,  linens,  calico,  rum,  molasses,  and  hams,  four  to  five  tons 
of  load ;  by  law  none  of  these  wagons  had  less  than  four  inch  tires  on  its 
wheels." 

From  1784  to  1834  was  the  stage-coach  era  -in  this  country.  In  the 
year  1802  the  government  started  a  line  of  coaches  between  Philadelphia 

338 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  New  York,  carrying  their  own  mail.  This  was  continued  for  three 
years,  clearing  an  average  profit  yearly  of  four  thousand  dollars.  In  1834 
the  postmaster-general  and  the  government  preferred  railroad  transporta- 
tion where  it  could  be  had.  The  government  required  from  the  railroads 
a  schedule  time  of  thirteen  miles  an  hour  for  the  mails.  I  give  as  near 
as  I  can  learn  the  pioneer  individual  stage-coach  mail  lines. 

PIONEER    MAIL-COACHES    EAST   AND   WEST,    AND    TO    CROSS    THE 
ALLEGHENY    MOUNTAINS. 

"PHILADELPHIA    AND    PITTSBURGH    MAIL    STAGES. 

"A  line  of  stages  being  established  and  now  in  operation  to  and 
from  each  of  the  above  places.  This  line  will  start  from  John  Tomlin- 
son's,  Market-street,  Philadelphia,  every  Friday  morning,  via  Harris- 
burgh  and  Chambersburgh,  to  Pittsburgh,  and  perform  the  trip  in  7  days. 
It  will  also  start  from  THOMAS  FERREE'S  the  Fountain  Inn,  Water-street, 
Pittsburgh,  every  Wednesday  morning,  same  rout  to  Philadelphia,  and 
perform  the  trip  in  7  days  ;  Fare — Passengers  20  dollars  and  20  Ib.  bag- 
gage free ;  all  extra  baggage  or  packages,  if  of  dimentions  such  as  to  be 
admitted  for  transportation  by  this  line,  to  pay  12  dollars  per  100  Ib. 
the  baggage  or  the  packages  to  be  at  the  owner's  own  proper  risque  unless 
especially  receipted  for  by  one  of  the  proprietors,  which  cannot  be  done 
if  the  owner  is  a  passenger  in  the  stage,  same  trip.  These  stages  are 
constructed  to  carry  three  passengers  on  a  seat,  and  more  never  shall  be 
admitted. 

"This  line  will  also  leave  John  Tomlinson's  as  above  every  Tuesday 
morning  for  Chambersburgh,  making  the  trip  in  2^  days,  and  leave 
Mr.  Hetrick's  tavern  in  Chambersburgh,  every  Wednesday  at  noon,  for 
Philadelphia,  and  make  the  trip  in  2^  days;  fare  9  dollars  and  50  cents, 
under  the  same  regulations  as  above. 

"  The  public  will  perceive  by  this  establishment,  that  they  have  a 
direct  conveyance  from  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh  once  a  week,  and 
from  Philadelphia  and  Chambersburgh  twice  a  week. 

"The  proprietors  being  determined  that  their  conduct  shall  be  such 
as  to  merit  support  in  their  line. 

"JOHN    TOMLINSON    &    Co. 
"July  3rd,  1804." 

"PHILADELPHIA  AND  PITTSBURGH  MAIL  STAGES. 

"  The  Proprietors 

"With  pleasure  now  inform  the  public  that  they  run  their  line  of 
stages  twice  in  the  week  to  and  from  the  above  places. 

"They  leave  John  Tomlinson's  Spread  Eagle,  Market-street,  Phila- 
delphia, every  Tuesday  and  Friday  morning,  at  4  o'clock,  and  Thomas 

339 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Ferry's  Fountain  Inn,  Water-street,  Pittsburgh,  every  Wednesday  and 
Saturday  morning,  perform  the  trip  in  seven  days.  Fare  each  passenger 
20  dollars ;  14  Ibs.  of  baggage  free ;  extra  baggage  to  pay  12^2  cents  per 
Ib.  This  line  runs  through  Lancaster,  Elizabeth  Town,  Middle  Town, 
Harrisburgh,  Carlisle,  Shippensburgh,  Chambersburgh,  McConnell's- 
town,  Bedford,  Sommerset,  Greensburgh,  &c. 

"As  usual  they  continue  to  run  their  line  of  Stages  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Scott,  from  Philadelphia,  to  the  City  of  Washington,  via  Lan- 
caster, Columbia,  York,  Hanover,  Petersburgh,  Frederick  Town,  <S:c. 
three  times  a  week,  Summer  establishment,  and  twice  a  week  in  winter. 
Also  their  daily  Stages  from  Philadelphia  and  Lancaster  continue,  as 
heretofore.  All  baggage  transported  by  any  of  the  above  lines  of  Stages 
is  to  be  and  remain  at  the  risque  of  the  owner.  The  Proprietors  of  the 
above  lines  respectfully  thank  the  public  for  their  past  favours :  Would 
be  glad  they  would  increase  them ;  and  they  will  pledge  themselves, 
neither  expence  in  reason,  or  attention,  shall  not  be  wanting  on  their 
part  to  make  their  several  lines  respectable. 

"JOHN    TOMLINSON    &    Co. 

'•  Nov.  gth,  1804.'' 

PIONEER  MAIL-ROUTES  AND  POST-OFFICES—EARLY  MAIL-ROUTES 
AND  POST-OFFICES—TRANSMISSION  OF  MONEY  THROUGH  MAILS 
AND  OTHERWISE. 

The  pioneer  post-office  was  established  in  this  State  under  an  act  of 
Assembly,  November  27,  1700, — viz.: 

"AN    ACT   FOR    ERECTING    AND    ESTABLISHING    A    POST    OFFICE. 

"  Whereas,  The  King  and  the  late  Queen  Mary,  by  their  royal  letters 
patent  under  the  great  seal  of  England,  bearing  date  the  seventeenth  of 
February,  which  was  in  the  year  one  thousand  and  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
and-one,  did  grant  to  Thomas  Neal,  Esquire,  his  executors,  administrators 
and  assigns,  full  power  and  authority  to  erect,  settle  and  establish  within 
the  King's  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  one  or  more  office  or 
offices  for  receiving  and  dispatching  of  letters  and  packets  by  post,  and 
to  receive,  send  and  deliver  the  same,  under  such  rates  and  sums  of  money 
as  shall  be  agreeable  to  the  rates  established  by  act  of  parliament  in  Eng- 
land, or  as  the  planters  and  others  should  agree  to  give  on  the  first  settle- 
ment, to  have,  hold  and  enjoy  the  same  for  a  term  of  twenty-one  years, 
with  and  under  such  powers,  limitations  and  conditions  as  in  and  by  the 
said  letters  patent  may  more  fully  appear ; 

"  And  whereas ,  The  King's  Postmaster  General  of  England,  at  the 
request,  desire  and  nomination  of  the  said  Thomas  Neale,  hath  deputed 
Andrew  Hamilton,  Esquire,  for  such  time  and  under  such  conditions  as 
in  his  deputation  is  for  that  purpose  mentioned,  to  govern  and  manage  the 

340 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

said  General  Post  Office  for  and  throughout  all  the  King's  plantations 
and  colonies  in  the  main  land  or  continent  of  America  and  the  islands 
adjacent  thereto,  and  in  and  by  the  said  deputation  may  more  fully 
appear : 

"And  whereas,  The  said  Andrew  Hamilton  hath,  by  and  with  the 
good  liking  and  approbation  of  the  Postmaster  General  of  England, 
made  application  to  the  proprietary  and  governor  of  this  province  and 
territories  and  freemen  thereof  convened  in  general  assembly,  that  they 
would  ascertain  and  establish  such  rates  and  sums  of  money  upon  letters 
and  packets  going  by  post  as  may  be  an  effectual  encouragement  for 
carrying  on  and  maintaining  a  general  post,  and  the  proprietary  and 
governor  and  freemen  in  general  assembly  met,  considering  that  the 
maintaining  of  mutual  and  speedy  correspondencies  is  very  beneficial  to 
the  King  and  his  subjects,  and  a  great  encouragement  to  the  trade,  and 
that  the  same  is  best  carried  on  and  managed  by  public  post,  as  well  as 
for  the  preventing  of  inconveniences  which  heretofore  have  happened 
for  want  thereof,  as  for  a  certain,  safe  and  speedy  dispatch,  carrying  and 
recarrying  of  all  letters  and  packets  of  letters  by  post  to  and  from  all 
parts  and  places  within  the  continent  of  America  and  several  parts  of 
Europe,  and  that  the  well  ordering  thereof  is  matter  of  general  con- 
cernment and  of  great  advantage,  and  being  willing  to  encourage  such  a 
public  benefit : 

"  (SECTION  i.)  Have  therefore  enacted,  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  said 
Proprietary  and  Governor  of  this  Province  and  Territories,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Freemen  thereof  in  General  Assembly  met, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  there  be  from  henceforth  one 
general  letter  office  erected  and  established  within  the  town  of  Phila- 
delphia, from  whence  all  letters  and  packets  whatsoever  may  be  with 
speed  and  expedition  sent  into  any  part  of  the  neighboring  colonies  and 
plantations  on  the  mainland  and  continent  of  America,  or  into  any  other 
of  the  King's  kingdoms  or  dominions,  or  unto  any  kingdom  or  country 
beyond  the  seas  ;  at  which  said  office  all  returns  and  answers  may  like- 
wise be  received,  etc.,  etc." 

The  pioneer  mail-route  through  this  wilderness  was  over  the  old  State 
Road;  it  was  established  in  1805.  It  was  carried  on  horseback  from 
Bellefonte  to  Meadville.  The  route  was  over  the  State  Road  to  what  is 
now  the  Clarion  line ;  from  there  over  a  new  road  to  the  Allegheny 
River  or  Parker's  Ferry,  now  Parker's  City;  up  the  river  to  Franklin, 
and  from  there  to  Meadville.  The  pioneer  contractor's  name  was  James 
Randolph,  from  Meadville.  The  next  contractor  was  Hamilton,  from 
Bellefonte;  then  by  Benjamin  Haitshour  and  others,  until  the  turnpike 
was  completed ;  then  the  first  stage  contract  was  taken  by  Clark,  of 
Perry  County.  He  sent  on  his  coaches  by  John  O'Neal,  and  from  that 
time  until  the  present  the  mail  has  been  carried  through  this  county ; 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  in  1812  we  got  our  news  from  a  Meadville  paper,  edited  by  Thomas 
Atkinson,  called  the  Crawford  Weekly  Messenger.  The  nearest  post- 
office  west  was  Franklin,  and  east  was  Curwinsville.  All  papers  that 
came  through  the  county  were  carried  outside  the  mail  and  delivered  by 
the  mail-carrier.  Our  nearest  post-office  south  was  at  Kittanning,  Arm- 
strong County,  and  when  any  one  in  the  neighborhood  would  go  there 
they  would  bring  the  news  for  all  and  distribute  the  same. 

In  1815  the  United  States  had  three  thousand  post-offices.  The 
postage  for  a  single  letter,  composed  of  one  piece  of  paper,  under  forty 
miles,  eight  cents;  over  forty  and  under  ninety  miles,  ten  cents;  under 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  twelve  and  a  half  cents ;  under  three  hun- 
dred miles,  seventeen  cents ;  under  five  hundred  miles,  twenty  cents ; 
over  five  hundred  miles,  twenty-five  cents.  The  law  was  remodelled  in 
1 816  and  continued  until  1845,  as  follows, — viz.:  Letters  thirty  miles, 
six  and  a  quarter  cents ;  over  thirty  and  under  eighty  miles,  ten  cents ; 
over  eighty  and  under  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  twelve  and  a  half 
cents ;  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  under  four  hundred  miles, 
eighteen  and  three-quarter  cents ;  over  four  hundred  miles,  twenty-five 
cents.  If  the  letter  weighed  an  ounce,  four  times  these  rates  were 
charged.  Newspaper  rates,  in  the  State  or  under  one  hundred  miles, 
one  cent ;  over  one  hundred  miles  or  out  of  the  State,  one  and  one-half 
cents.  Periodicals,  from  one  and  one-half  to  two,  four,  and  six  cents. 
A  portion  of  the  records  of  the  postmaster-general's  office  at  Washing- 
ton were  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year  1836;  but  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  an  advertisement  was  issued  May  20,  1814,  for  once-a-week 
service  on  route  No.  51,  Bellefonte  to  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  from  Janu- 
ary i,  1815,  to  December  31,  1817,  Jefferson  Court-House  being  men- 
tioned as  an  intermediate  point ;  that  on  May  26,  1817,  an  advertisement 
was  issued  for  service  between  the  same  points  from  January  i,  1818,  to 
December  31,  1819;  and  on  May  26,  1819,  service  as  above  was  again 
advertised  from  January  i,  1820,  to  December  31,  1823;  the  service 
during  these  years  connecting  at  Franklin  with  another  route  to  Mead- 
ville. 

Owing  to  the  incompleteness  of  the  records  of  the  office  at  Washing- 
ton, for  the  reason  above  stated,  the  names  of  all  the  contractors  prior 
to  1824  cannot  be  given  ;  but  under  advertisement  of  June  10,  1823,  for 
once  a- week  service  on  route  158,  Bellefonte  to  Meadville,  from  January 
i,  1824,  to  December  31,  1827,  contract  was  made  with  Messrs.  Hayes 
and  Bennett,  of  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  hundred 
dollars  per  annum. 

From  the  best  information  at  hand,  it  appears  that  a  post-office  was 
established  at  Port  Barnett,  Pennsylvania,  January  4,  1826,  the  name 
changed  to  Brookville,  September  10,  1830;  that  from  the  date  of  the 
establishment  of  the  post-office  to  December  31,  1839,  the  office  was 

342 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

supplied  by  star  route  from  Bellefonte  to  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  Messrs. 
Bennett  and  Hayes  being  the  contractors  to  December  31,  1831,  Messrs. 
J.  and  B.  Bennett  to  December  31,  1835,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Bennett  to 
December  31,  1839. 

From  January  i,  1840,  Brookville  was  supplied  by  route  from  Cur- 
winsville  to  Meadville,  Pennsylvania  (the  service  having  been  divided  on 
Curwinsville,  the  eastern  route  being  from  Lewistown  via  Bellefonte  and 
other  offices  to  Curwinsville),  Mr.  Jesse  Rupp  being  the  contractor  to 
June  30,  1844,  ar>d  Mr.  John  Wightman  to  June  30,  1848. 

Prior  to  1826,  or  the  completion  of  the  turnpike,  there  was  no  post- 
office  in  this  wilderness.  Not  until  the  county  had  been  organized  for 
twenty- two  and  the  pioneers  had  been  here  for  twenty- five  years  was  a 
post-office  created.  The  second  mail-route  in  this  county  commenced  at 
Kittanning,  Pennsylvania,  and  ended  in  Olean,  New  York.  The  route 
was  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  long.  It  was  established  in  1826.  Ros- 
well  P.  Alford,  of  Wellsville,  Ohio,  contractor  and  proprietor.  The 
mail  was  to  be  carried  through  once  a  week,  and  this  was  done  on  horse- 
back, and  the  pay  for  this  service  was  four  hundred  dollars  a  year.  The 
following-named  post-offices  were  created  in  this  county  to  be  supplied 
by  the  carrier  on  this  route  : 

Port  Barnett,  Pine  Creek  township,  January  4,  1826;  Joseph  Barnett, 
postmaster. 

Montmorenci,  Ridge  way  township,  February  14,  1826  ;  Reuben  A. 
Aylesworth,  postmaster. 

Punxsutawney,  Young  township,  February  14,  1826;  Charles  R. 
Barclay,  postmaster. 

Hellen,  Ridgeway  township,  April,  1828  ;  Philetus  Clarke,  postmaster. 

Brockwayville,  Pine  Creek  township,  April  13,  1829,  Alonzo  Brock- 
way,  postmaster. 

From  the  information  at  hand  it  appears  that  an  advertisement  was 
issued  in  the  year  of  1825  for  proposals  carrying  the  mails  on  star  route 
No.  79,  from  Bellefonte,  by  Karthaus,  Bennett's  Creek,  Rockaway,  Gil- 
lett's,  and  Scull's,  to  Smithport,  Pennsylvania,  once  in  two  weeks,  from 
January  i,  1826,  to  December  31,  1827  ;  and  that  in  1827  an  advertise- 
ment was  issued  for  service  on  route  No.  219,  from  Bellefonte,  by  Karthaus, 
Fox,  Bennett's  Branch,  Ridgeway,  Gillett's,  Scull's,  Montmorenci,  Ser- 
geant, and  Smithport,  Pennsylvania,  to  Olean,  New  York,  once  a  week, 
from  January  i,  1828,  to  December  31,  1831. 

There  is  no  record  showing  the  contractors  during  the  above  terms. 

In  the  year  1831  an  advertisement  was  issued  for  star  route  No. 
1127,  from  Bellefonte,  by  Milesburg,  Karthaus,  Bennett's  Branch,  Fox, 
Kerseys,  Ridgeway,  Montmorenci,  Clermontville,  Smithport,  Allegheny 
Bridge,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mill  Grove,  New  York,  to  Olean,  New  York, 
once  a  week,  from  January  i,  1832,  to  December  31,  1835,  an<^  contract 

343 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  awarded  to  Mr.  James  L.  Gillis,  of  Montmorenci,  with  pay  at  the 
rate  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars  per  annum. 

In  1835  an  advertisement  was  issued  for  service  on  route  No.  1206, 
from  Bellefonte,  by  Milesburg,  Karthaus,  Bennett's  Branch,  Caledonia, 
Fox,  Kersey,  Ridgeway,  Williamsville,  Clermontville,  Smithport,  Farmers 
Valley,  Allegheny  Bridge,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mill  Grove,  New  York,  to 
Olean,  New  York,  once  a  week,  from  January  i,  1836,  to  December  31, 
1839,  and  contract  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Bernard  DufTey  (address  not 
given)  at  six  hundred  and  twenty-eight  dollars  per  annum. 

In  1839  an  advertisement  was  issued  for  service  on  route  No.  1593, 
from  Bellefonte,  by  Milesburg,  Karthaus,  Caledonia,  Fox,  Kersey, 
Ridgeway,  Williamsville,  Clermontville,  Smithport,  Farmers  Valley, 
Allegheny  Bridge,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mill  Grove,  New  York,  to  Olean, 
New  York,  once  a  week  between  Bellefonte  and  Smithport,  and  twice  a 
week  the  residue  of  route,  from  January  i,  1840,  to  June  30,  1844,  and 
contract  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Gideon  Ions  (address  not  given)  at  eight 
hundred  and  forty-five  dollars  per  annum. 

EARLY   POSTMASTERS,  WHEN    APPOINTED. 

Brookville. — Jared  B.  Evans,  September  30,  1830;  Cephas  J.  Dun- 
ham, March  30,  1833;  William  Rodgers,  January  19,  1835;  John 
Dougherty,  August  18,  1840;  Samuel  H.  Lucas,  June  25,  1841. 

Brockwayville. — Dr.  Asaph  M.  Clarke,  March  14,  1838. 

Clarion,  now  Corsica, — John  McAnulty,  February  8,  1833  ;  John  J. 
Y.  Thompson,  November  29,  1843. 

Cool  Spring. — James  Gray,  April  17,  1838. 

Heathville. — Elijah  Heath,  September  24,  1841. 

Montmorenci. — Jesse  Morgan,  March  13,  1828;  James  L.  Gillis, 
April  7,  1828. 

Punxsutawney . — John  W.  Jenks,  December  15,  1828;  David  Barclay, 
November  2,  1830;  Charles  R.  Barclay,  December  21,  1831  ;  John  Hunt, 
October  17,  1837;  James  McConaughey,  February  n,  1839;  John  R. 
Rees,  December  29,  1843. 

Prospect  Hill.—  Tilton  Reynolds,  May  18,  1842. 

Summerville. — David  Losh,  February  14,  1839;  Geo.  Richards, 
October  4,  1839  ;  Samuel  B.  Taylor,  October  20,  1840;  James  Gardner, 
October  4,  1841 ;  Ira  Baldwin,  January  12,  1843. 

Warsaw. — Trios.  McCormick,  August  15,  1836;  David  McCormick, 
January  17,  1838;  Moses  B.  St.  John,  May  12,  1839. 

WJiitesville. — John  Keim,  December  14,  1835. 

Like  every  other  business  in  those  days,  the  postmaster  trusted  his 
patrons,  as  the  following  advertisement  exhibits, — viz.  : 

"All  persons  indebted  to  C.  J.  Dunham  for  postage  on  letters  or 
newspapers  are  notified  to  call  and  pay  off  their  bills  to  James  M.  Steed- 

344 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

man,  or  they  may  look  for  John  Smith,  as  no  longer  indulgence  can  or 
will  be  given. 

"February  18,  1834." 

Barter  was  taken  in  exchange  for  postage.  In  those  days  uncalled- 
for  letters  were  advertised  in  the  papers.  The  pioneer  advertisement  of 
letters  was  in  the  Philadelphia  Gazette,  March  26,  1783. 

In  the  thirties  distance  governed  the  postage  on  letters  up  to  four 
hundred  miles  and  more.  The  price  of  such  a  letter  was  twenty-five 
cents.  The  postmaster,  who  was  also  a  merchant,  took  produce  for 
letters  the  same  as  for  goods,  and  for  postage  on  such  a  letter  as  named 
would  receive  two  bushels  of  oats,  two  bushels  of  potatoes,  four  pounds 
of  butter,  or  five  dozen  eggs.  To  pay  the  postage  on  thirty-two  letters 
such  as  named  the  farmer  would  have  to  sell  a  good  cow.  "In  early 
times  it  was  death  by  the  law  to  rob  the  United  States  mails." 

In  the  pioneer  days,  or  previous  to  about  1860,  there  was  no  bank  in 
Jefferson  County.  There  was  no  way  to  transmit  funds  except  sending 
them  with  a  direct  messenger  or  by  some  neighbor  who  had  business  in 
the  locality  where  you  desired  to  send  your  money.  An  adroit  way  was 
to  secure  a  ten-,  fifty-,  or  one-hundred-dollar  bill,  cut  it  in  two,  send  the 
first  half  in  a  letter,  wait  for  a  reply,  and  then  enclose  the  other  half  in 
a  letter  also.  The  party  receiving  the  halves  could  paste  them  together. 
The  pioneer  merchants  when  going  to  Philadelphia  for  goods  put  their 
silver  Spanish  dollars  in  belts  in  undershirts  and  on  other  parts  of  their 
person,  wherever  they  thought  it  could  be  best  concealed.  In  this  way 
on  horseback  they  made  journeys.  Every  horseback  rider  (tourist) 
carried  a  pair  of  leather  saddle-bags. 

In  the  United  States  on  the  ist  of  July,  1837,  the  post  roads  were 
about  118,264  miles  in  extent,  and  the  annual  transportation  of  the  mails 
was  at  the  rate  of  27,578,620  miles, — viz. : 

On  horseback  and  in  sulkies,  8,291,504;  in  stages,  17,408,820;  in 
steamboats  and  railroad  cars,  1,878,297. 

The  number  of  post-offices  in  the  United  States  on  the  ist  of  July, 
1835,  was  10,770;  on  the  ist  of  July,  1836,  it  was  11,091 ;  and  on  the 
ist  of  December,  1837,  n,ioo. 

In  the  year  1837  the  postmaster-general  recommended  revision  of 
the  present  rates  of  postage  of  about  twenty  per  cent.,  to  take  effect  on 
the  ist  of  July  next.  To  this  end  he  suggested  the  following  letter 
postage : 

75  miles  and  under 5  cents. 

150  miles  and  over  75  miles 10     " 

300  miles  and  over  150  miles 15      " 

600  miles  and  over  300  miles 20      " 

Over  600  miles 25      " 

23  345 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Postage  stamps  were  invented  by  James  Chalmers,  an  Englishman, 
and  first  used  May  6,  1840,  in  London. 

The  first  issue  of  the  United  States  stamps  took  place  in  1845,  but 
the  postmasters  of  several  places  had  issued  stamps  for  their  own  con- 
venience a  few  years  before  this.  These  "  Postmasters',"  or  provisional 
stamps,  of  course,  were  not  good  for  postage  after  the  government  issue 
took  place. 

The  first  stamp  sold  of  this  issue  was  bought  by  the  Hon.  Henry 
Shaw.  This  issue  consisted  of  but  two  denominations,  the  five-  and  ten- 
cent  ones,  and  were  unperforated,  as  were  the  stamps  of  the  next  series, 
issued  in  1851-56. 

The  pioneer  post-office  was  established  in  this  State  under  an  act  of 
Assembly,  November  27,  1700. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

PIONEER   ROADS    IN    PROVISIONAL   JEFFERSON    COUNTY  FROM    1808  TO  1830. 

ABSTRACT   OF   INDIANA   RECORDS.* 
PIONEER    ROAD. 

"  The  petition  of  a  number  of  citizens  of  Jefferson  County  and  parts 
adjacent  was  presented  to  Court  and  read,  praying  for  the  view  of  a  road 
from  Brady's  mill,y  on  Little  Mahoning  Creek,  to  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  in 
Jefferson  County,  where  the  State  Road  crosses  the  same.  Whereupon 
the  Court  did  appoint  Samuel  Lucas,  John  Jones,  Moses  Knapp,  Samuel 
Scott,  John  Park,  and  John  Wier  to  view  and  make  report  to  next  Court. 
September  sessions,  1808,  report  filed." 

There  is  no  report  of  the  viewers  on  record,  nor  is  the  report  in  the 
file  with  the  old  papers. 

SEPTEMBER   SESSIONS,  A.D.    1809. 

"The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jefferson  County 
was  presented  to  Court  and  read,  praying  for  a  view  of  a  road  from  a 
bridge  at  the  end  of  Adam  Vasbinder's  lane  to  Samuel  Scott's  mills  on 
Sandy  Lick  Creek.  Whereupon  the  Court  did  appoint  William  Vas- 
binder,  Moses  Knapp,  Ludwick  Long,  Samuel  Scott,  Adam  Vasbinder, 
and  John  Taylor  to  view  and  make  report  to  next  Court.  Order  issued. 
Distance,  2^  miles  and  53  perches." 

*  By  J.  N.  Banks,  Esq.,  Indiana,  Pennsylvania, 
f  Indiana  County. 

346 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,    PEXNA. 
MARCH   SESSIONS,   l8ll. 

"  The  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jefferson  County  was  presented 
to  Court  and  read,  setting  forth  that  they  labored  under  great  inconveni- 
ences from  the  want  of  a  public  road  from  the  settlement  in  Jefferson 
County  to  the  settlement  in  Mahoning  township,  Indiana  County,  to 
begin  .near  Moses  Knapp's  mill,  on  the  State  Road,  to  Big  Mahoning 
Creek,  near  John  Bell's.  Whereupon  the  Court  did  appoint  John  Tay- 
lor, John  Bell,  Thomas  Lucas,  Moses  Knapp,  John  Matson,  and  John 
Jones  to  view  and  make  report  to  next  Court.  Order  issued.  Distance, 
15  miles  and  95  perches;  20  feet  wide." 

"The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  In- 
diana and  county  district  of  Jefferson  was  presented  to  Court  and  read, 
setting  forth  that  they  labor  under  great  inconvenience  from  want  of  a 
public  road  from  Puxsutawney,  to  intersect  the  road  leading  from  Brady's 
mills  to  the  mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek,  at  or  near  Lucas's  camp. 
Whereupon  the  Court  appointed  John  W.  Jenks,  Zephaniah  Weakland, 
John  Bell,  Esq.,  Samuel  Bell,  Esq.,  Peter  Dilts,  and  Moses  Crawford  to 
view  the  ground  over  which  the  proposed  road  is  petitioned  for  and  to 
to  make  return  next  sessions.  Approved  April  12,  1820.  Distance,  7^ 
miles  and  34  perches." 

"The  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Perry  township,  in  Jefferson 
County,  and  also  of  Mahoning  township,  in  Indiana  County,  was  pre- 
sented to  Court  and  read,  setting  forth  that  they  labor  under  great  incon- 
venience from  the  want  of  a  public  road  from  the  four-mile  tree,  upon  a 
road  leading  from  John  Bell's,  Esq.,  in  Jefferson  County,  to  David  Law- 
son's,  in  Armstrong  County;  from  thence  to  intersect  the  road  leading 
from  Jacob  Knave's  to  James  E\ving's  mill,  at  or  near  the  north  end  of 
the  farm  of  Joshua  Lewis.  Whereupon  the  Court  appointed  James 
Ewing,  William  Dilts,  James  McComb,  William  Davis,  Samuel  Bell, 
Esq.,  and  David  Cochran  to  view  the  ground  over  which  said  road  is 
contemplated  to  be  made  and  make  report  to  next  Court.  Distance,  7^ 
miles  and  26  perches;  25  feet  wide.  Approved  March  29,  1820." 

"The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pine  Creek  town- 
ship, in  Jefferson  County,  was  presented  to  Court  and  read,  setting  forth 
that  they  labor  under  great  inconveniences  from  the  want  of  a  public 
road  from  the  county  line  of  Armstrong  County,  to  which  place  there  is 
a  road  leading  out  near  William  King's ;  from  thence  to  the  town  of 
Troy,  which  is  about  a  mile.  Whereupon  it  is  considered  by  the  Court 
and  ordered  that  Salmon  Fuller,  John  Welch,  John  Lucas,  James  Shields, 
James  demons,  and  Peter  Bartle  do  view  the  ground  over  which  the 
proposed  road  is  petitioned  for  and  make  report  to  next  Court.  Dis- 
tance, 253  perches.  Approved  December  28,  1820." 

"  The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pine  Creek  township 

347 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  presented  to  Court  and  read,  setting  forth  that  they  labor  under 
great  inconvenience  for  the  want  of  a  road  or  cart-way  from  the  eighty- 
mile  post  near  Alexander  Power's  on  the  State  Road,  to  intersect  the  road 
leading  to  Indiana  at  or  near  Little  Sandy  Creek,  and  praying  the  Court 
to  appoint  viewers  to  view  and  lay  out  the  same.  Whereupon  the  Court 
appointed  John  Bell,  John  Matson,  Archibald  Hadden,  John  Bartle, 
Joseph  McCullough,  and  Robert  Anderson  to  view  the  ground  over 
which  the  said  road  is  contemplated  to  be  made  and  make  report  to  next 
Court.  Distance,  9  miles  and  63  perches.  December  28,  1820,  order 
of  view  approved." 

"The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Perry  township,  in 
Jefferson  County,  was  presented  to  Court  and  read,  setting  forth  that 
they  labor  under  great  inconvenience  from  the  want  of  a  public  road 
from  Punxsutawney,  to  intersect  the  road  leading  from  Indiana  to  Bar- 
nett's,  at  or  near  John  Bell's,  Esq.  Whereupon  the  Court  appointed 
John  Bell,  Esq.,  Archibald  Hadden,  Michael  Lantz,  Hugh  McKee, 
Jacob  Hoover,  and  William  P.  Brady  to  view  the  ground  over  which  the 
proposed  road  is  contemplated  to  be  made  and  make  report  to  next 
Court.  Distance,  6  miles  and  120  perches.  Approved  December  28, 
1820." 

"  The  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  In- 
diana and  Jefferson  was  presented  to  the  Court  and  read,  setting  forth 
that  they  labor  under  great  inconvenience  for  the  want  of  a  road  from 
the  settlement  on  the  Indiana  and  Susquehanna  road  to  Punxsutawney 
and  Barclay's  mill,  conveniently  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Abraham  Wil- 
cock's  lots,  or  near  it,  to  intersect  the  road  from  Punxsutawney  Leasure's 
camp,  at  or  near  where  said  road  crosses  Canoe  Creek.  Whereupon  it 
is  considered  and  ordered  by  the  Court  that  Moses  Crawford,  John  Park, 
Robert  Hamilton,  John  Jamison,  William  Hendricks,  and  James  Work 
do  view  the  ground  over  which  the  proposed  road  is  contemplated  to  be 
made,  and  if  they  or  any  four  of  these  actual  viewers  agree  that  there  is 
occasion  for  said  road,  they  shall  make  report  to  next  Court. 

"June  25,  1822,  report  of  viewers  approved  and  ordered  to  be 
opened. 

"  No  distance  is  given  in  the  return  of  viewers." 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  ROADS  AND  COUNTY  BRIDGES  FROM 

1830  TO   1840. 

DECEMBER  SESSIONS,   1830. 

Petition  No.  i. — Petition  of  the  commissioners  of  Jefferson  County 
for  a  bridge  over  Sandy  Lick  Creek  where  public  highway  to  Indiana 
crosses  said  creek  in  the  township  of  Pine  Creek  in  said  county,  etc. 

December  7,  1830,  the  Court  appointed  Joseph  Barnett,  William  Rob- 

348 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

inson,  David  Butler,  Samuel  Jones,  John  Christy,  and  Joseph  Potter  to 
view  the  same  and  report  according  to  law. 

The  contract  for  this  bridge  was  made  August  n,  1829.  The  com- 
missioners were  Thomas  McKee  and  Thomas  Lucas.  The  contractors, 
William  Morrison  and  William  KelsD.  Witnesses  to  agreement,  Andrew 
Barnett  and  John  McGhee.  Consideration,  $320,  to  be  paid  as  follows, 
— viz.  :  to  give  them  now  in  hand  the  subscription  of  $75,  and  a  draft 
on  the  supervisors  of  Pine  Creek  township  for  $50,  and  the  remainder, 
§195,  in  county  orders  when  completed. 

The  bridge  was  16  feet  wide,  with  stone  abutments  75  feet  apart,  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  support  roofing,  and  to  be  finished  in  113  days. 

Petition  No.  j. — Road  from  Barclay  &  Jenks's  mill  to  Brookville. 

December  7,  1830.  Viewers  :  James  Winslow,  Charles  G.  Gaskill, 
William  Maxwell,  Reuben  Hickox,  Alexander  Jordan,  and  John  Hess. 
Confirmed  September  session,  1831. 

Petition  No.  2. — Road  from  Jacob  Hoover's  mill  to  intersect  the 
road  leading  from  Barclay  &  Jenks's  mill  to  the  Jefferson  road  through 
Gibson's  clearing. 

Viewers :  James  Winslow,  Obed  Morris,  Stephen  Lewis,  Reuben 
Hickox,  John  Hess,  and  Alfred  Carey.  Read  and  confirmed  and  ordered 
to  be  opened  35  feet  wide,  unless  where  digging  and  bridging  is  neces- 
sary. December  13,  1831. 

Petition  No.  j. — Road  from  Brookville  to  David  Hamilton's  on  the 
Indiana  county  line. 

February  8,  1831.  Viewers:  David  Postlethwait,  Archibald  Haddon, 
William  Newcomb,  John  Christy,  John  Shields,  and  John  Barnett.  Sep- 
tember 7,  1831,  read  and  confirmed. 

Petition  No.  4. — Road  from  William  McKee's  on  the  turnpike  to 
James  Linn's  improvement  on  the  Olean  road. 

February  8,  1831.  Viewers:  Christopher  Barr,  Jared  B.  Evans, 
Thomas  Lucas,  Esq.,  Thomas  Robinson,  Samuel  Knapp,  and  William 
Vasbinder.  Read  and  confirmed.  December  13,  1832,  ordered  to  be 
opened. 

Report  No.  j. — Of  a  road  from  Brookville  to  Matson's  mill. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  same  February  7,  1831 :  Thomas  Robin- 
son, R.  R.  Scott,  Samuel  Hughey,  William  Vasbinder,  Joseph  Clements. 
Confirmed  by  the  Court  and  ordered  to  be  opened  25  feet  wide.  May 
10,  1831. 

MAY  SESSIONS,   1831. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Moses  Knapp's  mill  to  intersect  the 
Sandy  road  at  or  near  W.  Godfrey's. 

Viewers :  James  Corbett,  Esq.,  Isaac  McElvane,  Nathan  Carrier,  Sam- 
uel Kennedy,  James  Hall,  and  Daniel  Elgin.  Reported.  December  13, 
1831,  approved  and  ordered  to  be  opened. 

349 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Petition  No.  4. — For  a  road  from  the  thirty-fourth  mile-stone  on  the 
Susquehanna  and  Waterford  turnpike  road  to  or  near  the  house  of  Jo- 
seph McCullough. 

Viewers:  Peter  Sutton,  Thomas  Lucas,  Esq.,  A.  Barnett,  John  Latti- 
mer,  David  Butler,  and  James  Stewart.  May  10,  1831.  February  8,  1832, 
read  and  approved. 

Petition  No.  5. — For  a  road  from  Troy  to  intersect  the  Olean  road  at 
John  McAnulty's. 

Viewers  :  John  Shields,  Thomas  Robinson,  Thomas  Lacy,  Alonzo 
Baldwin,  John  Shoemaker,  and  Hiram  Carrier.  May  9,  1831.  Read  ni 
si  February  8,  1832. 

MAY  SESSIONS,   1832. 

Petition  No.  I. — For  a  road  from  Squire  McCullough's  shop  to  David 
Butler's. 

Viewers  :  Andrew  Barnett,  Joseph  McCullough,  Esq.,  David  Butler, 
Jacob  Vasbinder,  Samuel  Jones,  and  John  Lattimer.  December  12, 
1832.  Read  and  approved  ni  si. 

Report  No.  7. — Of  a  road  from  Shields's  Lane  to  the  road  running 
along  Red  Bank  Creek. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  January  31,  1833  :  William  B.  Ken- 
nedy, Thomas  Robinson,  Isaac  Me  El  vane,  Darius  Carrier.  Confirmed 
May  n,  1833. 

MAY  SESSIONS,    1833. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  Shoemaker's  to  intersect  the  road 
from  Hance  Robinson's  to  Troy. 

Viewers  :  John  Milliron,  Samuel  Milliron,  Isaac  McElvane,  John  J. 
Y.  Thompson,  Hulet  Smith,  and  Darius  Carrier.  December  12,  1833, 
approved. 

DECEMBER  SESSIONS,   1833. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  Thomas  Barr's  on  the  Olean  road 
to  the  L'nion  School-House. 

Viewers :  J.  J.  Y.  Thompson,  J.  W.  Monks,  John  Barnett,  John 
Shields,  Samuel  Jones,  and  Israel  Gray.  May  13,  1834,  approved. 

FEBRUARY  SESSIONS,   1834. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Port  Barnett  on  the  Indiana  road 
to  the  Ceres  road  at  or  near  Punxsutawney. 

Viewers  :  John  Long,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  James  M.  Steedman, 
George  Gray,  David  Henry,  and  Stephen  Lewis.  February  12,  1834. 
September  n,  read  ni  si.  January  12,  1847,  ordered  to  be  opened. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  a  public  road  leading  from  Brook- 
ville  to  Kittanning  at  the  county  line  to  McKinstry's  saw-mill  near  the 
mill  of  John  Robinson. 

350 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Viewers  :  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Euphrastus  Carrier,  Aaron  Fuller, 
John  Nolf,  Sr.,  William  Ferguson,  and  John  Shoemaker.  February  12, 
1834.  December  13,  1843,  approved  and  ordered  to  be  opened  50  feet 
wide. 

MAY  SESSIONS,   1834. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Israel  Gray's  fulling-mill  and  card- 
ing-machine  to  a  point  at  or  near  where  the  Olean  road  crosses  Little 
Mill  Creek. 

Viewers :  William  B.  Kennedy,  Israel  Gray,  John  Monks,  Samuel 
McGill,  Rev.  William  Kennedy,  and  William  Steel.  September  n, 
1834.  June  rr,  1835,  ordered  to  be  opened  20  feet  wide. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  the  bridge  over  Mill  Creek  to  the 
house  of  William  McCullough  in  Pine  Creek  township. 

Viewers  :  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Henry  Keys,  Frederick  Heterick, 
William  Cooper,  James  Kyle,  and  Michael  Long.  September  n,  1834. 
Opening  order  issued  October  23,  1835,  *°  be  20  feet  wide. 

Report  No.  j. — Of  a  road  from  Ball's  mill  on  Tionesta  to  the  Hepler 
Camp  road  near  the  four-mile  tree. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  November  15,  1834  :  Cyrus  Blood, 
David  Reynolds,  William  Armstrong,  Trumble  Hunt,  and  John  Hunt. 
Opening  order  issued  October  16,  1835. 

MAY  SESSIONS,   1835. 

Petition  No.  I. — For  a  road  from  Robert  P.  Barr's  on  the  turnpike 
to  Andrew  Vasbinder's  improvement  on  the  North  Fork. 

Viewers :  Hugh  Brady,  William  B.  Kennedy,  Andrew  Barnett,  Fred- 
erick Heterick,  William  Long,  and  Michael  Long.  December  16,  1836. 
Read  and  ordered  to  be  opened  50  feet  wide. 

Petition  No.  6. — For  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek  where  the 
Brookville  and  Hamilton  road  crosses. 

Viewers:  John  Dougherty,  John  Matson,  Sr.,  James  K.  Huffman, 
Daniel  Coder,  Robert  Morrison,  and  John  Philliber.  February  13, 
1836.  Viewers  report  in  favor,  March  8,  1836. 

Petition  No.  7. — For  a  bridge  on  Big  Mahoning. 

Viewers  :  Thomas  Kerr,  James  E.  Cooper,  Daniel  Henneigh,  Christian 
Reischel,  John  Drum,  and  James  W.  Bell.  February  13,  1836.  August 
20,  1836,  report  in  favor  and  county  pay  $180. 

Report  No.  10. — Of  a  road  from  John  Hoover's  mill  to  intersect  the 
Ceres  road  at  or  near  Daniel  Graffius's,  Jr. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  February  4,  1836 :  James  H.  Bell, 
Nathaniel  Tindall,  John  Hoover  (miller),  Samuel  Bowers,  James  E. 
Cooper.  May  term  approved. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  James  Ross's  to  intersect  the  Brock- 
way  road  at  or  near  S.  Tibbetts's. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Viewers  :  Frederick  Heterick,  Paul  Vandevort,  William  Cooper,  James 
Smith,  John  McLaughlin,  and  Jared  B.  Evans. 

Petition  No.  3. — For  a  road  from  the  tan-yard  of  John  W.  Jenks  in 
Punxsutawney  to  the  saw-mill  of  Wm.  Campbell. 

Viewers :  Thomas  Kerr,  James  E.  Cooper,  Andrew  Bowers,  James 
Winslow,  John  Ham,  and  John  Hunt.  Approved  May  10,  1836. 

Report  No.  8. — Of  a  road  from  the  west  end  of  Morrison's  Lane  to 
the  west  end  of  John  Kennedy's. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  (no  date)  1835  :  John  J.  Y.  Thomp- 
son, Moses  Knapp,  Nathan  Carrier,  John  Love,  Sr.,  Wallace  Bratton. 
May  10,  1836,  read  and  confirmed. 

SEPTEMBER   SESSIONS,    1836. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  Vasbinder's  improvement  to 
Frederick  Heterick's. 

Viewers:  William  Kennedy,  Jr.,  Frederick  Heterick,  Michael  Long, 
James  Moorhead,  Hugh  Brady,  Esq.,  and  Jesse  Clark.  May  10,  1836. 
December  17,  1836,  read  and  confirmed. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  Mill  Creek  road  near  John  Wil- 
son's to  Maize's  Gap  on  the  Clarion  River. 

Viewers :  William  Armstrong,  Nathan  Phipps,  Thos.  Callin,  Henry 
M.  Clark,  Daniel  Elgin,  and  George  Catz.  September  16,  1836.  May 
10,  1837,  read  and  approved. 

Petition  No.  6. — For  a  road  from  Ball's  mill  on  Tionesta  Creek  to 
intersect  the  Warren  and  Hepler  Camp  road  near  the  four-mile  tree. 

Viewers :  Cyrus  Blood,  William  Armstrong,  Trumble  Hunt,  Thomas 
Maize,  John  Hunt,  and  David  Reynolds. 

DECEMBER   SESSIONS,   1836. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Jacob  Smith's  to  intersect  the  Ceres 
road  at  or  near  John  Rhoads's. 

Viewers :  David  Kerr,  John  Hoover  (miller),  John  Rhoads,  Sr.,  John 
Pifer,  Sr.,  John  Bouthart,  and  Nathaniel  Tindall.  December  16,  1836. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  the  house  of  James  Smith  to  inter- 
sect the  Ceres  road  at  or  near  the  farm  of  Wm.  Smith. 

Viewers:  Isaac  Packer,  John  Fuller,  Andrew  Barnett,  John  Matson, 
Sr.,  Henry  Vasbinder,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson.  December  16,  1836. 
October  14,  1837,  viewers  report  in  favor  of  road.  May  16,  1838,  con- 
firmed. 

FEBRUARY   SESSIONS,    1837. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Armstrong  &  Reynolds's  mill  at 
the  mouth  of  Maple  Creek  to  Thomas  Median's  farm  on  the  line  of 
Jefferson  and  Venango. 

Viewers  :  John  H.  Maize,  Nathan  Phipps.  John  Cook,  James  Aharrah, 

352 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

George  Armstrong,  and  Joseph  Reynolds.  February  14,  1837.  July  24, 
1837,  viewers  report  in  favor  of  road.  September  15,  1837,  read  and 
confirmed  ni  si. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  the  public  road  at  or  near  David 
Milliron's  to  intersect  the  Troy  road  at  or  near  Benjamin  Shaffer's. 

Viewers  :  John  Robinson,  John  Bell,  Esq.,  James  Corbett,  Wm.  New- 
comb,  David  Postlethwait,  and  John  Alcorn.  February  17,  1837. 

MAY   SESSIONS,    1837. 

Petition  No.  I  — For  a  road  from  Daniel  Elgin's  to  the  turnpike  near 
the  Widow  Mills's. 

Viewers :  Thomas  Hall,  John  Monks,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Thomas 
Arthurs,  John  Barnett,  and  Samuel  Davidson.  May  10,  1837.  Con- 
firmed September  15,  1837. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  the  road  from  Whitesville  to  Punx- 
sutawney,  one-half  mile  east  of  Whitesville,  to  intersect  the  road  from 
Hamilton's  to  Brookville  near  Henry  Philliber's. 

Viewers:  John  Bell,  Esq.,  William  Newcomb,  Wm.  Stunkard,  John 
J.  Y.  Thompson,  Wm.  Johnston,  and  Daniel  Postlethwait.  May  10,  1837. 
September  15,  1837,  confirmed  ni  si.  Order  issued  December  23,  1837, 
for  opening  to  John  C.  Ferguson,  and  to  be  paid  by  him. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  the  Smethport  and  Milesburg 
turnpike  where  it  crosses  Clarion  River  to  the  mouth  of  Spring  Creek. 

Viewers  :  Henry  Kerns,  Caleb  Dill,  Lyman  Wilmarth,  George  Pelton, 
John  Liram,  and  Gould  Richards.  May  10,  1837.  September  15,  1837, 
read  and  confirmed  ni  si. 

Petition  No.  5. — For  a  road  from  John  Bowers's  to  James  H.  Bell's 
grist-mill. 

Viewers :  Andrew  Bowers,  Joseph  W.  Winslow,  James  Winslow, 
James  E.  Cooper,  James  Hunter,  and  John  Grube.  May  10,  1837.  Sep- 
tember 15,  1837,  read  and  confirmed  ;//  si.  February  10,  1845,  on  the 
application  of  George  R.  Barrett,  deputy  attorney-general,  the  Court 
order  and  direct  that  the  road  be  opened  40  feet  wide. 

SEPTEMBER    SESSIONS,   1837. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  David  Dennison's  to  the  seventy- 
first  mile-stone. 

Viewers  :  James  Ross,  Joseph  McAfee,  Henry  Keys,  Henry  Mclntosh, 
James  M.  Brockway,  and  A.  Sibley.  Confirmed  May  16,  1838. 

Petition  No.  10. — For  a  bridge  on  Mahoning  Creek  near  Charles  C. 
Gaskill's. 

Viewers :  David  Henneigh,  John  Hutchison,  John  Drum,  John 
Grube,  Samuel  Steffy,  and  Philip  Bowers  to  view  and  report  on  same. 
September  1837.  The  county  builds  this  bridge.  John  Hutchison, 

353 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

foreman.     The  Court  approve  the  finding  of  the  grand  jury  and  direct 
the  \vithin-named  bridge  to  be  recorded  as  a  county  bridge.     December 


DECEMBER   SESSIONS,    1837. 

Petition  No.  2.  —  For  a  road  from  the  forks  of  Jones's  Run  to  intersect 
the  Olean  road  about  one  mile  east  of  Mr.  Gorden's  near  the  Black 
Swamp. 

Viewers:  Joseph  Hughes,  John  Barnett,  John  Wilson,  Samuel 
Hughes,  William  Mendenhall,  and  John  J.  Y.  Thompson.  December 
13.  December  18,  1840,  confirmed.  Order  to  open,  April  24,  1841. 

Petition  No.  j.  —  For  a  road  from  Thomas  Wilkins's  to  Ebenezer 
Carr's. 

Viewers  :  Samuel  Clark,  Thomas  Wilkms,  John  Long,  John  J.  Y. 
Thompson,  Samuel  McQuiston,  and  Daniel  Chistiter.  December  12, 

1837.  Read  and  confirmed  May  16,  1838. 

Petition  No.  6.  —  For  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek  at  or  near 
Carrier's  mill. 

Viewers  :  David  Henry,  John  Lattimer,  James  Matson,  John  Smith, 
John  Wynkoop,  and  Job  McCreight.  December  12,  1837.  Approved 
by  the  grand  jury,  and  the  county  to  assist  in  building  the  same.  Feb- 
ruary 1  6,  1838. 

FEBRUARY   SESSIONS,    1838. 

Report  No.  j.  —  Of  a  road  from  Curry's  lot  to  John  Bell's  in  Perry. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  February  9,  1838:  John  Hutchison, 
James  W.  Bell,  Samuel  K.  Williams,  Andrew  Gibson,  William  Haddon, 
William  Marshall.  February  16,  1838,  confirmed  ni  si.  May  17,  1838, 
confirmed. 

Petition  No.  i.  —  For  a  bridge  across  Red  Bank  Creek  at  the  place 
where  the  road  from  Aaron  Fuller's  to  Hance  Robinson's  crosses. 

Viewers  :  Thomas  Hastings,  John  Lucas,  Robert  Andrews,  Isaac 
McElvane,  Jesse  Smith,  and  John  Barnett.  Approved  September  12, 

1838,  by  Court. 

MAY    SESSIONS,  1838. 

Petition  No.  i.  —  For  a  road  from  Benjamin  Shaffer's  to  David  Mill- 
iron's. 

Viewers:  Aaron  Fuller,  Hance  Robinson,  Conrad  Nolf,  Isaac  Mc- 
Elvane, Thomas  Gourley,  and  James  Winslow,  Esq.  Read  and  con- 
firmed February  16,  1839. 

Petition  No.  2.  —  For  a  road  from  Dennison's  to  William  McCon- 
nell's. 

Viewers  :  Henry  Keys,  Andrew  Smith,  James  Moorhead,  Stephen 
Tibbetts,  James  Ross,  and  Isaac  Temple.  May  17,  1838.  Confirmed 
December  14,  1838.  Ordered  to  be  opened  50  feet  wide,  December  15, 
1843- 

354 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

DECEMBER   SESSIONS,    1838. 

Petition  No.  4. — For  a  road  from  the  twentieth  mile-stone  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna  and  Franklin  turnpike  to  the  Sandy  Lick  Creek  at  the  Irish 
Town  path. 

Viewers :  William  Reynolds,  Samuel  Rea,  Henry  Mclntosh,  Andrew 
Smith,  Woodward  Reynolds,  and  David  Rhea.  December  14,  1838. 
May  15,  1839,  read  and  confirmed. 

MAY    SESSIONS,    1839. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Wakefield's  in  Pine  Creek  town- 
ship to  the  district  line  near  Andrew  McCormick's,  Snyder  township. 

Viewers :  Isaac  H.  Metcalf,  David  McCormick,  John  Wilson,  Ira 
Brownson,  and  Elihu  Clark.  Approved  ni  si  December  10,  1839. 

Petition  No.  2. — For  a  road  from  Aaron  Fuller's  to  the  Brookvilleand 
Hamilton  road  near  Mr.  Holt's. 

Views:  Alonzo  Baldwin,  John  Robinson,  Esq.,  Salmon  Fuller,  Jr., 
Joel  Spyker,  John  Welsh,  and  John  Shoemaker.  May  14,  1839.  Read 
and  confirmed  ni  si  December  13,  1839,  and  ordered  to  be  opened  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1840. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  Hance  Robinson's  mill  to  the  Arm- 
strong County  line  near  the  land  of  Hulet  Smith. 

Viewers :  Joel  Spyker,  Alonzo  Baldwin,  Frederick  Heterick,  Samuel 
Newcomb,  Hulet  Smith,  and  Nathan  Carrier.  May  14,  1839.  Read  and 
confirmed  «/«' September  10,  1839.  Order  to  open  October  7,  1840. 

Petition  No.  4. — For  a  road  from  Daniel  Elgin's  in  Eldred  township 
to  the  mouth  of  Spring  Creek  in  Ridgeway  township. 

Viewers:  James  Crow, 'John  McLaughlin,  James  Moorhead,  Henry 
Vasbinder,  Jr.,  Peter  Vasbinder,  and  James  Fullerton.  May  14,  1839. 
Read  and  confirmed  ni  si  December  n,  1839. 

Petition  No.  6. — For  a  road  from  the  borough  of  Brookville  to  the 
Beech  Bottom  on  Clarion  River. 

Viewers :  James  Moorhead,  John  McLaughlin,  William  Long,  Henry 
Vasbinder,  Jr.,  Almond  Sartwell,  and  William  Humphreys.  May  14, 
1839.  Read  and  confirmed  December  13,  1839. 

Petition  No.  8. — For  a  road  from  the  upper  end  of  the  Clearfield  and 
Armstrong  turnpike  east  of  Punxsutawney  to  intersect  the  old  State  Road 
at  or  near  John  McHenry's. 

Viewers :  James  Winslow,  Samuel  Steffy,  David  Barnett,  Daniel  Hen- 
neigh,  Robert  Cunningham,  and  Christian  Reischel.  May  14,  1839. 
Read  and  confirmed  December  13,  1839. 

SEPTEMBER   SESSIONS,    1839. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  the  farm  of  Levi  G.  Clover  to  the 
Olean  road  at  or  near  James  Cochran's. 

355 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Viewers :  William  Kennedy,  James  Summerville,  Henry  M.  R.  Clark, 
William  Hindman,  John  McCracken,  and  John  Wilson,  Esq.  September 
n,  1839.  Read  ni si  1839.  Ordered  to  be  opened  May  22,  1840. 

Petition  No.  8. — For  a  road  from  the  twelfth  mile-stone  on  the  turn- 
pike to  intersect  the  road  half  a  mile  east  of  John  McGhee's. 

Viewers :  John  Mclntosh,  John  Atwell,  William  Cooper,  John  Mc- 
Ghee,  Oliver  McClelland,  and  James  Moorhead.  September  u,  1839. 
May  12,  1840,  confirmed  and  ordered  to  be  opened  50  feet  wide. 

Report  No.  p. — Of  a  road  from  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Graham 
lot  on  the  Punxsutawney  road  to  intersect  the  turnpike  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Andrew  Barnett's  land. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road  August  23,  1839  :  Samuel  McQuiston, 
Joseph  Kerr,  Elijah  Clark,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  John  W.  Baum.  Peti- 
tioned for  May  15,  1839.  December  13,  1839,  read  and  confirmed. 

Report  No.  16. — Of  a  bridge  across  the  Big  Mahoning  Creek  at  the 
Bell's  mills. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  bridge  November  30,  1837  :  John  Drum, 
Philip  Bowers,  Daniel  Henneigh,  John  Grube,  Samuel  Steffy,  John 
Hutchison.  Petitioned  for  September,  1837.  County  appropriated 
$250  to  build  said  bridge.  David  McCormick,  foreman.  Court  concur 
September  u,  1839. 

DECEMBER    SESSIONS,   1839. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  Richards's  mill  on  the  Brookville 
and  Beech  Bottom  road  to  intersect  the  Brockway  road  at  or  near  the 
farm  of  Almon  Sartwell. 

Viewers :  John  McLaughlin,  James  K.  Huffman,  William  Hum- 
phreys, Peter  Chamberlain,  Henry  Vasbinder,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  Drum. 
December  10,  1839.  May  12,  1840,  confirmed. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  the  Hogback  road  near  Frederick 
Lantz's  to  intersect  the  Brookville  and  Indiana  road  at  or  near  T.  S. 
Mitchell's  store. 

Viewers :  George  Bloss,  David  Postlethwait,  Michael  Lantz,  Archi- 
bald Haddon,  James  Means,  and  David  Lewis.  Approved  by  Court, 
December  16,  1841. 

Petition  No.  4. — For  a  road  from  T.  S.  Mitchell's  on  the  Indiana 
and  Brookville  road  to  intersect  the  road  that  leads  from  Irvin  Robin- 
son's to  the  Indiana  County  line. 

Viewers :  George  Bloss,  David  Postlethwait,  Michael  Lantz,  Archi- 
bald Haddon,  James  Means,  and  David  Lewis.  December  13,  1839. 
Confirmed  December  18,  1840. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  John  Quiggles's  to  the  Big  Maho- 
ning Creek  where  the  line  between  James  Solesby  and  William  Campbell 
crosses  said  creek. 

356 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Viewers :   James  H.  Bell,  David  Kerr,  Samuel  Steffy,  Samuel  Bowers 
Charles  Shipman,  and  William  Cochran.     Read  and  confirmed  February 
term,  1841. 

Petition  No.  6. — For  a  road  from  the  road  that  has  been  of  late  made 
from  the  twentieth  mile-stone  to  Sandy  Lick  Creek  to  the  Beechwoods 
road,  one  and  a  quarter  miles  from  the  twentieth  mile-stone  road. 

Viewers :  Woodward  Reynolds,  Ramsey  Potter,  Henry  Mclntosh, 
Samuel  Sprague,  and  Thomas  Reynolds.  December  9,  1839.  Con- 
firmed May  12,  1840. 

Petition  No.  7. — For  a  road  from  the  Waterford  turnpike  one-half 
mile  east  of  the  twenty-fifth  mile-stone  to  David  Losh's  grist-mill. 

Viewers :  William  Reynolds,  Isaac  McElvane,  Jacob  Horm,  Ramsey 
Potter,  Woodward  Reynolds,  and  David  Rhea.  December  9,  1839. 
Confirmed  May  12,  1840. 

FEBRUARY    SESSIONS,    1840. 

Petition  No.  i. — For  a  road  from  the  Brockway  road  at  or  near  S. 
Tibbetts's  to  the  Beehwoods  road  at  or  near  James  Ross's  Lane. 

Viewers :  David  Dennison,  Henry  Mclntosh,  Henry  Keys,  Findley 
McCormick,  William  Cooper,  and  Isaac  Temple.  February  n,  1840. 
Confirmed  May  12,  1840. 

Petitioned  for  to  Shaw's  from  Ross's  Lane,  September,  1836.  Con- 
firmed to  these  points  May  10,  1837. 

MAY    SESSIONS,    1840. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  the  Brockway  road  at  or  near  Peter 
Richards's  smith-shop  to  the  Beechwoods  road  at  or  near  the  top  of  Mill 
Creek  Hill. 

Viewers  :  John  McLaughlin,  James  Ross,  William  Shaw,  Henry  Vas- 
binder,  Jr.,  Henry  Keys,  and  Milton  Johnston.  May  13,  1840.  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1841,  read  and  confirmed  to  be  opened  fifty  feet  wide. 

SEPTEMBER    SESSIONS,   1840. 

Petition  No.  j. — For  a  road  from  the  Clearfield  County  line  near 
Robert  Dixon's  to  Osborne's  mill. 

"Viewers:  John  McLaughlin,  John  McGhee,  Henry  Mclntosh, 
Henry  Keys,  William  Reynolds,  and  Andrew  Hunter.  September  n, 
1840.  Read  and  confirmed  February  10,  1841. 

Report  No.  g. — Of  a  road  from  the  road  leading  from  Barnett's  to 
Punxsutawney,  about  one  mile  south  of  Barnett's,  to  the  old  Indiana 
road,  near  the  Five-Mile  Run. 

Viewers  report  in  favor  of  road,  May  12,  1840:  John  McLaughlin, 
George  L.  Matthews,  William  Taylor,  Ebenezer  L.  Kerr,  William  Wiley. 
September  17,  1840,  read  ni  si.  February  10,  1841,  read  and  confirmed. 

357 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

SUSQUEHANNA  AND  WATERFORD  TURNPIKE— THE  OLD  TOLL- 
GATES  ALONG  THE  ROUTE— A  FULL  HISTORY  OF  THE  OLD 
TURNPIKE,  A  PART  OF  WHICH  IS  NOW  MAIN  STREET  IN  REY- 
NOLDSVILLE. 

In  1792  the  first  stone  turnpike  in  the  United  States  was  chartered. 
It  was  constructed  in  Pennsylvania  in  1 794  from  Lancaster  to  Philadel- 
phia. In  this  year  also  began  the  agitation  in  Pennsylvania  for  internal 
improvement.  An  agitation  that  resulted  in  a  great  era  of  State  road, 
canal,  and  turnpike  construction,  encouraged  and  assisted  by  the  State 
government.  From  1792  until  1832  the  Legislature  granted  two  hundred 
and  twenty  charters  for  turnpike  alone. 

These  pikes  were  not  all  made,  but  there  was  completed  within  that 
time,  as  a  result  of  these  grants,  three  thousand  miles  of  passable  roads. 
The  pioneer  turnpike  through  our  wilderness  was  the  Susquehanna  and 
Waterford  turnpike.  On  February  22,  1812,  a  law  was  enacted  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Legislature  enabling  the  governor  to  incorporate  a  company 
to  build  a  turnpike  from  the  Susquehanna  River,  near  the  mouth  of  An- 
derson Creek,  in  Clearfield  County,  through  Jefferson  County  and  what 
is  now  Brook ville,  and  through  the  town  of  Franklin  and  Meadville,  to 
Waterford,  in  Erie  County.  The  governor  was  authorized  to  subscribe 
twelve  thousand  dollars  in  shares  towards  building  the  road.  Joseph 
Barnett  and  Peter  Jones,  of  Jefferson  County,  and  two  from  each  of  the 
following  counties,  Erie,  Crawford,  Mercer,  Clearfield,  Venango,  and 
Philadelphia,  and  two  from  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  were  appointed  com- 
missioners to  receive  stock.  Each  of  the  counties  just  named  was  re- 
quired to  take  a  specified  number  of  shares,  and  the  shares  were  placed 
at  twenty-five  dollars  each.  Jefferson  County  was  required  to  take  fifty 
shares. 

The  war  of  1812  so  depressed  business  in  this  part  of  the  State  that  • 
all  work  was  delayed  on  this  thoroughfare  for  six  years.     The  company 
commenced  work  in  iSiS,  and  the  survey  was  completed  in  October  of 
that  year.     In  November,  1818,  the  sections  were  offered  for  sale,  and  in 
November,  1822,  the  road  was  completed. 

The  commissioners  employed  John  Sloan,  Esq.,  to  make  the  survey 
and  grade  the  road.  They  began  the  survey  in  the  spring  and  finished 
it  in  the  fall  of  1818,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  four  miles.  The 
State  took  one-third  of  the  stock.  James  Harriet,  of  Meadville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, took  the  contract  to  build  the  road,  and  he  gave  it  out  to  sub- 
contractors. Some  took  five  miles,  some  ten,  and  so  on.  Work  began 
in  1821,  and  was  completed  in  1824.  The  bridge  over  the  Clarion  River 
was  built  in  1821,  by  Moore,  from  Northumberland  County;  it  was  built 
with  a  single  arch. 

In  March,  1821,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  appropriating 

358        • 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  for  improving  the  road.  Appoint- 
ments were  made  in  each  county  through  which  the  road  passed  of 
people  whose  duty  it  was  to  receive  the  money  for  each  county  and  to 
pay  it  out.  Charles  C.  Gaskill  and  Carpenter  Winslow  represented 
Jefferson  County. 

Andrew  Ellicott  never  surveyed  or  brushed  out  this  turnpike.  He 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  the  old  State  Road. 

Our  turnpike  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  miles  long.  The  in- 
dividual subscriptions  to  its  construction  were  in  total  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, the  State  aid  giving  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars.  This 
was  up  to  March,  1822.  The  finishing  of  our  link  in  November,  1824, 
completed  and  opened  one  continuous  turnpike  road  from  Philadelphia 
to  Erie.  Our  part  of  this  thoroughfare  was  called  a  "  clay  turnpike," 
and  in  that  day  was  boasted  of  by  the  early  settlers  as  the  most  con- 
venient and  easy  travelling  road  in  the  United  States.  That,  in  fact, 
anywhere  along  the  route  over  the  mountain  the  horses  could  be  treated 
to  the  finest  water,  and  that  anywhere  along  the  route,  too,  the  traveller, 
as  well  as  the  driver,  could  regale  himself  "with  the  choicest  Monon- 
gahela  whiskey  bitters,"  clear  as  amber,  sweet  as  musk,  and  smooth  as 
oil. 

"  Immediately  after  the  completion  of  the  turnpike  mile- stones  were 
set  up.  They  were  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  as  one  travelled 
east.  The  stones  when  first  erected  were  white,  neat,  square,  and  well 
finished.  On  each  stone  was  inscribed,  '  To  S.  oo  miles.  To  F.  oo  miles.' 
Of  course  figures  appeared  on  the  stones  where  ciphers  have  been  placed 
above.  S.  stood  for  Susquehanna,  which  is  east,  and  F.  for  Franklin, 
which  is  west." 

Only  the  commonest  goods  were  hauled  into  this  country  over  the 
old  State  Road,  and  in  the  early  days  of  the  turnpike,  Oliver  Gregg,  with 
his  six  horses,  and  Joseph  Morrow,  with  his  outfit  of  two  teams,  were 
regularly  employed  for  many  years  in  carrying  freight  from  Philadelphia 
to  this  section.  It  took  four  weeks  to  reach  here  from  Philadelphia,  and 
the  charge  for  freight  was  about  six  dollars  per  hundred  pounds.  A  man 
by  the  name  of  Potter  in  latter  years  drove  an  outfit  of  five  roan  horses. 
Each  team  had  a  Conestoga  wagon  and  carried  from  three  to  four  tons  of 
goods. 

THE   TOLL-GATE. 

With  the  completion  of  the  turnpike  came  the  toll-gate.  One  was 
erected  every  five  or  ten  miles. 

Gangs  of  men  were  kept  busy  constantly  repairing  the  pike,  and  they 
were  individually  paid  at  these  gates.  The  road  was  then  kept  in  good 
condition. 


359 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"AN  ACT  TO' ENABLE  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  THTS  COMMONWEALTH  TO  INCOR- 
PORATE A  COMPANY  FOR  MAKING  AN  ARTIFICIAL  ROAD,  BY  THE  BEST 
AND  NEAREST  ROUTE,  FROM  WATERFORD,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  ERIE, 
THROUGH  MEADVILLE  AND  FRANKLIN  TO  THE  RIVER  SUSQUEHANNA,  AT 
OR  NEAR  THE  MOUTH  OF  ANDERSON'S  CREEK,  IN  CLEARFIELD  COUNTY. 
' '  SECTION  13.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  said  company,  having  perfected  the  said  road,  or  such  part  thereof, 
from  time  to  time  as  aforesaid,  and  the  same  being  examined,  approved, 
and  licensed  as  aforesaid,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  them  to  appoint 
such  and  so  many  toll-gatherers  as  they  shall  think  proper,  to  collect  and 
receive  of  and  from  all  and  every  person  and  persons  using  the  said  road 
the  tolls  and  rates  hereinafter  mentioned  ;  and  to  stop  any  person  riding, 
leading,  or  driving  any  horse  or  mule,  or  driving  any  cattle,  hogs,  sheep, 
sulkey,  chair,  chaise,  phaeton,  cart,  wagon,  wain,  sleigh,  sled,  or  other 
carriage  of  burden  or  pleasure  from  passing  through  the  said  gates  or 
turnpikes  until  they  shall  have  respectfully  paid  the  same, — that  is  to  say, 
for  every  space  of  five  miles  in  length  of  the  said  road  the  following  sum 
of  money,  and  so  in  proportion  for  any  greater  or  less  distance,  or  for 
any  greater  or  less  number  of  hogs,  sheep,  or  cattle,  to  wit :  For  every 
score  of  sheep,  four  cents ;  for  every  score  of  hogs,  six  cents ;  for  every 
score  of  cattle,  twelve  cents ;  for  every  horse  or  mule,  laden  or  unladen, 
with  his  rider  or  leader,  three  cents ;  for  every  sulkey,  chair,  chaise,  with 
one  horse  and  two  wheels,  six  cents ;  and  with  two  horses,  nine  cents ; 
for  every  chair,  coach,  phaeton,  chaise,  stage-wagon,  coachee,  or  light 
wagon,  with  two  horses  and  four  wheels,  twelve  cents ;  for  either  of  the 
carriages  last  mentioned,  with  four  horses,  twenty  cents  ;  for  every  other 
carriage  of  pleasure,  under  whatever  name  it  may  go,  the  like  sum,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  wheels  and  of  horses  drawing  the  same ;  for 
every  sleigh  or  sled,  two  cents  for  each  horse  drawing  the  same ;  for 
every  cart  or  wagon,  or  other  carriage  of  burden,  the  wheels  of  which  do 
not  in  breadth  exceed  four  inches,  four  cents  for  each  horse  drawing  the 
same;  for  every  cart  or  wagon,  the  wheels  of  which  shall  exceed  in 
breadth  four  inches,  and  shall  not  exceed  seven  inches,  three  cents  for 
each  horse  drawing  the  same  ;  and  when  any  such  carriages  as  aforesaid 
shall  be  drawn  by  oxen  or  mules,  in  the  whole  or  in  part,  two  oxen  shall 
be  estimated  as  equal  to  one  horse ;  and  every  ass  or  mule  as  equal  to 
one  horse,  in  charging  the  aforesaid  tolls." 

COMPLETION    OF   THE   TURNPIKE. 

The  first  stage  line  was  established  over  the  Waterford  and  Susque- 
hanna  turnpike  from  Bellefonte  to  Erie  by  Robert  Clark,  of  Clark's 
Ferry,  Pennsylvania,  in  November,  1824.  It  was  called  a  Concord  line, 
and  at  first  was  a  tri-weekly.  The  first  stage-coach  passed  through  where 
Brookville  now  is  about  the  6th  of  November,  1824.  In  1824  the  route 

360 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  completed  to  Philadelphia,   through   Harrisburg,  and  was  a  daily 
line. 

''  The  arrival  of  the  stages  in  old  times  was  a  much  more  important 
event  than  that  of  the  railroad  trains  to-day.  Crowds  invariably  gathered 
at  the  public  houses  where  the  coaches  stopped  to  obtain  the  latest  news, 
and  the  passengers  were  of  decided  account  for  the  time  being.  Money 


was  so  scarce  that  few  persons  could  afford  to  patronize  the  stages,  and 
those  who  did  were  looked  upon  as  fortunate  beings.  A  short  trip  on  the 
stage  was  as  formidable  an  affair  as  one  to  Chicago  or  Washington  is  now 
by  railroad.  The  stage-drivers  were  men  of  considerable  consequence, 
especially  in  the  villages  through  which  they  passed.  They  were  in- 

24  36l 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

trusted  with  many  delicate  missives  and  valuable  packages,  and  seldom 
betrayed  the  confidence  reposed  in  them.  They  had  great  skill  in  hand- 
ling their  horses,  and  were  the  admiration  and  envy  of  the  boys.  Talk 
about  the  modern  railroad  conductor,  he  is  nothing  compared  with  the 
importance  of  the  stage-coach  driver  of  sixty  and  seventy  years  ago 

"The  traffic  on  the  turnpike  began,  of  course,  at  its  completion  in 
November,  1824.  It  increased  gradually  until  it  reached  enormous  pro- 
portions. A  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  road  had  been  built  it  arrived 
at  the  zenith  of  its  glory." 

Pedlers  of  all  kinds,  on  foot  and  in  covered  wagons,  travelled  the 
pike.  From  Crawford  County  came  the  cheese  and  white-fish  pedler. 
Several  people,  including  the  hotel-men,  would  each  buy  a  whole  cheese. 

The  pioneer  inns  or  taverns  in  Jefferson  County  along  this  highway 
were  about  six  in  number.  Five  of  the  six  were  built  of  hewed  logs, — 
viz.:  one  where  Reynoldsville  is;  the  Packer  Inn,  near  Peter  Baum's  ; 
one  near  Campbell  Run  (Ghost  Hollow)  ;  the  William  Vasbinder  Inn ; 
James  Winter's  tavern  at  Roseville ;  and  John  McAnulty's  inn,  kept  by 
Alexander  Powers,  where  Corsica  is  now  located.  The  Port  Barnett  Inn 
at  this  time  was  a  "  frame  structure,"  as  its  picture  represents. 

The  early  settlers  along  the  pike  east  of  Port  Barnett  were  John  and 
Rebecca  Fuller  in  1822,  the  Potters  in  1824-25,  Andrew  McCreight 
and  wife  in  1832,  Tilton  Reynolds  and  wife  in  1834,  Valentine  Smith 
in  1835,  Woodward  Reynolds  in  1837,  Thomas  Doling,  and  others. 
These  were  all  in  what  is  now  Winslow  township.  West  of  Port  Barnett 
the  settlers  along  the  pike  were  Moses  Knapp,  Joseph  Kaylor,  E.  M. 
Graham,  Alexander  Powers,  John  Scott,  Samuel  D.  Kennedy,  Rev. 
William  Kennedy,  John  Christy,  and  John  Monks.  Lee  Tipton  had  a 
store  in  1835  about  where  Corsica  is.  See  chapter  on  my  early  "  Recol- 
lections of  Brookville,  Pennsylvania." 

As  Morrow,  Gregg,  and  Potter  carried  our  produce  to  the  Lewistown 
market,  I  reproduce  a  market-table  herewith : 

LEWISTOWN    MARKET,   1837. 

Wheat  flour  per  barrel $10.00 

Rye         "      "       "          5.00 

Wheat  grain  per  bushel 1.95 

Rye         "       "         " i.oo 

Corn        "       "         "       .70 

Oats         "       "         "       .40 

Potatoes           "         "       .31 

Ham       .12 

Butter 15 

Beeswax .20 

Timothy-seed  per  bushel 2.50 

Clover-      "        "        "          ,    .    .    .    .  t.    .    .  7.00 

Flax-          "       "        "         1.25 

362 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  AN  ACT  TO  AUTHORIZE  THE  COMMISSIONERS  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY  TO 
ALTER  A  CERTAIN  PART  OF  THE  SUSQUEHANNA  AND  WATERFORD  TURN- 
PIKE ROAD. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  commissioners  of 
Jefferson  County  be,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to 
lay  out  and  make  one  mile  and  ten  perches  of  turnpike  road  through  the 
village  of  Brookville  in  said  county,  said  road  not  to  exceed  five  degrees 
from  a  horizontal  line,  and  to  be  connected  with  the  Susquehanna  and 
Waterford  turnpike  road  at  both  ends. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
as  soon  as  the  said  road  is  finished,  so  much  of  the  said  Susquehanna  and 
Waterford  turnpike  road  as  lies  between  the  points  of  intersection  afore- 
said may  be  vacated ;  and  the  commissioners  of  said  county  are  hereby 
authorized  to  draw  their  warrant  on  the  treasurer  of  Jefferson  County  for 
the  amount  necessarily  expended  by  them  in  making  said  road. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
from  and  after  the  ist  day  of  April  next  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  super- 
visors of  the  public  highway  in  each  and  every  township  in  the  county  of 
Jefferson  to  lay  out  and  expend  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  amount  of  all 
the  road  taxes  assessed  each  year  in  each  and  every  township  aforesaid, 
in  opening  and  repairing  the  public  highways  within  said  township  and 
county,  on  or  before  the  ist  day  of  October  in  each  and  every  year. 

"Approved — the  fourth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty  one. 

"GEORGE  WOLF." 

This  law  authorized  a  change  in  the  pike  in  Brookville  from  Jefferson 
Street  to  Main  Street.  The  Commonwealth  awarded  the  contract  for 
this  work  to  Thomas  and  James  Hall,  who  completed  the  change. 

Stage-passengers'  rights  were  guarded  as  herein  by  legal  statutes. 

ACT   OF   MARCH   6,  1820. 

"AN  ACT  RELATIVE  TO  THE  OWNERS  AND  DRIVERS  OF  PUBLIC  STAGES 
AND  OTHER  CARRIAGES  FOR  THE  CONVEYANCE  OF  PASSENGERS,  AND 
FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

"  SECTION  i.  From  and  after  the  ist  day  of  July  next,  if  the  driver  of 
any  public  stage,  mail-coach,  coachee,  or  carriage  shall  leave  the  same 
with  the  horses  attached  thereto,  without  some  suitable  person  to  take 
care  of  such  horses,  or  securely  fastening  the  same,  such  driver,  and  the 
owner  or  owners,  or  any  of  them,  of  such  stage,  mail-coach,  coachee,  or 
carriage  shall  for  every  such  offence  forfeit  and  pay  any  sum  not  less 

363 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

than  ten  nor  more  than  fifty  dollars,  one  moiety  whereof  shall  go  to 
the  person  giving  information  of  the  commission  of  such  offence,  and  the 
other  moiety  to  the  stock  of  the  county  where  such  offence  shall  have 
been  committed  :  Provided,  That  the  party  aggrieved  shall  have  a  right 
to  appeal  to  the  next  court  of  common  pleas  of  the  county  wherein  the 
offence  was  committed. 

"SECTION  2.  If  any  wagoner,  carter,  drayman,  or  driver  of  any 
stage,  mail  coach,  coachee,  or  carriage  shall  wilfully  and  vexatiously  ob- 
struct or  delay  any  person  or  persons  travelling  on  the  public  highways 
of  this  Commonwealth,  he  shall  for  every  such  offence  forfeit  and  pay 
the  sum  of  twenty  dollars,  one-half  whereof  shall  go  to  the  person  giving 
information  of  the  commission  of  such  offence,  and  the  other  moiety  to 
the  stock  of  the  county  where  the  offence  shall  have  been  committed. 

"SECTION  3.  The  said  penalties  may  be  recovered  before  any  alder- 
man or  justice  of  the  peace,  in  the  same  manner  as  sums  not  above  one 
hundred  dollars  are  now  by  law  recovered  ;  and  in  any  suit  or  action 
brought  to  recover  the  same,  the  informer  shall  be  a  competent  witness, 
leaving  his  credibility,  as  in  other  cases,  to  be  judged  of  by  the  proper 
authority  determining  the  same.  And  no  such  suit  or  action  shall  be 
abated,  nor  a  nonsuit  therein  ordered,  on  account  of  the  names  of  all 
the  owners  of  any  such  stage,  mail-coach,  coachee,  or  carriage  not  being 
embraced  as  defendants,  but  it  shall  be  lawful  to  bring  and  sustain  any 
such  suit  or  action  against  any  one  or  more  of  the  said  owners  :  Provided, 
That  no  such  suit  or  action  shall  be  brought  against  any  person  for  the 
penalty  incurred  by  a  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  act  after  the 
expiration  of  thirty  days  from  the  commission  of  the  offence."  * 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

PIONEER  COURT — PIONEER  JUDGES — PRESIDENT  AND   ASSOCIATES — PIONEER 
BAR  AND   EARLY   LAWYERS — MINUTES    OF    PIONEER  SESSIONS   OF   COURT 

— DECEMBER    SESSION,     1830,    AND    FEBRUARY   SESSION,     1831 LIST    OF 

RETAILERS  OF  FOREIGN  MERCHANDISE    IN    THE  COUNTY,   FEBRUARY    SES- 
SIONS,   1831 EARLY    CONSTABLES. 

THE  first  legislation  creating  a  judiciary  in  this  State  was  called  the 
provincial  act  of  March  22,  1722.  This  court  was  styled  "The  Court 
of  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace  and  Gaol  Delivery."  The  Orphans' 
Court  was  established  in  1713.  The  constitution  of  1776  provided  for 
the  continuance  of  these  courts.  By  the  constitution  adopted  in  1790 

*  For  turnpike,  see  my  "  Recollections  of  Brookville." 
364 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  judicial  power  of  the  State  was  vested  in  a  Supreme  Court,  in  a  Court 
of  Oyer  and  Terminerand  General  Jail  Delivery,  Common  Pleas,  Quarter 
Sessions,  Orphans'  Court,  and  Register  Court  for  each  county,  and  for 
justices  of  the  peace  for  boroughs  and  townships.  The  early  judges 
were  appointed  by  the  governor. 

In  1806,  for  the  more  convenient  establishment  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  State  was  made  into  two  districts, — viz.,  the  Eastern  and 
Western.  Jefferson  County  was  in  the  Western. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  April  2,  1830,  Jefferson  County 
was  attached  to  the  Eighteenth  Judicial  District.  Thomas  Burnside  was 
appointed  president  judge,  and  John  W.  Jenks  and  Elijah  Heath  asso- 


Hon.  Thomas  Burnside,  pioneer  judge,  1830-35. 

ciate  judges.     They  were  the  pioneer  judges  of  this  county.     The  salary 
of  an  associate  judge  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  year. 

Both  the  president  judge  of  a  district  and  the  associate  judges  for  a 
county  were  appointed  in  this  State  until  1850,  when  the  State  consti- 
tution was  changed  to  make  them  elective.  The  term  of  the  president 
judge  ran  ten  years,  but  the  term  of  the  associates  was  for  five  years. 

In  1835,  Burnside  resigned  and  Nathaniel  B.  Eldred  was  appointed 
district  judge.  In  a  short  time  he  resigned,  when  Alex.  McCalmont  was 
appointed  and  served  ten  years.  Neither  Burnside,  Eldred,  nor  McCal- 
mont lived  in  Jefferson  County.  The  president  judge's  salary  was  sixteen 
hundred  dollars  a  year  and  mileage. 

The  early  associates,  all  of  whom  resided  in  the  county,  and  whose 
service  extended  only  until  1844,  were, — viz. :  William  Jack,  Andrew 
Barnett,  James  Winslow,  and  James  L.  Gillis. 

365 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  early  local  or  home  lawyers  were  Hugh  Brady,  Cephas  J.  Dun- 
ham, Benjamin  Bartholomew,  Caleb  A.  Alexander,  L.  B.  Dunham, 
Richard  Arthurs,  Elijah  Heath,  D.  B.  Jenks,  Thomas  Lucas,  D.  S. 
Deering,  S.  B.  Bishop,  and  Jesse  G.  Clark.  Many  very  eminent  lawyers 
from  adjoining  counties  attended  our  courts  regularly  at  this  period. 
They  usually  came  on  horseback,  and  brought  their  papers,  etc.,  in  large 
leather  saddle-bags.  Most  of  these  foreign  lawyers  were  very  polite 
gentlemen,  and  very  particular  not  to  refuse  a  "drink." 

The  pioneer  law  student  in  the  county  was  Lewis  B.  Dunham.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  county  at  the  September  term,  1835.  It 
may  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  recall  the  fact  that  Benjamin  Bartholomew 
had  a  son  born  while  living  in  Brookville,  who  became  distinguished  as 
one  of  the  great  orators  of  the  State,  the  Hon.  Linn  Bartholomew. 

PIONEER    SESSION — DECEMBER  SESSION,   1830 — HELD   IN   THE  UPPER  ROOMS 

OF    THE    OLD   JAIL. 

"  Minutes  of  a  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  held 
at  Brookville,  for  the  county  of  Jefferson,  on  Monday,  the  sixth  day  of 
December,  1830 : 

"Present,  the  Honorable  Thomas  Burnside,  President,  and  John  W. 
Jenks  and  Elijah  Heath,  Esquires,  Judges  of  said  Court.  High  Sheriff 
of  Jefferson  County,  Thomas  McKee.  Constables,  Alfred  Cory,  Con- 
stable of  Young  township,  and  Hulet  Smith,  Constable  of  Rose  town- 
ship, sworn. 

"  The  Court  order  and  direct  that  a  Grand  Jury  of  twenty-four  and 
a  Traverse  Jury  of  thirty-six  be  summoned  returnable  to  next  term." 

The  following-named  gentlemen  were  admitted  to  practise  law  in  the 
several  courts  of  Jefferson  County,  and  were  all  sworn  and  affirmed, — to 
wit :  Thomas  Blair,  Thomas  White,  George  W.  Smith,  Josiah  W.  Smith, 
John  Johnston,  William  Banks,  and  Hugh  Brady,  Esq.  December  7, 
Robert  E.  Brown,  Esq.,  admitted  and  sworn  as  an  attorney  of  the  several 
courts  of  Jefferson  County. 

James  M.  Brockway  appointed  constable  of  Ridgeway  township  and 
sworn  in  open  court ;  Samuel  Jones  appointed  constable  of  Pine  Creek 
township  and  sworn  in  open  court ;  William  Hopkins  appointed  constable 
of  Perry  township  for  the  present  year  and  sworn  in  open  court. 

The  following  constables  appeared  and  made  their  returns, — to  wit : 
Alfred  Cory,  constable  of  Young  township,  and  Hulet  Smith,  constable 
of  Rose  township. 

FEBRUARY    SESSIONS,    1831. 

Grand  jurors  for  February  sessions,  1831.  Thomas  McKee,  Esq.,  high 
sheriff  of  Jefferson  County,  returns  his  pr&cipe  to  him  directed  and  the 

366 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

following- named  persons  for  grand  jury  at  February  sessions,  1831, — to 
wit : 


No.  Name.  Township. 

i Andrew  Barnett Pine  Creek. 

2 Jacob  Shaffer        Ridgeway. 

3 Aaron  Fuller Rose. 

4 Samuel  Jordan Perry 

5 Joseph  Sharp Rose. 

6 John  Welsh Rose. 

7 Andrew  Bowers ....  Young. 

8 William  Summerville Rose. 

9 John  Christy. 

10  .    .    .    .' Archibald  Hadden. 

ii Christ.  Heterick. 

12 John  H.  Wise Rose. 

13 John  Millen Perry. 

14 Henry  Walborn Ridgeway. 

15 Darius  Carrier Rose. 

16 John  McGiffen Rose. 

17 Jacob  Shillery Young. 

1 8 Clark  Eggleston Ridgeway. 

19 Joseph  Bell Perry. 

20 John  Hughes Rose. 

21 Jacob  Hoover Young. 

22 Robert  K.  Scott Rose. 

.23 William  Love,  Sr Rose. 

24 Thompson  Barr Rose. 


CONSTABLES'  RETURNS  FOR  FEBRUARY  SESSIONS,  1831. 

The  following  constables  appeared  and  made  their  returns  at  Febru- 
ary sessions,  1831, — to  wit:  Samuel  Jones,  Pine  Creek  township;  Alfred 
Cory,  Young  township ;  William  Hopkins,  Perry  township ;  Hulet  Smith, 
Rose  township  ;  James  Brockway,  Ridgeway  township. 

List  of  retailers  of  foreign  merchandise  in  the  township  of  Rose,  re- 
turned at  February  sessions,  1831, — to  wit:  William  Douglass,  Jared  B. 
Evans,  William  Rodgers,  Joseph  Chambers,  John  Robinson,  John  Mc- 
Anulty,  Sr.,  Andrew  Vasbinder,  John  Eason,  William  Clark. 

"A  list  of  retailers  of  foreign  merchandise  in  the  county  of  Jefferson, 
classified  according  to  the  act  of  Assembly  in  that  case  provided, — viz. : 
John  W.  Jenks,  8th  class,  Young  township ;  William  Douglass,  8th 
class,  Rose  township;  Jared  B.  Evans,  8th  class,  Rose  township;  John 
Smith  &  Co.,  8th  class,  Rose  township;  William  Rodgers,  8th  class,  Rose 
township ;  Joseph  Chambers,  Sch  class,  Rose  township  ;  John  Robinson, 
8th  class,  Rose  township. 

"We,  the  undersigned  Judges  and  Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County, 

367 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXXA. 

do  certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  correct  list  as  returned  by  the  several 
Constables,  given  under  our  hands  the  pth  day  of  February,  1831. 

"  JOHN  W.  JENKS, 
ELIJAH  HEATH, 

Judges. 
THOS.  LUCAS, 
ROBERT  ANDREWS, 
Commissioners  of  County. ' ' 

PIONEER   ADMISSIONS  TO   THE   BAR  FROM    1830   TO    1843 
The  names  of  the  members  of  the  Jefferson  County  bar  as  they  have 
been  recorded  on  the  annals  of  the  court  in  the  order  in  which  they  were 


Court-house  and  jail,  1896. 

admitted.    Some  of  these  attorneys  were  not  residents  of  this  county,  but 
were  admitted  to  this  bar,  and  practised  regularly  in  our  courts. 

368 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ADMITTED  AT  DECEMBER  TERM,    1830. 

"Thomas  Blair,  of  Kittanning  ;  Thomas  White,  of  Indiana  ;  George 
W.  Smith,  of  Butler,  for  ten  or  fifteen  years  was  afterwards  president 
judge  of  this  district ;  Joseph  W.  Smith,  of  Clearfield  ;  John  Johnston, 
of  Clearfield  ;  William  Banks,  of  Indiana,  practised  in  this  court  for 
many  years  ;  Hugh  Brady  ;  Robert  E.  Brown,  of  Kittanning." 

FEBRUARY  TERM,    1831. 

"Joseph  Martin;  William  Watson,  of  Kittanning,  Pennsylvania; 
Joseph  Buffington,  of  Bellefonte,  practised  at  this  bar  for  many  years  ; 
was  appointed  president  judge  of  this  district,  and  afterwards  served  as 
member  of  Congress  from  this  district." 

SEPTEMBER  TERM,    1831. 

"Cephas  J.  Dunham,  of  Brookville  ;  Ephraim  Carpenter,  of  Indiana, 
came  here  for  many  years  :  Lewis  W.  Smith,  of  Clearfield,  came  here  oc- 
casionally ;  Benjamin  Bartholomew,  resided  in  Brookville  a  number  of 
years,  and  represented  the  district  in  the  Legislature  in  1846.  He  removed 
from  Brookville  to  Warren,  and  then  to  Schuylkill  County,  where  he  was 
afterwards  district  attorney.  Hon.  Linn  Bartholomew,  his  son,  was  born 
in  Brookville." 

DECEMBER  TERM,    1833. 

"  Michael  Gallagher,  of  Kittanning ;  James  McManus,  of  Bellefonte." 

FEBRUARY  TERM,    1834. 

"William  F.  Johnston,  of  Kittanning,  practised  regularly  at  this  bar 
for  many  years  ;  was  afterwards  governor  of  Pennsylvania." 

MAY  TERM,    1834. 

"  C.  A.  Alexander;  James  Burnside,  of  Bellefonte." 

FEBRUARY  TERM,    1835. 

"  Michael  Dan  McGeehan,  of  Ebensburg  ;  General  William  R.  Smith, 
from  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  was  only  here  once  ;  removed  to  Du- 
buque,  Iowa." 

MAY  TERM,    1835. 

"  Hiram  Bayne,  of  McKean  County,  practised  at  this  bar  regularly 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  engaged  in  the  sale  of  lands,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  State  constitutional  convention  of  1837." 

SEPTEMBER  TERM,    1835. 

"Lewis  B.  Dunham,  of  Brookville,  was  the  pioneer  man  admitted  on 
examination  to  the  Jefferson  County  bar,  and  the  pioneer  law  student  in 

369 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  county.  He  practised  here  for  a  number  of  years,  and  then  removed 
to  the  West, — Maquoketa,  Iowa.  Mr.  Dunham  did  not  practise  his  pro- 
fession after  he  left  Brookville.  He  represented  Iowa  in  the  State  senate. 
Stewart  Steele,  of  Blairsville." 

DECEMBER  TERM,    1835. 

"  Alexander  McCalmont,  of  Franklin,  practised  for  many  years  at  this 
bar,  and  was  president  judge  of  the  district.  James  Ross  Snowden,  of 
Franklin,  a  prominent  attorney  and  politician,  came  here  occasionally. 
Elijah  Heath,  of  Brookville;  David  Barclay  Jenks,  of  Brookville." 

SEPTEMBER  TERM. 

"  Richard  Arthurs,  of  Brookville." 

SPRING  TERM,    1838. 

"Jesse  G.  Clark." 

SEPTEMBER  TERM,   1839. 

"John  W.  Howe,  of  Franklin,  came  here  regularly  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  prominent  attorney,  and  was  elected  member  of  Congress  from 
his  district.  Thomas  Struthers,  of  Warren,  also  came  here  regularly  for 
many  years." 

DECEMBER  TERM,    1839. 

"  William  M.  Stewart,  of  Indiana." 

DECEMBER  TERM,    1840. 

"Thomas  Lucas,  of  Brookville." 

SEPTEMBER  TERM,   1842. 

"  J.  W.  McCabe,  of  Kittanning,  came  here  a  few  times." 

FEBRUARY  TERM,    1843. 

"  Carlton  B.  Curtis,  of  Warren,  came  here  frequently;  elected  to  the 
Legislature  and  Congress  twice  from  the  districts  of  which  Jefferson 
County  formed  a  part.  Andrew  Mosgrove,  of  Kittanning,  came  here 
occasionally. ' ' 

MAY  TERM,   1843. 

"  David  S.  Deering,  of  Brookville,  read  law,  was  admitted,  and  prac- 
tised at  this  bar  for  several  years.  He  now  resides  in  Iowa." 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 
PIONEER   LEGAL   CARD   AND   NOTICE   IN   "THE   JEFFERSONIAN." 


CEPHAS  J.  DUNHAM, 

Attorney  at  Law. 


OFFICE: 

PICKERING    STREET, 
BROOKVILLE,  PA. 


April,  1834. 

"  TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

"  This  is  to  inform  the  public  that  I  employed  C.  A.  Alexander,  Esq., 
attorney- at-law,  to  conduct  a  suit  for  me,  for  which  he  agreed  to  take  two 
dollars,  and  took  my  note  for  the  same,  to  be  paid  when  I  collected  the 
money,  in  two  or  three  weeks,  the  time  not  exactly  remembered ;  he  kept 
the  note  and  sued  me  on  an  account  of  three  dollars  for  the  same  ser- 
vices, but  only  got  judgment  for  two.  If  he  has  such  an  ambition  for 
money  the  other  lawyers  will  get  my  business. 

"  ANDREW  VASTBINDER. 
"  BROOKVILLE,  August  i,  1834." 

PIONEER  LAWS   AND    PIONEER   HIGHWAYS. 

Stewart  H.  Whitehill,  Esq.,  of  Brookville,  Pennsylvania,  has  kindly 
prepared  for  me  this  summary  of  the  pioneer  laws  specially  enacted  for 
Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  Brookville,  Pennsylvania ;  also 
a  summary  of  the  pioneer  laws  pertaining  to  the  townships  and  public 
highways  of  said  county,  as  follows  : 

COUNTY. 

March  26,  1804. — Jefferson  County  erected  and  boundaries  named ; 
but  by  the  same  act  annexed  to  Westmoreland  County  for  judicial  pur- 
poses. 

February  j,  1806. — Authority  of  commissioners  of  Westmoreland 
County  and  other  county  officers  of  said  county  extended  over  and  within 
the  county  district  of  Jefferson. 

February  24,  1806. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Western  District 
for  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  State  divided  into  ten  judicial  districts, 
the  counties  of  Somerset,  Cambria,  Indiana,  Armstrong,  and  Westmore- 
land comprising  the  tenth. 

March  10,  1806. — Jefferson  County  annexed  to  the  county  of  In- 
diana, and  the  authority  of  the  county  commissioners  and  other  county 
officers  of  said  Indiana  County  to  extend  over  and  within  the  county  of 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Jefferson.     It  remained  thus  annexed  to  Indiana  County  for  all  purposes 
until  1824,  and  for  judicial  purposes  until  1830. 

March  ji,  1806. — Jefferson  County  made  into  a  separate  election 
district,  elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  "  Joseph  Barnett,  on 
Sandy  Lick,  in  said  county." 

March  21,  1808. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  a  Senatorial  District, 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Armstrong,  Indiana,  and  Jefferson,  the  return 
judges  thereof  to  "meet  at  the  house  occupied  by  Widow  Elder,  in  Black- 
lick  township,  Indiana  County." 

By  the  same  act  Jefferson  County  placed  in  a  State  Representative 
District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Armstrong,  Jefferson,  and  Indiana, 
the  return  judges  of  which  were  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Absalom  Wood- 
ward in  Armstrong  County. 

March  20,  1812. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Eleventh  Congres- 
sional District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Westmoreland,  Armstrong, 
Jefferson,  and  Indiana. 

March  14,  1814. — Authority  granted  for  the  subdivision  of  Jefferson 
County  into  six  districts,  for  the  election  of  justices  of  the  peace. 

March  8,  1815. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Sixteenth  Senatorial 
District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Westmoreland,  Indiana,  and  Jef- 
ferson, the  return  judges  thereof  to  meet  at  the  house  of  John  Kelly,  in  the 
town  of  Newport,  in  Blacklick  township,  Indiana  County. 

By  the  same  act  Jefferson  County  was  placed  in  a  State  Representa- 
tive District,  along  with  Armstrong  and  Indiana  Counties,  the  three 
counties  being  entitled  to  two  members,  and  the  return  judges  were  to 
meet  at  the  house  of  Absalom  Woodward,  in  Indiana  County. 

i82j. — The  Milesburg  and  Smethport  Turnpike  Road  Company, 
authorized  "  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  turnpike  road  from  Milesburg 
in  Centre  County,  past  Karthaus  in  Clearfield  County,  and  Smethport  in 
McKean  County,  to  the  New  York  line,"  and  Jonathan  Colgrove,  Paul 
E.  Scull,  John  King,  and  Joseph  Otto,  of  McKean  County;  Peter  A. 
Karthaus,  of  Clearfield  County ;  James  L.  Gillis,  of  Jefferson  County  ; 
John  Mitchell  and  Roland  Curtin,  of  Centre  County ;  George  Vaux  and 
Simon  Gratz,  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  appointed  commissioners  to 
solicit  subscriptions  for  said  road,  which  passed  through  Ridgeway,  then  in 
the  county  of  Jefferson.  Notice  of  the  time  and  place  when  and  where 
books  to  be  opened  to  receive  subscriptions  of  stock  to  be  published  in 
the  Bellefonte  Patriot  and  the  Lycoming  Gazette,  and  one  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Upon  subscription  of  twenty  or  more 
persons,  representing  six  hundred  or  more  shares  of  twenty  dollars  each, 
the  governor  to  incorporate  the  company,  which  was  to  have  power  to 
erect  and  maintain  toll-gates  upon  and  across  said  turnpike,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  following  section  of  the  act : 

'"SECTION  13. — And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 

372 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

That  whenever  and  as  often  as  the  said  company  shall  have  finished  five 
miles  or  more  of  said  road  the  president  thereof  may  give  notice  to  the 
governor,  who  shall  thereupon  forthwith  appoint  three  skilful,  judicious, 
and  disinterested  persons  to  view  and  examine  the  same  and  report  on 
oath  or  affirmation  to  him  whether  the  road  is  so  far  executed  in  a  com- 
petent and  workmanlike  manner,  according  to  the  true  meaning  and 
intent  of  this  act  ;  and  if  their  report  shall  be  in  the  affirmative,  then  the 
governor  shall,  by  license  under  his  hand  and  seal  of  the  State,  permit 
and  suffer  said  company  to  erect  and  fix  such  and  so  many  gates  or  turn- 
pikes upon  and  across  the  said  road  as  will  be  necessary  and  sufficient 
to  collect  from  all  persons  travelling  the  same,  otherwise  than  on  foot, 
the  same  tolls  which  are  hereinafter  authorized  and  granted  :  Provided, 
That  all  persons  attending  funerals,  military  parades,  or  trainings  or  ' 
divine  worship  on  the  Sabbath-day  shall  at  all  times  be  exempt  from  the 
payment  of  any  toll  on  said  road." 

1828. — "A  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  ACT  ENTITLED  'AN  ACT  AUTHOR- 
IZING THE  GOVERNOR  TO  INCORPORATE  THE  MILESBURG  AND  SMETH- 
PORT  TURNPIKE  ROAD  COMPANY.' 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  governor  be  and  is 
hereby  authorized  and  required  to  subscribe  twenty  thousand  dollars,  in 
shares  of  twenty  dollars  each,  to  the  stock  of  the  Milesburg  and  Smeth- 
port  Turnpike  Road  Company ;  and  as  soon  as  any  five  miles  of  the 
road  shall  be  completed,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  governor  to  draw  his 
warrant  on  the  State  treasurer  for  a  sum  in  proportion  to  the  whole  dis- 
tance, and  a  like  sum  for  every  five  miles,  until  the  whole  sum  shall  be 
dra\vn  :  Provided,  That  previous  to  any  payment  from  the  treasury  satis- 
factory evidence  shall  be  furnished  to  the  governor  that  sums  equal  at 
least  in  amount  to  the  sums  drawn  from  the  treasury  shall  have  been  paid 
by  individual  stockholders  and  expended  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of 
the  twelfth  section  of  the  act  incorporating  the  said  turnpike  road  com- 
pany, passed  the  eleventh  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-five:  And  Provided  further,  That  there  shall  not  be  more  than 
five  thousand  dollars  of  the  aforesaid  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
drawn  from  the  said  treasury  in  any  one  year. 

"Approved — the  second  day  of  February,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-eight. 

"  J.  ANDW.  SHULZE." 


373 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

. — "  A  FURTHER  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  SAID  ACT  INCORPORATING  SAID 

TURNPIKE   ROAD  COMPANY,  BEING   THE   SECOND   SECTION    OF   THE 

ACT  OF  THE  4TH  DAY  OF  APRIL,  A.D.  1831,  AS  FOLLOWS: 

"SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  proceedings  which  are  authorized  by  the  thirteenth  section  of 
the  act  entitled  '  A  Further  Supplement  to  the  Act  entitled  An  Act 
authorizing  the  Governor  to  incorporate  the  Milesburg  and  Smethport 
Turnpike  Road  Company,'  passed  eleventh  day  of  April,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  twenty-five,  and  a  supplement  to  the  said  act,  passed 
the  second  day  of  February,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight,  in  cases  when  the  said  company  shall  have  finished  five  miles  or 
more  of  said  road,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  authorized  and  extended 
to  portions  less  than  five  miles  of  said  road,  which  are  and  shall  hereafter 
be  finished  as  aforesaid." 

1836. — A  further  supplement  authorizing  the  State  to  subscribe  five 
thousand  dollars  additional  stock  in  said  turnpike. 

March  24,  1817. — The  county  having  been  divided  into  two  election 
districts, — Pine  Creek  and  Perry, — the  latter  declared  a  separate  election 
district  by  act  of  Assembly, — elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
John  Bell,  of  said  township. 

April  22,  1822. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Seventeenth  Con- 
gressional District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Westmoreland,  Indiana, 
and  Jefferson. 

December  23,  1822. — Sales  of  unseated  lands  in  Jefferson  County  for 
taxes  authorized. 

January  21,  1824. — Election  of  county  commissioners  and  county 
auditors  first  authorized;  and  when  elected,  to  "hold  their  office  and 
transact  the  public  business  at  such  places  as  shall  be  determined  upon 
by  a  majority  of  the  commissioners  first  elected  until  the  seat  of  justice 
is  ascertained." 

1826. — County  commissioners  of  the  provisional  county  of  Jefferson 
to  draw  their  warrants  on  the  county  treasurer  for  expenses  of  laying  out 
roads,  criminal  prosecutions,  and  all  other  costs  and  expenses  incidental 
to  said  county  ;  and  the  authority  of  the  county  commissioners  of  Indiana 
County  over  Jefferson  County  to  cease. 

1826. — One-half  of  all  road  taxes  received  by  the  treasurers  of  Jeffer- 
son and  McKean  Counties  from  unseated  lands  to  be  applied  for  seven 
years  to  the  improvement  of  the  "  leading  roads"  in  said  counties;  and 
C.  C.  Gaskill  and  James  Gillis,  of  Jefferson  County,  and  Jonathan  Col- 
grove  and  Paul  E.  Scull,  of  McKean  County,  appointed  commissioners 
to  expend  said  fund  in -the  "making,  clearing,  and  opening"  of  said 
"  leading  roads." 

1828. — The  above  act  repealed  as  to  Jefferson  County. 

374 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

April  10,  1826. — Young  township  having  been  erected,  now  made  a 
separate  election  district, — elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
Elijah  Heath,  in  Punxsutawney. 

April  16,  1827. — Ridgeway  township,  of  Jefferson  County,  having 
been  formed,  the  same  is  now  made  into  a  separate  election  district, — 
elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  James  Gallagher  in  said  township. 

April  14,  1828.—  Rose  township  having  been  erected,  the  same  is 
now  declared  a  separate  election  district, — elections  therein  to  be  held 
at  the  house  of  John  Lucas,  in  said  township. 

March  j,  1829. — An  act  to  encourage  the  destruction  of  foxes  and 
wild-cats,  awarding  a  bounty  of  thirty- seven  and  a  half  cents  on  the  scalp 
of  every  fox  produced,  and  one  dollar  on  the  scalp  of  every  wild-cat. 

April  8,  1829. — John  Mitchell,  of  Centre  County  ;  Alexander  Mc- 
Calmont,  of  Venango  County ;  and  Robert  Orr,  of  Armstrong  County, 
appointed  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Andrew  Barnett,  of  Jefferson  County, 
and  from  thence  to  view,  select,  and  "  determine  the  most  eligible  and 
proper  situation  for  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  said  county  of  Jefferson ." 

April  2,  iSjo. — "Ax  ACT  TO  ORGANIZE  THE  PROVISIONAL  COUNTY  OF 
JEFFERSON  FOR  JUDICIAL  PURPOSES. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  from  and  after  the  first 
day  of  October  next  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Jefferson  shall 
enjoy  all  and  singular  the  jurisdictions,  powers,  rights,  liberties,  and 
privileges  whatsoever  within  the  same  which  the  inhabitants  of  other 
counties  of  this  State  do,  may,  or  ought  to  enjoy  by  the  laws  and  consti- 
tution of  this  Commonwealth. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  county  of  Jefferson  shall  be  attached  to  and  form  a  part  of  the  Fourth 
Judicial  District,  until  otherwise  ordered  by  law,  and  that  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  president  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District, 
and  the  associate  judges  to  be  appointed  in  the  said  county  of  Jefferson, 
shall  have  like  powers,  jurisdictions,  and  authorities  within  the  same,  as 
are  or  may  be  warranted  to  and  exercised  by  the  judges  in  the  other 
counties  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  the  said  county  of  Jefferson  is  hereby 
annexed  to  the  Western  District  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  Common- 
wealth. 

"  SECTION  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  citizens  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  county  of  Jefferson,  who  are  or 
shall  be  qualified  to  vote  agreeably  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this 
Commonwealth,  shall  at  the  first  general  election,  to  be  held  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  October  next  at  their  respective  election  districts, 
choose  two  fit  persons  for  sheriffs,  two  for  coroners,  and  all  other  officers 

375 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

necessary  to  be  elected  for  the  said  county  of  Jefferson  in  the  same 
manner  and  under  the  same  rules,  regulations,  and  penalties  as  by  the 
laws  of  this  Commonwealth  similar  officers  are  chosen  in  other  counties, 
and  said  officers  when  chosen  as  aforesaid  and  duly  qualified  to  enter  on 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  and  singular 
the  powers,  authorities,  privileges,  and  emoluments  in  or  any  way  arising 
out  of  their  respective  offices,  in  and  for  the  county  aforesaid,  as  fully  as 
such  officers  are  entitled  to  in  any  other  county  within  this  Common- 
wealth ;  and  it  shall  and  is  hereby  declared  lawful  for  all  the  public 
officers  of  the  said  county  of  Jefferson,  from  and  after  the  first  day  of 
October  next,  to  do,  perform,  and  exercise  all  the  duties  of  their  respec- 
tive offices  in  as  full  and  ample  manner  as  if  the  several  courts  should  be 
opened  on  that  day  by  the  president  and  judges  of  the  same,  and  any 
process  that  may  issue  returnable  to  the  first  term  in  said  county  shall 
bear  test  as  of  the  first  day  of  October  next. 

"  SECTION  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace, 
and  Orphans'  Court  for  the  county  of  Jefferson  shall,  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  October  next,  commence  and  be  holden  on  the  first  Monday 
after  the  courts  in  Clearfield  County. 

"  SECTION  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
all  suits  which  shall  be  pending  and  undetermined  in  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  of  Indiana  County  on  the  first  day  of  October  next,  when  the 
defendant  or  defendants  in  such  suit  or  suits  shall  at  that  time  be  resident 
in  Jefferson  County,  shall  be  transferred  to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
of  Jefferson  County,  and  shall  be  considered  as  pending  in  said  court, 
and  shall  be  proceeded  on  in  like  manner  as  if  the  same  had  been 
originally  commenced  in  said  court,  except  that  the  fees  thereon,  due  to 
the  officers  in  Indiana  County,  shall  be  paid  to  them  when  recovered  by 
the  prothonotary  or  sheriff  of  Jefferson  County,  and  the  prothonotary  of 
Indiana  County  shall  procure  a  docket  and  copy  therein  all  the  docket 
entries  respecting  the  said  suits  to  be  transferred  as  aforesaid,  and  shall 
on  or  before  the  fourth  Monday  in  November  next  have  the  said  docket, 
together  with  the  records,  declarations,  and  other  papers  respecting  said 
suits,  ready  to  be  delivered  to  the  prothonotary  of  Jefferson  County,  the 
expense  of  said  docket  and  copying  to  be  paid  by  the  prothonotary  of 
Jefferson  County,  and  reimbursed  by  the  said  county  of  Jefferson  on 
warrants  to  be  drawn  by  the  commissioners  of  Jefferson  County  on  the 
treasury  thereof. 

"  SECTION  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  commissioners  of  Jefferson  County, 
and  they  are  hereby  required,  as  soon  as  they  may  deem  it  expedient,  to 
erect  or  cause  to  be  erected  on  such  part  of  the  public  square  in  the  town 
of  Brookville  as  they  may  deem  best  suited  thereto  a  court-house,  and 

376 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

offices  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  papers  and  records  of  the  said  county, 
and  until  such  court-house  is  erected  the  courts  of  justice  shall  be  opened 
and  held  in  such  house  in  said  county  as  the  judges  and  commissioners 
may  obtain  for  that  purpose. 

"  SECTION  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  sheriff,  coroner,  and  other  public  officers  of  Indiana  County  shall 
continue  to  exercise  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  within  the 
county  of  Jefferson  until  similar  officers  are  appointed  and  elected  agree- 
ably to  law  within  and  for  the  said  county  of  Jefferson. 

"  SECTION  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  sheriffs  and  coroners  of  the  said  county  of  Jefferson  before  they  enter 
on  the  duties  of  their  offices  shall  give  security  in  like  sums  as  similar 
officers  do  in  the  county  of  Indiana  and  in  the  same  manner,  and  under 
the  restrictions  as  similar  officers  are  compelled  to  do  in  the  several 
counties  of  this  Commonwealth. 

"  SECTION  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county  of  Jefferson  shall  be,  and  the  same  is 
established  and  confirmed  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork  of  Sandy  Lick 
Creek,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  com- 
missioners of  said  county  to  demand  and  receive  from  John  Pickering, 
Esq.,  a  sufficient  deed  or  deeds  in  fee-simple,  in  trust  to  them  and  their 
successors  in  office  for  the  use  of  said  county,  for  all  the  lands  or  lots 
which  the  said  John  Pickering,  Esq.,  has  agreed  to  give  for  the  purpose 
of  aiding  in  the  erection  of  public  buildings,  agreeably  to  the  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  eighth  day  of  April,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-nine,  entitled  '  An  Act  authorizing  the  Appointment 
of  Commissioners  to  fix  a  proper  Site  for  the  Seat  of  Justice  in  Jefferson 
County,  and  also  for  one  Public  Square  in  the  said  Town  of  Brookville 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  Public  Buildings  thereon,'  and  the  said  com- 
missioners shall  procure  the  said  deed  or  deeds  when  recorded  in  the 
office  for  the  recording  of  deeds  in  the  county  of  Indiana,  to  be  recorded 
in  the  proper  books  directed  to  be  kept  for  the  county  of  Jefferson,  and 
the  said  commissioners  and  their  successors  in  office,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  shall  and  are  hereby  authorized  to  sell  and  dispose  of  the  said  lands 
or  lots  aforesaid,  and  to  make  and  execute  deeds  to  the  purchasers,  and 
the  moneys  arising  from  such  sales  shall  be  by  them  applied  to  the  erec- 
tion of  public  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  said  county  of  Jefferson. 

"SECTION  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  said  commissioners  shall,  as  soon  as  may  be,  proceed  to  lay  out 
the  said  town  of  Brookville,  and  file  a  draught  and  return  of  the  survey 
of  the  said  town,  together  with  the  proceedings  under  and  by  virtue  of 
this  act,  in  the  office  for  the  recording  of  deeds  in  and  for  the  county  of 
Jefferson,  and  an  exemplification  of  the  same  shall  be  evidence  in  all 
matters  of  controversy  touching  the  same. 
25  377 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"Approved — the  second  day  of  April,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred  and  thirty.  «GEO.  WOLF." 

1831. — An  act  relieving  the  prothonotary,  register,  and  recorder  of 
Jefferson  County  from  payment  of  State  tax  on  his  fees  and  commissions, 
and  refunding  all  such  taxes  already  paid  by  him. 

1831. — Commissioners  of  Jefferson  County  authorized  to  alter  the 
location  of,  and  to  lay  out  and  make  one  mile  and  ten  perches  of,  the  Sus- 
quehanna  and  Waterford  turnpike,  where  it  passes  through  the  village  of 
Brookville. 

1831. — Township  supervisors  of  Jefferson  County  authorized  and  re- 
quired to  expend  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  annual  road  tax  in  the  repair 
and  improvement  of  the  public  roads  of  their  respective  townships,  on  or 
before  the  ist  day  of  October  in  each  and  every  year. 

February  7,  1832. — Boundary  line  between  Jefferson  and  Venango 
Counties  fixed,  Richard  Irvin,  Esq.,  having  run  and  marked  the  same 
"  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  both  counties." 

1833. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Eighteenth  Judicial  District 
by  section  8  of  the  act  of  1833,  which  reads  as  follows  : 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  from  and 
after  the  first  day  of  September,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five,  the  said  county  of  Potter,  and  the  counties  of 
McKean,  Warren,  and  Jefferson,  shall  be  formed  into  a  separate  judicial 
district,  to  be  called  the  Eighteenth  District,  and  a  person  of  integrity, 
learned  in  the  law,  shall  be  appointed  and  commissioned  by  the  governor 
to  be  president  and  judge  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  within  the  said 
district,  which  president  shall  receive  the  like  salary,  and  have  and  exe- 
cute all  and  singular  the  powers,  jurisdictions,  and  authority  of  president 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and 
General  Jail  Delivery,  Orphans'  Court,  and  justice  of  the  Court  of  Quar- 
ter Sessions  of  the  Peace,  agreeably  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this 
Commonwealth.  The  courts  in  Potter  County  shall  be  held  on  the  first 
Monda>s  of  February,  May,  September,  and  December  of  each  year  ;  the 
courts  in  McKean  County  on  the  first  Monday  after  those  in  Potter 
County ;  the  courts  in  Warren  County  on  the  first  Monday  after  the  courts 
in  McKean  County;  and  the  courts  in  Jefferson  County  on  the  first 
Monday  after  the  courts  in  Warren  County,  the  courts  in  each  county  to 
continue  one  week  if  necessary." 

1834. — Recognizances  and  bonds  of  the  sheriff  of  Jefferson  County 
fixed  at  §7000. 

1835. — Courts  of  Jefferson  County  authorized  to  be  held  on  the  second 
Mondays  of  February,  May,  September,  and  December. 

1835. — Wheat,  rye,  and  corn  flour,  designed  for  exportation  as  a 
product  of  Jefferson  County,  to  be  stamped. 

378 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1839. — An  act  authorizing  one  person  to  hold  and  exercise  the  several 
offices  of  prothonotary,  clerk  of  the  courts,  register,  and  recorder  in  the 
county  of  Jefferson.  This  act  remained  in  force  until  1893. 

1840. — Commission  appointed  to  run  and  mark  the  division  line  be- 
tween the  counties  of  Jefferson,  Warren,  McKean,  and  Clearfield,  consist- 
ing of  Jonathan  Coalgrove,  of  the  county  of  McKean,  Elijah  Heath,  of  the 
county  of  Jefferson,  and  John  S.  Brockway,  of  the  county  of  Clearfield. 

1840. — An  act  to  encourage  the  destruction  of  wolves  and  panthers, 
giving  a  bounty  of  twenty- five  dollars  on  wolves  and  sixteen  dollars  on 
panthers.  Repealed  in  1841. 

1841. — An  act  requiring  township  elections  in  the  county  of  Jefferson 
to  be  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  February,  annually. 

1842. — Township  elections  to  be  held  on  the  fourth  Monday  of  Feb- 
ruary, annually. 

1842. — County  commissioners  of  Jefferson  County  authorized  to  issue 
orders  to  supervisors  on  county  treasurer  for  road  taxes  collected  on  un- 
seated lands,  and  prescribing  the  form  thereof. 

1842. — Jefferson  County  commissioners  authorized  to  issue  orders  on 
county  treasurer  for  school  taxes  collected  on  unseated  lands  in  favor  of 
the  school  treasurers  of  the  respective  townships,  and  the  form  thereof 
prescribed. 

1843. — Act  granting  premiums  on  destruction  of  wild-cats  and  foxes 
repealed  as  to  Jefferson  County. 

1843. — Mechanics'  lien  law  extended  to  Jefferson  County. 

1843. — Elk  County  erected  out  of  parts  of  Jefferson,  Clearfield,  and 
McKean  Counties.  Timothy  Ives,  Jr.,  of  Potter  County;  James  W. 
Guthrie,  of  Clarion  County ;  and  Zachariah  H.  Eddy,  of  Warren  County, 
appointed  commissioners  to  "ascertain  and  plainly  mark  the  boundary 
lines  of  said  county  of  Elk." 

By  same  act,  Jefferson  County  to  receive  and  provide  for  all  Elk 
County  prisoners  for  three  years,  or  until  Elk  County  erects  a  jail. 

1843. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Twenty-third  Congressional 
District,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Erie,  Warren,  McKean,  Clarion, 
Potter,  and  Jefferson. 

1843. — Jefferson  County  placed  in  the  Twenty  eighth  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict, composed  of  the  counties  of  Warren,  Jefferson,  Clarion,  McKean, 
and  Potter.  Same  act  places  Jefferson,  Clarion,  and  Venango  Counties 
together  in  one  legislative  district,  and  authorizes  the  three  counties  to 
elect  two  members. 

1844. — Supplement  to  the  act  erecting  Elk  County,  regarding  the 
bringing  of  suits,  liens,  revival  of  judgments,  and  the  issuing  of  execution 
writs,  etc. 

1845. — All  expenses  for  laying  out  and  opening  roads  in  Jefferson 
County  to  be  paid  out  of  the  road  funds  of  the  several  townships  through 

379 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

which  the  same  may  pass.  All  expenses  for  the  election  of  township  offi- 
cers in  said  county  to  be  paid  out  of  township  rates  and  levies.  Super- 
visors in  the  county  of  Jefferson  required  to  give  bond  in  double  the 
amount  of  the  sum  assessed  for  road  purposes ;  and  township  auditors, 
within  ten  days  after  settlement  with  supervisors,  to  file  a  copy  of  said 
settlement  with  the  clerk  of  the  quarter  sessions. 

1845. — An  act  authorizing  but  three  road  and  bridge  viewers  in  Jef- 
ferson County,  and  requiring  all  to  view. 

1846. — Certain  deeds  made  and  improperly  executed  by  Jefferson 
County  commissioners  legalized. 

BROOKVILLE    BOROUGH. 

1 8 jo. — County  commissioners  authorized  to  lay  out  the  town,  and 
limits  thereof  defined  by  courses  and  distances. 

1834. — Borough  incorporated.  Election  of  borough  officers  author- 
ized, and  Thomas  Hastings  and  Jared  B.  Evans,  Esqs. ,  to  publish  notice 
"and  see  to  the  opening  of  the  election." 

fSjj. — Manner  and  time  of  electing  constable  for  Brookville  pre- 
scribed. 

2837. — Six  school  directors  to  be  elected  in  the  borough  on  the  first 
Monday  of  January  annually. 

1837. — Brookville  to  have  and  own  the  school  taxes  assessed  against 
its  own  citizens  by  Rose  township. 

1838. — Brookville  Academy  established  "for  the  education  of  youth 
in  the  English  and  other  languages,  and  in  the  useful  arts,  sciences,  and 
literature,  under  the  care  and  directions  of  six  trustees  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  office."  The  six  trustees  first  appointed  were  C.  A.  Alexander, 
Thomas  Hastings,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Levi  G.  Clover,  John  Pearce, 
and  Richard  Arthurs.  By  same  act  the  State  appropriated  $2000  to  said 
Brookville  Academy. 

1838. — Brookville  Female  Seminary  authorized  and  established,  and 
Andrew  Barnett,  Thomas  Hastings,  Levi  G.  Clover,  William  Jack,  Elijah 
Heath,  C.  A.  Alexander,  John  Bell,  Charles  K.  Barclay,  and  John  W. 
Jenks  appointed  trustees. 

1841. — County  commissioners  authorized  to  subscribe  $500  to  the 
Brookville  Academy.  Three  trustees  thereafter  to  be  elected  annually 
"by  the  qualified  voters  of  the  county." 

2842. — After  payment  of  the  $500  to  the  Brookville  Academy,  to  be 
subscribed  and  paid  by  the  county,  trustees  of  the  said  academy  to  be 
elected  by  the  voters  of  the  whole  county. 

1842. — Brookville  borough  to  elect  two  constables  and  one  assessor 
annually. 

1843. — Voters  of  Jefferson  County  not  to  vote  for  trustees  until  the 

380 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

county  commissioners  have  subscribed  and  paid  the  aforesaid  $500  here- 
tofore authorized  to  be  subscribed. 

1845. — Borough  officers  to  be  elected  on  the  first  Monday  of  March 
annually. 

1845. — Market,  Water,  Jefferson,  and  Church  Streets,  of  the  borough 
of  Brook vi lie,  authorized. 

TOWNSHIPS   OF   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

1804. — Pine  Creek  was  the  original  township,  coextensive  with  the 
county  as  erected  in  1804. 

PERRY. 

1817. — Perry  township  made  a  separate  election  district,  and  elections 
therein  to  be  held  in  the  house  of  John  Bell  in  said  township. 

1826. — Elections  in  Perry  township  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob 
Heterick  in  said  township. 

iSjo. — Auditors  of  Young  and  Perry  townships  authorized  to  audit 
and  settle  the  accounts  of  John  Van  Horn  as  supervisor  of  Perry  town- 
ship previous  to  its  division  into- the  said  townships  of  Perry  and  Young, 
and  to  apportion  the  balance  found  due  him  between  the  said  townships. 

1835. — Elections  in  Perry  township  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  William 
Stunkard  in  said  township. 

1842. — Perry  township  divided  into  two  school  districts, — Perry  and 
Whitesville. 

YOUNG. 

1826. — Young  township  to  hold  its  elections  at  the  house  of  Elijah 
Heath,  in  the  town  of  Ptinxsutawney. 

RIDGEWAY. 

1827. — Ridgeway  township  made  a  separate  election  district,  and 
elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  James  Gallagher. 

ROSE. 

1828. — Rose  township  made  a  separate  election  district,  and  elec- 
tions to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Lucas  in  said  township. 

1834. — Rose  township  elections  to  be  held  at  court  house,  Brook  - 
ville,  Pennsylvania. 

1836. — Rose  township  divided  for  election  purposes,  the  western  end 
thereof  to  hold  its  elections  at  the  house  of  Darius  Carrier. 

1838. — Rose  township  again  divided  for  election  purposes  by  a  dif- 
ferent line  from  that  established  by  the  act  of  1836;  but  both  parts  of 
the  township  were  required  to  vote  at  Brookville.  This  was  very  un- 
satisfactory, and  so  in  1840  this  act  of  1838  was  repealed  by  a  revival  of 
the  act  of  1836,  permitting  again  the  western  end  of  the  township  to  vote 

381 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

at  the  house  of  Darius  Carrier,  the  site  of  which  is  now,  in  1897,  within 
the  limits  of  the  borough  of  Summerville. 

1838. — Boundaries  of  Rose  township  determined  and  fixed,  extend- 
ing to  the  Armstrong  County  line. 

1842. — Rose  township  elections  to  be  held  at  the  court-house  in  the 
borough  of  Brookville. 

BARNETT. 

i8j2. — Barnett  township  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Wyncoop  in  said  township. 

-fSjj. — Barnett  township  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Alexan- 
der Murray  in  said  township. 

YOUNG. 

1838. — Young  township  divided  for  election  purposes  by  an  east  and 
west  line,  and  all  electors  north  of  that  line  to  hold  their  elections  "at 
the  Paradise  School-House,  near  Jacob  Smith's,  in  said  district." 

ELDRED. 

1836. — Eldred  township  declared  a  separate  election  district,  and  elec- 
tions to  be  held  at  the  house  of  James  Linn  in  said  township. 

SNYDER. 

-fSjj. — Snyder  township  declared  a  separate  election  district,  and 
elections  to  be  held  "at  the  house  of  John  McLaughlin  on  the  Brockway 
road  in  said  township." 

1838. — Elections  in  Snyder  township  to  be  held  on  the  third  Tuesday 
of  February,  instead  of  the  first  Friday  of  March. 

1842. — Elections  in  Snyder  township  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
James  M.  Brockway  in  said  township. 

WASHINGTON. 

1838. — Washington  township  declared  a  separate  election  district, 
and  elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Mclntosh  in  said 
township. 

JENKS. 

1838. — Jenks  township  in  Jefferson  County  declared  a  separate  elec- 
tion district,  and  elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Cyrus 
Blood  in  said  township. 

PORTER. 

1840. — Porter  township  declared  a  separate  election  district,  and  elec- 
tions therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Henry  Freese  in  said  township. 

CLOVER. 

1842. — Clover  township  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Darius 
Carrier,  in  the  village  of  Troy  in  said  township. 

382 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

GASKILL. 

1842. — Elections  in  Gaskill  township  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
Henry  Miller  in  said  township. 

1844. — Elections  in  said  township  to  be  held  at  "Miller's  District 
School- House. " 

WARSAW. 

1842. — Warsaw  township  declared  a  separate  election  district,  and 
elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  William  Weeks  in  said  town- 
ship. 

TIONESTA. 

1838. — Tionesta  township,  in  Jefferson  County,  declared  a  separate 
election  district,  and  elections  therein  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Noeff  in  said  township. 

1844. — One- fourth  of  the  road  taxes  levied  and  collected  in  Tionesta 
township,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  to  be  applied  annually  for  six  years 
to  repairs  and  improvement  of  the  Warren  and  Ridgeway  turnpike. 

HIGHWAYS   OF   JEFFERSON   COUNTY   AS    MADE   BY   ACT  OF 
ASSEMBLY. 

1798. — Red  Bank  Creek  declared  a  public  highway  from  its  mouth  to 
the  "second  great  fork,"  which  is  the  North  Fork. 

1817. — One  thousand  dollars  appropriated  by  the  State  "  for  the  pur- 
pose of  improving  the  navigation  of  Red  Bank  Creek  from  the  mouth 
thereof  as  far  up  as  it  is  declared  navigable." 

1820. — Sandy  Lick  Creek  declared  a  public  highway  up  to  Henry 
Nulf's  saw  mill  in  the  county  of  Jefferson. 

1798. — Toby's  Creek,  now  Clarion  River,  declared  a  public  highway 
from  its  mouth  up  to  the  second  great  fork  thereof. 

7c?77- — T\fo  hundred  dollars  appropriated  by  the  State  "for  the  pur- 
pose of  improving  the  navigation  of  Toby's  Creek." 

1808. — Big  Mahoning  declared  a  public  highway  from  its  mouth  up  to 
the  mouth  of  Canoe  Creek,  and  permission  given  and  regulated  to  erect 
dams  in  said  creek. 

7^77 . — Appropriation  by  the  State  of  S8oo  "  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
moving obstructions  in  Big  Mahoning  Creek,  and  improving  the  navi- 
gation of  the  same  between  the  mouth  of  Little  Mahoning  and  the 
confluence  of  said  creek  with  the  river  Allegheny." 

1835. — Big  Mahoning  Creek  declared  a  public  highway  from  the 
mouth  of  Canoe  Creek  to  the  forks  of  Stump  Creek  in  Jefferson  County. 

1845. — Incorporation  of  the  Mahoning  Navigation  Company  author- 
ized, and  J.  W.  Jenks,  William  Campbell,  and  James  Torrence  appointed 
commissioners  to  procure  books,  solicit  subscriptions,  and  organize  the 
company. 

383 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1812. — Incorporation  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Waterford  Turnpike 
Company  authorized.  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  to  subscribe  $125,000 
in  the  stock  of  said  road. 

1814. — Supplement  to  said  act  extending  the  time  for  subscriptions 
to  the  stock  of  said  company  three  years  from  the  22d  of  February,  1815. 

1818. — Supplement  extending  the  time  five  years  from  March  20, 
1818. 

1821. — Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  on  behalf  of  the  State,  authorized 
to  subscribe  $15,000,  in  addition  to  the  amount  before  subscribed,  to  the 
Susquehanna  and  Waterford  Turnpike  Company.  By  a  report  made  in 
the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives,  March  23,  1822,  it  appears 
that  the  contemplated  length  of  this  road  was  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  miles,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  of  which  were  completed  at  that 
date.  About  twenty  six  miles  of  this  turnpike  were  laid  out  within  the 
limits  of  the  county  of  Jefferson. 

2838. — Susquehanna  and  Waterford  Turnpike  Road  Company  author- 
ized to  open  their  road  one  hundred  feet  wide  through  marshy  places, 
"so  as  to  let  the  light  and  air  upon  the  same." 

OLEAN  ROAD. 

1819. — This  State  road  was  authorized  by  the  following  act  of  As- 
sembly : 

"AN  ACT  AUTHORIZING  THE  GOVERNOR  TO  APPOINT  COMMISSIONERS  FOR 
THE  PURPOSE  OF  LAYING  OUT  A  STATE  ROAD  FROM  THE  TOWN  OF  KlT- 
TANNING  TO  THE  STATE  LlNE,  IN  DlRAECTION  TO  THE  VILLAGE  OF 
HAMILTO*N,  IN  THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  OLEAN,  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW 
YORK,  AND  ALSO  FROM  MlLESBURG  IN  CENTRE  COUNTY  TO  CLARION 
RIVER  IN  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  governor  be,  and  is 
hereby  authorized  and  required  to  appoint  three  commissioners,  one  of 
whom  shall  be  a  practical  surveyor,  to  view,  mark,  and  lay  out  a  State 
road  from  the  town  of  Kittanning,  in  the  county  of  Armstrong ;  thence 
on  the  nearest  and  best  route  to  the  State  line,  on  a  direction  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Hamilton,  on  the  Allegheny  River,  in  the  township  of  Olean,  in 
the  State  of  New  York  ;  and  the  commissioners  so  appointed  shall  pro- 
ceed to  perform  the  duties  required  of  them  by  this  act  on  or  before  the 
first  Monday  in  June  next,  and  shall  make  out  and  deposit  a  copy  of  the 
draft  of  said  road  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Ses- 
sions in  each  county  through  which  said  road  shall  pass,  and  the  said 
clerks  shall  enter  the  same  in  their  respective  offices,  which  shall  be  a 
record  of  said  road ;  and  from  thenceforth  the  said  road  shall  be,  to  all 

384 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

intents  and  purposes,  a  public  highway,  and  shall  be  opened  and  kept  in 
repair  in  the  same  manner  as  roads  laid  out  by  order  of  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions  of  the  county  through  which  said  road  passes." 

Section  2  provides  for  the  oath  of  the  commissioners,  their  pay,  and 
the  settlement  of  their  accounts. 

Sections  3  and  4  pertain  only  to  the  other  State  road  mentioned  in 
the  title  of  the  act. 

"Approved — the  twenty-third  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  nineteen." 

1821.  -Appropriation  of  $8000  to  the  Olean  road  by  the  nineteenth 
section  of  "  An  Act  for  the  Improvement  of  the  State,"  which  reads  as 
follows : 

"  SECTION  19.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  sum  of  eight  thousand  dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated 
for  the  opening  and  improving  a  State  road,  recently  laid  out  from  the 
town  of  Kittanning  in  Armstrong  County  to  the  State  line,  on  a  direction 
to  the  village  of  Hamilton,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  which  passes  through 
Armstrong,  Jefferson,  and  McKean  Counties,  to  be  expended  in  the  said 
counties  through  which  said  road  passes  in  proportion  to  the  distance 
it  passes  through  the  same  respectively.  And  the  governor  is  hereby 
authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the  State  treasurer  in  favor  of  the 
following  named  persons  — that  is,  for  that  part  of  the  said  road  which 
lies  in  Armstrong  County  in  favor  of  David  Lawson  and  James  Cochran, 
Armstrong  County ;  and  for  that  part  of  said  road  which  lies  in  Jeffer- 
son County  in  favor  of  John  Sloan,  Jr.,  of  Armstrong  County,  John 
Matson,  and  John  Lucas,  of  Jefferson  County ;  and  for  that  part  of  said 
road  that  lies  in  McKean  County  in  favor  of  Brewster  Freeman  and  Jo- 
seph Otto,  of  McKean  County,  who  are  hereby  appointed  commissioners 
to  receive  and  expend  the  said  sum  in  opening  and  improving  the  said 
road  within  the  limits  of  the  counties  to  which  they  are  appointed  to 
superintend,  etc. 

"Approved — March  26,  1821." 

1819. — State  road  from  Kittanning  to  the  mouth  of  Anderson's 
Creek,  in  Clearfield  County,  authorized  by 

"AN  ACT  TO  AUTHORIZE  THE  GOVERNOR  TO  APPOINT  COMMISSIONERS  TO 
LAY  OUT  A  STATE  ROAD  FROM  THE  TOWN  OF  KITTANNING  IN  A  DIREC- 
TION TO  THE  MOUTH  OF  ANDERSON'S  CREEK. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  governor  is,  and  he 
is  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  three  commissioners,  one  of  which  shall 
be  a  practical  surveyor,  to  view,  mark,  and  lay  out  a  State  road  from  the 

385 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

town  of  Kittanning,  thence  by  the  nighest  and  best  route  on  a  direction 
towards  the  mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek,  in  Clearfield  County,  to  inter- 
sect a  road  from  Bellefonte  to  Erie.  And  the  commissioners  so  ap- 
pointed shall  proceed  to  perform  the  duties  of  their  appointment  at  such 
time  as  the  governor  shall  direct.  And  they  shall  make  out  and  deposit 
a  draft  of  said  road  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  in  each  county  through  which  said  road  shall  pass,  and  the  said 
clerks  shall  enter  the  same  in  their  respective  offices,  which  shall  be  a 
record  of  said  road,  and  from  thenceforth  the  said  road  shall  be  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  a  public  highway,  and  shall  be  opened  and  kept  in 
repair  in  the  same  manner  as  roads  laid  by  order  of  the  Courts  of  Quarter 
Sessions  of  the  counties  through  which  said  road  passes. 
"Approved — January  27,  1819." 

1821. — Appropriation  of  $2500  to  the  State  road  from  Kittanning  to 
Anderson's  Creek,  Clearfield  County,  by  "  An  Act  for  the  Improvement 
of  the  State." 

' '  SECTION  1 8.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  sum  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  opening  and  improving  a  State  road  re- 
cently laid  out  from  the  mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek,  in  Clearfield  County, 
to  the  town  of  Kittanning,  in  Armstrong  County,  which  passes  through 
the  counties  of  Clearfield,  Jefferson,  Indiana,  and  Armstrong,  to  be  ex- 
pended in  the  same  counties  through  which  said  road  passes  in  proportion 
to  the  distance  it  passes  through  the  same,  and  the  governor  is  hereby 
authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the  State  treasurer  in  favor  of  the  fol- 
lowing named  persons. — that  is,  for  that  part  of  said  road  which  lies  in 
Armstrong  County  in  favor  of  James  Hannagan  and  Joseph  Marshall, 
of  Armstrong  County ;  for  that  part  of  said  road  which  lies  in  Indiana 
County  in  favor  of  James  McComb  and  William  Travis,  of  Indiana 
County  ;  for  that  part  of  said  road  lying  in  Jefferson  County  in  favor  of 
Charles  C.  Gaskill  and  Carpenter  Winslow,  of  Jefferson  County ;  and  for 
that  part  lying  in  Clearfield  County  in  favor  of  David  Ferguson  and 
Moses  Boggs,  of  said  county,  who  are  hereby  appointed  commissioners 
to  receive  and  expend  the  said  sum  in  opening  and  improving  the  said 
road  within  the  limits  of  the  counties  to  which  they  are  appointed  to 
superintend,  and  the  said  commissioners  shall  each  be  entitled  to  receive 
as  a  full  compensation  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  day  for  every  day 
they  shall  be  necessarily  employed  in  performing  their  respective  duties. 

"Approved — March  26,  1821." 

1824.. — State  road  from  Warren  to  Brookville  authorized. 
i&2j. — "  State   road    from    Indiana   through   Punxsutawney,  in   the 
county  of  Jefferson,  and  Smethport,  in  the  county  of  McKean,  to  the 

386 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

town  of  Ceres,  in  said  county  of  McKean,"  authorized,  and  Meek  Kelly, 
of  Indiana  County,  John  Sloan,  Jr.,  of  Armstrong  County,  and  Charles 
C.  Gaskill,  of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  view,  lay 
out,  and  mark  the  same. 

1826. — Warren  and  Jefferson  County  Turnpike  Road  Company  author- 
ized <f  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  turnpike  road  from  the  town  of  War- 
ren, in  Warren  County,  to  the  Susquehanna  and  Waterford  Turnpike,  at 
or  near  the  bridge  over  the  north  fork  of  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  in  Jefferson 
County,"  and  Joseph  Hackney,  John  Andrews,  and  Archibald  Tanner, 
of  Warren  County  ;  Thomas  Lucas,  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  and  John  Matson, 
of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  solicit  subscriptions  and 
organize  the  company. 

1826. — An  act  to  improve  the  leading  roads  in  McKean  and  Jefferson 
Counties. 

1826. — Clearfield  and  Jefferson  Turnpike  authorized,  and  Charles  C. 
Gaskill,  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  Andrew  Barnett,  and  Thomas  Lucas,  of  the 
county  of  Jefferson  ;  ana  Greenwood  Bell,  John  Irvin,  David  Ferguson, 
and  Alexander  B.  Read,  of  Clearfield  County,  appointed  commissioners 
to  procure  books  and  solicit  subscriptions  for  said  road,  and  generally  to  as- 
sist in  the  organization  of  the  company,  to  be  known  as  "  The  President, 
Managers,  and  Company  of  the  Clearfield  and  Jefferson  Turnpike  Road." 

1826. — Sandy  Lick  or  Red  Bank  Creek  declared  a  public  highway 
from  the  eastern  boundary  of  Jefferson  County  to  its  mouth,  for  the 
passage  of  descending  boats,  rafts,  etc.  ;  and  permission  granted,  and 
regulations  prescribed,  for  the  erection  of  dams  in  said  creek. 

1828. — Little  Toby's  Creek,  in  the  counties  of  Clearfield  and  Jeffer- 
son, from  the  mouth  of  John  Shaffer's  mill-run,  on  the  main  branch  of 
Toby's  Creek,  and  from  the  forks  of  Brandy  Camp  (or  Kersey  Creek)  to 
the  Clarion  River,  declared  a  public  highway  for  the  passage  of  rafts, 
boats,  and  other  craft,  and  permission  given  to  erect  and  regulate  dams 
on  said  creek. 

iSjj. — North  Fork  Creek,  in  Jefferson  County,  from  its  mouth  to 
Ridgeway,  declared  a  public  highway. 

1834.. — State  road  from  Kittanning  to  Brookville  authorized,  and  John 
Sloan,  Jr.,  Alexander  Duncan,  and  James  Corbett  appointed  commission- 
ers to  view  and  lay  out  the  same. 

1835. — Commissioners  appointed  to  lay  out  State  road  from  Kit- 
tanning  to  Brookville:  William  Jack,  John  Cribbs,  Jr.,  and  Robert 
Richards. 

1838. — Luthersburg  and  Punxsutawney  Road  Company  authorized, 
"  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  turnpike  from  the  town  of  Punxsutawney, 
in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  to  the  town  of  Luthersburg,  in  Clearfield 
County,"  and  Lebbeus  Luther,  John  Jordan,  Benjamin  Bonsall,  David 
Irvin,  Jacob  Flick,  Benjamin  Carson,  David  Hoover,  David  Henny,  and 

387 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Jeremiah  Miles,  of  the  county  of  Clearfield  ;  William  Campbell,  Charles 
R.  Barclay,  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  James  Winslow,  James  W.  Bell,  and  John 
Hoover  (miller),  of  the  county  of  Jefferson,  appointed  commissioners  to 
solicit  subscriptions  for  stock,  and  generally  to  assist  in  the  organization 
of  the  company  to  be  known  as  "  The  Luthersburg  and  Punxsutawney 
Road  Company." 

1838. — The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  authorized  and  required  to  sub- 
scribe $4000  to  the  Luthersburg  and  Punxsutawney  Turnpike  Company 
"if  incorporated  the  present  session." 

1830. — State  road  from  Warren  to  Ridgeway's  settlement,  in  Jeffer- 
son County,  authorized,  and  Robert  Falconer,  John  Andrews,  and  Lan- 
sing Witmore,  of  Warren  County,  and  Reuben  A.  Aylsworth,  and  Enos 
Gillis,  of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  lay  out  the  same. 

1831. — Company  organized  and  incorporated  to  build  said  road, 
called  the  Warren  and  Ridgeway  Turnpike  Road  Company.  "  The  said 
commissioners  are  hereby  authorized  to  employ  one  surveyor,  whose  com- 
pensation shall  not  exceed  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  day,  and  two 
chain-bearers  and  one  axe-man,  at  per  diem  allowance,  not  exceeding 
one  dollar  per  day,  and  one  packer  and  pack-horse,  if  necessary,  for 
which  a  reasonable  allowance  shall  be  made.  Further,  that  the  compen- 
sation of  the  said  commissioners  shall  be  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  each 
for  every  day  they  may  be  necessarily  employed  by  virtue  of  this  act." 

1836. — In  consideration  of  privileges  granted  by  the  State  to  the  State 
bank,  it  was  authorized  and  required  to  pay  $5000  to  this  Warren  and 
Ridgeway  Turnpike  Road  Company. 

1838. — Governor  of  Pennsylvania  authorized  to  subscribe  $2000  stock 
in  said  Warren  and  Ridgeway  Turnpike  Road  Company. 

1842. — Having  completed  forty  miles  of  the  Warren  and  Ridgeway 
turnpike  road,  said  company  was  authorized  to  demand,  receive,  and 
collect  tolls  thereon. 

1844. — The  managers  and  stockholders  of  the  Warren  and  Ridgeway 
Turnpike  Road  Company  having  abandoned  the  same,  it  was  enacted 
that  one  half  of  the  road  taxes  levied  in  the  township  of  Sheffield,  and 
one-fourth  of  the  road  tax  levied  in  the  township  of  Kinzua,  in  the 
county  of  Warren  ;  one-fourth  of  the  road  tax  levied  in  the  township  of 
Tionesta,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson  ;  one-fourth  of  the  road  tax  levied  in 
the  township  of  Ridgeway,  and  one-eighth  of  the  road  tax  levied  in  the 
township  of  Jones,  in  the  county  of  Elk,  should,  for  a  period  of  six  years, 
be  paid  and  expended  by  Richard  Dunham  and  Erastus  Barnes,  of  the 
county  of  Warren,  and  Joseph  S.  Hyde,  of  the  county  of  Elk,  commis- 
sioners, to  the  best  advantage,  in  repairing,  mending,  and  improving 
said  turnpike  road  through  the  counties  of  Warren,  Jefferson,  and  Elk. 

1831. — Armstrong  and  Clearfield  turnpike  road  authorized  to  com- 
mence at  Kittanning,  pass  through  Punxsutawney,  and  to  end  at  the 

388 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek,  in  Clearfield  County.  Thomas  Blair,  Jacob 
Pontius,  and  Joseph  Marshall,  of  Armstrong  County  ;  Charles  C.  Gaskill, 
and  John  W.  Jenks,  of  Jefferson  County;  John  Evving  and  Henry  Kin- 
ter,  of  Indiana  County ;  David  Ferguson  and  John  Irvin,  of  Clearfield 
County ;  and  William  A.  Thomas  and  Hardman  Phillips,  of  Centre 
County,  were  appointed  commissioners  by  said  act  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions, give  notice  of  organization  of  company,  etc. 

1838. — Governor  of  Pennsylvania  authorized  and  required  to  sub- 
scribe $5600  to  said  Armstrong  and  Clearfield  Turnpike  Road  Company. 

1844. — Time  for  the  completion  of  the  said  Armstrong  and  Clearfield 
turnpike  road  extended  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  April  16,  1844. 

1834. — State  road  from  the  mouth  of  Little  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  in 
Huntingdon  County,  through  Clearfield  County,  to  Punxsutawney,  in 
Jefferson  County,  authorized,  and  James  Winslovv,  of  Jefferson  County ; 
Elisha  Fenton,  of  Clearfield  County;  and  Benjamin  Johnson,  of  Hunt- 
ingdon County,  appointed  commissioners  to  lay  out  the  same. 

1835. — Supplement  extending  time  for  making  out  drafts  of  location 
of  said  State  road  from  Little  Bald  Eagle  Creek  to  Punxsutawney. 

1834. — State  road  authorized  from  the  settlement  on  the  head-waters 
of  Millstone  Creek,  in  Jefferson  County,  to  the  State  Road  leading  from 
the  Clarion  River  bridge,  on  the  Susquehanna  and  Waterford  turnpike, 
in  the  county  of  Venango,  at  or  near  the  farm  of  Peter  Walley,  Jr.,  and 
James  Gillis  and  William  Armstrong,  of  Jefferson  County  ;  and  David  Rey- 
ner,  of  Venango  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  lay  out  the  same. 

1835. — State  road  from  Shippenville  to  Ridgeway,  in  Jefferson 
County,  authorized,  and  Daniel  Rhyner  and  James  Hasson,  of  Venango 
County  ;  and  William  Armstrong,  of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  view,  lay  out,  and  mark  the  same. 

1838. — State  road  from  Brookville  to  Tionesta  authorized,  and 
James  Huling  and  Richard  Irvin,  of  Venango  County,  and  Philip  G. 
Clover,  of  Jefferson  County,  "appointed  commissioners  to  view,  lay  out, 
locate,  and  mark  the  same  by  the  nearest  and  best  route." 

1840. — Incorporation  of  the  Armstrong,  Jefferson,  and  Clearfield 
Turnpike  Company  authorized,  to  begin  "at  the  northern  termination 
of  the  Freeport  and  Kittanning  turnpike  road,  on  the  top  of  the  Mahoning 
hills,  and  continue  by  the  most  practical  route,  via  the  borough  of  Brook- 
ville, in  Jefferson  County,  and  the  Brandy  Camp,  to  the  Milesburg  and 
Smethport  turnpike  road,  at  or  near  Ridgeway,  in  Jefferson  County.  By 
same  act  James  Kerr,  Hance  Robinson,  Jacob  Miller,  of  the  county  of 
Armstrong ;  and  Hiram  Wilson,  William  Jack,  John  Dougherty,  and 
Jacob  Shaffer,  of  the  county  of  Jefferson  ;  and  Isaac  Horton,  Daniel 
Oyster,  Uriah  Rodgers,  and  Jonathan  Nichols,  of  the  county  of  Clear- 
field,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  solicit  subscriptions  and  organize 
the  company. 

389 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

1840. — State  road  from  Ebensburg  to  Punxsutawney  authorized,  to 
begin  "at  the  town  of  Ebensburg,  in  Cambria  County;  thence  by  the 
nearest  and  best  route  to  the  Cherry  Tree  ;  thence  by  the  nearest  and  best 
route  to  the  town  of  Punxsutawney,  Jefferson  County;"  and  Stephen 
Lloyd  and  James  Rhey,  of  Cambria  County ;  James  Bard,  of  Indiana 
County;  David  Ferguson,  of  Clearfield  County;  and  James  Winslow,  of 
Jefferson  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  view,  lay  out,  and  mark 
the  same. 

April  2,  1841. — Time  for  completing  the  survey  and  location  of  State 
road  from  Ebensburg  to  Punxsutawney  extended  one  year  from  April  2, 
1841,  and  Stephen  Lloyd,  John  B.  Douglass,  of  Cambria  County; 
Richard  Bard,  of  Clearfield  County ;  William  Thompson,  of  Indiana 
County;  and  James  Winslow,  of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commis- 
sioners in  place  of  those  named  in  the  act  originally  authorizing  the  road. 

May  5,  1841. — Original  act  authorizing  the  State  road  from  Ebens- 
burg to  Punxsutawney  revived,  "and  William  Thompson,  of  Indiana 
County ;  Richard  Bard,  of  Clearfield  County ;  and  Stephen  Lloyd,  John 
B.  Douglass,  and  James  Rhey,  of  Cambria  County,  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  carry  the  provisions  of  the  said  act  into  execution." 

1842. — Chutes  of  dams  on  the  Red  Bank  and  Sandy  Lick  Creek  to  be 
twenty  feet  long  for  every  one  foot  high. 

1841. — Jefferson  County  commissioners  authorized  to  subscribe  stock 
in  the  Mahoning  Mouth  Bridge  Company  "such  number  of  shares  as  they 
may  deem  right  and  proper. ' ' 

1842. — State  road  from  Cherry  Tree  in  Indiana  County  to  Clarion 
authorized,  and  David  Peelor,  Heth  F.  Camp,  and  John  Decker,  of 
Indiana  County;  John  Sloan,  Jr.,  Peter  Clover,  Jr.,  of  Clarion  County  ; 
and  Robert  Woodward,  of  Armstrong  County,  appointed  commissioners 
to  view  and  lay  out  the  said  State  road,  which  was  to  begin  at  "  Cherry 
Tree  in  Indiana  County,  and  to  intersect  the  Susquehanna  and  Water- 
ford  Turnpike  at  or  near  the  town  of  Clarion,  in  Clarion  County,  by 
the  nearest  and  best  route  between  the  said  points." 

1843. — Time  for  executing  and  returning  drafts  of  the  survey  of  this 
State  road  from  Cherry  Tree  to  Clarion  extended  one  year,  and  Henry 
Freese,  of  Jefferson  County,  added  to  the  board  of  commissioners. 

i&4j. — State  road  from  Brookville  to  Ridgeway  by  way  of  the  mouth 
of  Little  Toby  authorized. 

1843. — State  road  from  Elderton  to  Punxsutawney  authorized,  and 
Thomas  Armstrong,  of  Elderton  ;  Peter  Dilts,  of  Mahoning,  Indiana 
County;  and  William  Campbell,  of  Jefferson  County,  "appointed  com- 
missioners to  view  and  lay  out  the  road  from  Elderton,  in  Armstrong 
County,  to  Punxsutawney,  in  Jefferson  County,  by  way  of  Plumville,  in 
Indiana  County,  by  the  nearest  and  best  route  from  point  to  point." 

1844. — The  county  commissioners  of  the  several  counties  through 

390 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

which  the  State  road  from  Elderton  by  way  of  Plumville  to  Punxsutaw- 
ney  was  laid  out  authorized  and  required  to  settle  the  accounts  of  the 
commissioners  viewing  and  laying  out  said  road. 

1844. — State  road  from  the  borough  of  Warren,  in  Warren  County, 
to  the  borough  of  Brookville,  in  Jefferson  County,  authorized,  and 
Henry  G.  Sergeant  and  Orin  L.  Stanton,  of  Warren  County ;  and  Samuel 
Findley,  of  Jefferson  County,  appointed  commissioners  to  view  and  lay 
out  the  same ;  drafts  of  the  location  of  said  State  road  to  be  made  and 
deposited  "  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court  of  the  respective 
counties  in  which  said  road  may  be  laid  out." 

1846. — Act  relating  to  dams  and  obstructions  in  the  Clarion  River. 

1846. — State  road  from  Smicksburg,  Indiana  County,  to  the  borough 
of  Brookville,  Jefferson  County,  authorized,  and  Hugh  Brady,  Levi  G. 
Clover,  of  Jefferson  County ;  and  George  Bernard,  of  Indiana  County, 
appointed  commissioners  to  view  and  lay  out  the  same  "  on  the  nearest 
and  best  route,  to  a  straight  line,  and  in  no  place  to  exceed  an  elevation 
of  five  degrees." 

Viewers  required  to  make  draft  and  file  copy  of  same  in  both  counties, 
and  courts  of  the  respective  counties  authorized  to  fill  vacancies  occurring 
in  the  board  of  commissioners. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE  PIONEER  PHYSICIAN  IN  THE  COUNTY,  DR.  JOHN  W.  JENKS,  OF  PUNX- 
SUTAWNEY — THE  PIONEER  PHYSICIAN  ON  THE  LITTLE  TOBY,  DR. 
NICHOLS — OTHER  EARLY  PHYSICIANS,  DR.  EVANS,  DR.  PRIME,  DR. 
DARLING,  DR.  BISHOP,  DR.  A.  M.  CLARKE,  DR.  JAMES  DOWLING,  DR. 
WILLIAM  BENNETT — PIONEER  MAJOR  OPERATION  IN  SURGERY  IN  182 1 
— EARLY  RIDES,  FEES,  ETC. 

IN  1818,  Dr.  John  W.  Jenks  came  from  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania, 
and  settled  in  what  is  now  Punxsutawney,  where  he  built  a  cabin,  made 
improvements,  and  reared  a  family.  He  was  quite  a  prominent  man, 
and  filled  positions  of  profit  and  trust.  He  was  one  of  the  first  associate 
judges,  and  father  of  Judge  W.  P.  Jenks,  Hon.  G.  A.  Jenks,  and  Mrs. 
Judge  Gordon. 

The  pioneer  physician  and  pioneer  clergyman  to  settle  in  the  Little 
Toby  Valley  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan  Nichols,  who  died  in  1846, 
aged  seventy-one.  His  wife,  Hannah,  died  in  Brookville  in  1859,  aged 
eighty-two  years. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan  Nichols  migrated  from  Connecticut,  and  settled 
on  Little  Toby,  Clearfield  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1818.  He 
was  a  preacher  and  a  doctor.  He  was  the  first  minister  to  preach  reg- 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ularly  in  this  county;  also  the  pioneer  physician  in  the  northern  part. 
The  date  of  Dr.  Nichols's  first  settlement  in  this  wilderness  was  in  1812, 
on  the  Sinnamahoning.  Dr.  Nichols  was  a  regularly  educated  physician, 
but,  being  of  a  very  pious  turn  of  mind,  he  studied  and  was  ordained  a 
Baptist  minister.  One  who  knew  him  well  wrote  of  Dr.  Nichols, — viz.  : 
"  He  was  a  generous,  kind-hearted  gentleman,  genial  and  urbane  in  his 
manners,  with  a  helping  hand  ready  to  assist  the  needy,  and  had  kind 
words  to  comfort  the  sorrowing.  As  a  physician  his  visits  were  required 
over  a  large  extent  of  the  county.  As  a  clergyman  his  meetings  were 
well  attended  by  the  people." 

PIONEER   MAJOR    SURGICAL   OPERATION. 

Moses  Knapp  moved  to  what  is  now  called  Baxter  in  the  spring 
of  1821,  and  while  cutting  timber  he  got  a  foot  and  leg  crushed  so 
that  his  limb  had  to  be  amputated  above  the  knee.  Dr.  Stewart,  of 
Indiana,  and  Dr.  William  Rankin,  of  Licking,  now  Clarion  County, 
performed  the  amputation  in  the  summer  of  1821.  Knapp  that  year 
was  constable,  having  been  elected  in  the  spring  election. 

Prior  to  1825,  Dr.  R.  K.  Scott  settled  on  what  is  now  the  Cowan 
farm,  a  little  east  of  Roseville.  The  doctor  was  a  pleasant,  intelligent 
gentleman,  and  at  one  time  was  in  the  newspaper  business.  Where  he 
removed  to  I  do  not  know. 

About  the  year  1831,  Dr.  Alvah  Evans  came  to  Brookville  and  opened 
an  office  for  practice.  He  remained  but  a  few  months. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  Dr.  G.  C.  M.  Prime  came  to  Brookville  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine.  Dr.  Prime  was  a  man  of  skill. 
He  amputated  the  arm  of  Henry  (Hance)  Vasbinder.  Inflammation 
and  gangrene  in  the  arm,  caused  by  a  bite  on  his  thumb  while  fighting, 
made  this  amputation  necessary.  Dr.  Prime  left  Brookville  in  1835. 

In  June,  1833,  Dr.  Geo.  Darling  (father  of  the  late  Paul  Darling) 
came  from  Smithport,  McKean  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  located  in 
Brookville.  In  1843,  Dr.  Darling  left  Brookville  and  located  in  Ohio. 
He  was  a  well-bred,  intelligent,  educated  physician. 

In  the  summer  of  1835,  Rev.  G.  Bishop,  M.D.,  located  in  Brookville, 
both  preaching  and  practising  medicine.  He  preached  regularly  to  the 
Presbyterians  of  Beechwoods,  Brookville,  and  where  Corsica  now  stands. 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  (who  read  and  practised 
under  Dr.  Nichols)  located  in  Brockwayville  and  commenced  to  practise 
for  and  by  himself.  Dr.  Clarke  was  born  in  Granby,  Connecticut,  in 
1808.  His  father  was  Philetus  Clarke,  who  came  into  this  wilderness  in 
1819.  After  a  long  and  useful  life  Dr.  Clarke  died,  May  2,  1884,  leav- 
ing a  family  and  his  aged  wife,  nee  Rebecca  M.  Nichols.  The  following 
tribute  was  paid  him  at  his  death  by  a  literary  friend,  Eugene  Miller, 
Esq., — viz.  : 

392 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Deceased  was  intellectually  a  remarkable  man.  Denied  the  advan- 
tages of  wealth  and  education,  he  became  not  only  a  learned  and  skilful 
physician,  but  a  literary  man  of  high  order.  Books  were  the  mine  in 
which  he  delved,  and  from  their  pages  he  brought  forth  jewels  of  infor- 
mation and  thought  most  rare.  He  loved  poetry  with  an  ardor  words 
cannot  express,  and  was  not  only  familiar  with  the  leading  poets  of  the 
past  and  present,  but  was  himself  the  author  of  a  number  of  fragments, 
which  show  him  to  have  been  possessed  of  a  poetic  fire  that,  in  the 
hands  of  one  less  modest  and  unassuming  than  he  ever  proved  himself  to 
be,  would  have  made  him  an  enduring  name.  His  qualities  of  heart 
were  no  less  choice  than  were  those  of  his  head.  He  was  generous  to  a 
fault,  and  as  meek  and  gentle  as  a  child.  Nothing  seemingly  gave  him 
more  pleasure  than  to  do  good  to  his  fellow-men,  and  many  there  are 
who  have  partaken  bountifully  of  his  store.  In  the  sick-room  his  pres- 
ence was  always  a  sweet  solace,  and  his  delicate  touch  almost  as  soothing 
as  a  narcotic.  In  the  social  circle  he  was  ever  popular,  the  diversity  of 
his  knowledge  and  the  easy  flow  of  his  language  rendering  him  a  delight- 
ful companion.  As  a  man  and  citizen  he  was  highly  respected,  as  was 
proved  by  the  spontaneity  with  which  his  neighbors  gathered  about  his 
grave  and  dropped  a  tear  to  his  precious  memory.  His  death,  like  his 
life,  was  peaceful,  and  the  name  he  leaves  behind  is  as  pure  as  the  lily 
and  as  fragrant  as  the  rose." 

Dr.  James  Dowling  came  from  Mercer  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1841,  and  located  in  what  is  now  called  Baxter.  In  1843  ne  removed  to 
Brookville.  In  1844  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  Dr. 
Dowling  was  a  little  man  in  stature,  but  a  "  big  man  in  head  and  brain." 
He  was  greatly  in  advance  of  the  many  theoretical,  narrow-minded, 
bigoted  doctors  of  his  time.  He  was  popular  in  his  manner  and  pleasing 
in  his  address.  His  practice  was  extensive  and  his  reputation  great.  I 
remember  his  many  kind  acts  to  me,  and  I  cherish  his  memory.  He 
died  December,  1860. 

Dr.  William  M.  Bennett  was  married  to  a  Miss  Orilla  Ralston,  of 
Angelica,  Alleghany  County,  New  York,  about  the  year  1818  or  1819. 
He  lived  a  short  time  where  the  city  of  Bradford  now  stands.  He  emi- 
grated with  his  family  to  Jefferson  County  early  in  the  year  1843,  a°d 
settled  on  the  Little  Toby,  in  Snyder  township,  three  miles  below  Brock- 
wayville,  where  he  built  a  saw-mill  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  Dr.  Bennett  was  not  a  highly  educated  man,  but  he  had  a 
wonderful  fund  of  common  sense,  and  in  his  career  of  physician  was 
popular,  successful,  and  useful.  In  his  treatment  of  diseases  he  was  far 
in  advance  of  what  was  then  called  science  in  medicine.  He  died  Octo- 
ber n,  1875,  and  was  buried  at  Temple's  graveyard,  Warsaw  township, 
this  county. 

The  pioneer  and  early  doctor  was  a  useful  citizen,  and  his  visits  to  the 
26  393 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

early  settlers  when  afflicted  was  a  great  comfort.  How  we  all  long  now 
to  see  the  doctor  when  we  are  sick  !  These  isolated  people  longed  just 
the  same  for  the  coming  of  their  doctor.  The  science  of  medicine  then 
was  very  crude,  and  the  art  of  it  very  imperfect,  hence  the  early  practi- 
tioner had  but  limited  skill,  yet  while  exercising  whatever  he  professed 
for  the  relief  of  suffering,  his  privations  and  labor  while  travelling  by 
night  or  day  on  horseback  with  his  "old  pill-bags"  were  hard  and  severe 
in  the  extreme.  The  extent  of  his  circuit  was  usually  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  miles  over  poor  roads  and  paths,  swimming  his  horse  through 
creeks  and  rivers  as  best  he  could.  I  have  travelled  a  circuit  of  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  my  day.  In  those  days  every  one  had  respect  for  the  doc- 
tor, and  every  family  along  his  circuit  was  delighted  with  an  opportunity 
to  extend  free  hospitality  to  the  doctor  and  his  horse. 

In  some  of  my  long  rides  I  have  become  so  tired  about  midnight  that 
I  felt  I  could  not  go  a  step  farther,  when  I  would  dismount  from  my 
horse,  hitch  him  on  the  outside  to  a  log  of  a  log  barn,  slip  the  bridle 
around  his  neck,  climb  into  the  mow,  throw  the  horse  an  armful  of  hay, 
and  then  fall  asleep  in  the  hay,  only  to  awaken  when  the  sun  was  an  hour 
or  two  high.  The  pioneer  doctor  carried  his  pill -bags  well  stocked  with 
calomel,  Dover's  powder,  tartar  emetic,  blistering  salve,  a  pair  of  old 
turnkeys  for  extracting  teeth,  and  a  spring  and  thumb  lance  for  bleeding 
purposes,  as  everybody  had  to  be  bled,  sick  or  well.  Twenty-five  cents 
was  the  fee  for  bleeding,  and  the  amount  of  blood  drawn  from  the  arm 
was  from  half  a  pint  to  a  quart.  The  custom  of  bleeding  sick  or  well 
fell  into  disrepute  about  1850.  A  town  visit  was  from  twenty-five  to  fifty 
cents,  a  visit  in  the  country  twenty-five  cents  a  mile,  an  obstetric  fee  five 
dollars.  The  pioneer  doctor  always  wore  green  leggings  or  corduroy 
overalls.  I  was  no  exception  to  this  rule. 

THE    PIONEER    MEDICAL   SOCIETY   OF   JEFFERSON   COUNTY,   PENN- 
SYLVANIA. 

On  July  3,  1857,  a  call  was  published  in  the  Jefferson  Star  by  Drs.  A. 
P.  Heichhold  and  J.  G.  Simons  for  the  physicians  of  Jefferson  County 
"to  meet  at  the  court-house  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  on  the  loth 
of  July,  1857,  at  10  o'clock  A.M.,"  to  organize  a  medical  society. 

The  call  was  responded  to,  and  below  I  give  the  minutes  of  the  meet- 
ing as  published  in  the  Star  of  July  17,  1857  : 

"  In  compliance  with  a  call  to  the  members  of  the  medical  profession 
in  Jefferson  County,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Brookville  and  a  county  med- 
ical society  was  formed  with  the  following  members, — viz.  :  Drs.  C.  P. 
Cummins,  Mark  Rodgers,  Charles  Baker,  A.  J.  Johnston,  R.  B.  Brown, 
W.  J.  McKnight,  D.  A.  Elliott,  J.  G.  Simons,  and  A.  P.  Heichhold. 

"The  meeting  was  organized  by  calling  Dr.  M.  Rodgers  to  the  chair, 
and  Dr.  A.  P.  Heichhold  was  appointed  secretary  pro  tern. 

394 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Dr.  Simons  was  then  called  on  to  state  the  object  of  the  meeting, 
which  he  did  in  a  neat  and  appropriate  manner. 

"  The  following  resolution  was  then  offered  :  '  Resolved,  That  in  con- 
sequence of  the  indisposition  of  a  portion  of  the  members  of  the  profes- 
sion to  the  formation  of  a  medical  society,  we  deem  it  inexpedient  to 
organize  one  at  this  time,'  which  was  rejected,  and  a  committee  was  then 
appointed  to  draft  a  constitution,  and  the  society  was  organized  perma- 
nently. The  following  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  then  elected  : 
President,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  P.  Cummins ;  Vice-Presidents,  Drs.  A.  J.  Johns- 
ton, M.  Rodgers;  Secretary,  D.  A.  Elliott;  Treasurer,  Dr.  A.  P.  Heich- 
hold  ;  Censors,  Dr.  A.  P.  Heichhold,  J.  G.  Simons,  A.  J.  Johnston. 

The  society  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  court-house,  in  Brookville, 
on  Tuesday,  the  28th  day  of  July,  at  7.30  P.M. 

"C.  P.  CUMMINS, 

' '  President. 
"  A.  P.  HEICHHOLD, 

"  Secretary.'1'' 

In  this  same  issue  of  July  17  the  following  official  notice  was  pub- 
lished : 

"  A  meeting  of  the  Jefferson  County  Medical  Society  will  be  held  in 
the  court-house,  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  on  Tuesday  evening,  the 
28th  instant,  at  7.30  o'clock  P.M.  An  address  will  be  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  C.  P.  Cummins,  the  president  of  the  society.  The  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  Brookville  and  vicinity  are  respectfully  invited  to  attend. 

"  D.  A.  ELLIOTT, 

"Secretary." 

"Of  this  lecture  the  S/arsays,  in  an  editorial  of  July  31,  1857, — 

"  COUNTY  MEDICAL  SOCIETY. — This  body  held  a  public  meeting  in 
the  court-house  on  Tuesday  evening  last,  which  was  addressed  by  Rev. 
C.  P.  Cummins,  M.D.  The  remarks  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  are  highly  ex- 
tolled by  those  who  had  the  pleasure  of  being  present.  The  society  met 
next  morning  at  Dr.  Heichhold's  office  for  the  transaction  of  business. 
We  are  glad  to  observe  a  great  interest  manifested  in  its  proceedings  by 
the  physicians  of  the  county." 

The  above  address  was  published  in  full  in  the  Star.  The  next  meet- 
ing was  publicly  announced  by  the  secretary  "  for  September  14,  at  7.30 
o'clock.  Dr.  J.  G.  Simons  will  deliver  an  address,  to  hear  which  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  Brookville  and  vicinity  are  invited  to  attend." 

Of  the  members  of  the  county  medical  society  formed  forty  years 
ago  in  Brookville  but  two  are  now  living, — viz.,  Dr.  Charles  Baker  and 
the  writer. 

395 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

PIONEER    TOWNSHIPS   AND    BOROUGHS   AND    PIONEER   TAXABLES. 

PINE    CREEK. 
CREATED  in  1806  by  an  act  of  Assembly,  and  embraced  all  the  county. 

COMPLETE   TAXABLE    LIST    IN    PINE    CREEK    TOWNSHIP    (THIS   COUNTY) 
FOR    THE    YEAR    1 807. 

Joseph  Barnett,  farmer  and  distiller ;  John  Dickson,  weaver  ;  Elijah 
M.  Grimes,  laborer;  Lewis  Heeb,  farmer;  Peter  Jones,  blacksmith; 
John  Jones,  farmer ;  Moses  Knapp,  farmer ;  Samuel  Lucas,  tailor ; 
Thomas  Lucas,  farmer,  and  grist-  and  saw-mill;  William  Lucas,  tailor; 
Ludwig  Long,  farmer  and  distiller ;  Alexander  McCoy,  farmer ;  Jacob 
Mason,  laborer  ;  Stephen  Roll,  cooper  ;  Daniel  Roadarmil,  farmer  ;  John 
Scott,  Sr.,  farmer;  Samuel  Scott,  miller,  saw-  and  grist-mill ;  John  Scott, 
Jr.,  farmer;  Adam  Vastbinder,  farmer;  Jacob  Vastbinder  (single  man), 
farmer;  John  Vastbinder  (single  man),  laborer;  Fudge  Van  Camp 
(colored),  farmer.  Number  of  horses,  23;  number  of  cows,  35. 

PERRY. 

Formed  in  1818,  and  was  taken  from  Pine  Creek.  Perry  township  as 
originally  organized  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Pine  Creek  township, 
on  the  west  by  the  Armstrong  County  line,  on  the  south  by  the  Indiana 
line,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Clearfield  County  line. 

PIONEERS    IN    PERRY    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER   ASSESSMENT    IN    l8l8. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Jesse  Armstrong,  John  Bell,  Esq.,  James  W. 
Bell  (single  man),  Joseph  Bell  (single  man),  John  Bell  (single  man), 
Elijah  Dykes,  Benjamin  Dykes,  Archibald  Hadden,  Jacob  Hoover, 
David  Hamilton,  Elizabeth  McHenry,  James  Hamilton  (single  man), 
Adam  Long,  Michael  Lantz,  Henry  Lott,  Stephen  Lewis,  Isaac  Lewis, 
Jacob  Lane,  James  McClelland,  David  Milliron,  Hugh  McKee,  James 
Hutchison,  John  Postlethwait,  David  Postlethwait  (single  man),  Porter 
Reed,  John  Piper,  James  McKee,  Thomas  Page,  Samuel  States,  James 
Stewart,  John  Stewart,  James  Wachob. 

YOUNG. 

Young  township  was  organized  in  1826,  and  was  taken  from  Perry. 
It  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Clearfield  line,  on  the  south  by  the 
Indiana  line,  on  the  west  by  Perry,  and  on  the  north  by  Pine  Creek 
township. 

396 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

PIONEERS    IX    YOUNG    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER   ASSESSMENT    IX    1826. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Jesse  Armstrong,  John  Archibald,  David  Burk- 
hart,  Andrew  Bowers,  Rev.  David  Barclay,  house  and  lot  in  Punxsutaw- 
ney,  two-thirds  of  a  grist-mill  and  two-thirds  of  a  saw-mill ;  John  Bowers, 
Philip  Bowers,  John  Buck,  Andrew  Bowman,  house  and  lot;  Charles  B. 
Barclay,  house  and  lot ;  James  Black,  house  and  lot ;  Daniel  Coffman, 
Charles  Clawson,  Matthias  Clawson,  Abraham  Craft,  James  Caldwell, 
Benijah  Corey,  John  Corey,  house  and  lot ;  Isaac  Carmalt,  house  and  lot ; 
Nichols  Dunmire,  Adam  Dunmire,  Daniel  Grafnus,  Charles  C.  Gaskill, 
house  and  lot ;  Samuel  Ganor,  John  Henderson,  house  and  lot ;  Henry 
Hum,  John  Hum  (single  man),  Jacob  Hoover,  one  grist-mill ;  John 
Hoover,  William  Hemmingray,  John  Hess,  house  and  lot  in  Long's 
Town;  John  Hutchison,  Elijah  Heath,  house  and  lot;  John  W.  Jenks, 
one  third  of  a  grist  mill,  one-third  of  a  saw-mill,  one  bull ;  Adam  Long, 
Joseph  Long,  house  and  lot ;  Adam  Long,  cooper ;  Francis  Leach, 
George  Leach,  Isaac  Lunger,  Obed  Morris,  Joseph  Potter,  Frederick 
Rinehart,  Christian  Richel,  Samuel  Steffy,  James  Smith,  Samuel  States, 
Nathaniel  Tindall,  house  and  lot;  James  Williams,  Benoni  Williams, 
Ira  White,  James  Winslow,  Carpenter  Winslow,  Sr.,  Carpenter  Winslow, 
Jr.,  Ebenezer  Winslow,  Charles  Winslow,  Reuben  Winslow,  Caleb  Wins- 
low  (single  man),  Thomas  Wheatcraft,  William  Webster,  Abraham  Weaver, 
house  and  lot ;  George  Weaver  (single  man),  Parlin  White. 

RIDGEWAY. 

Organized  in  1826,  and  was  taken  from  Pine  Creek.  Ridgeway 
township  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  McKean  County  line,  on  the  north 
by  the  Warren  County  line,  on  the  south  by  the  Clearfield  County  line, 
and  on  the  west  by  Pine  Creek  township. 

PIONEERS    IN    RIDGEWAY   TOWNSHIP   AS   PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1827. 
SEATED   LIST. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Aylesworth  &  Gillis  Co.,  one  grist- and  saw- 
mill; James  Brockway,  Collins  Brooks  (single  man),  Naphtalia  Burns, 
Nehemiah  Bryant,  Sampson  Crooker,  Clark  Eggleston,  Henry  Francis 
(single  man),  Enos  Gillis,  James  Gallagher,  Joseph  P.  King,  George 
March  (single  man),  William  Maxwell  (single  man),  Harvey  B.  Moor- 
house  (single  man),  James  McDougal,  Lorenzo  Preaket  (single  man), 
Jacob  Shaffer,  John  Stratton,  William  Taylor,  Jacob  Taylor  (single 
man),  Alanson  Vial,  Henry  Walborn. 

ROSE. 

Organized  in  1827,  and  was  taken  from  Pine  Creek.  Rose  township 
was  bounded  with  Pine  Creek  on  the  east,  Young  and  Perry  on  the  south. 

397 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

PIONEERS    IN    ROSE    TOWNSHIP,    AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1827. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Robert  Andrews,  Johns  Avery  &  Caleb 
Howard,  one  saw-mill,  trade ;  Christopher  Barr,  Joseph  Barnett,  one 
saw-mill;  John  Barnett,  David  Butler,  one-half  of  a  saw-mill ;  Nathaniel 
Butler,  Alonzo  Baldwin,  Lorenzo  Brooks  (single  man),  Euphrastus 
Carrier  (single  man),  Christian  Conrad,  John  Coon,  one  half  of  a  saw- 
mill ;  John  Christy,  James  E.  Corbett,  William  Cooper,  James  Crow 
(single  man),  Samuel  Kennedy,  Joseph  Clements,  W.  B.  Clements, 
George  Crispen,  James  Divin,  trade;  Samuel  Davidson,  Robert  Dixon, 
John  Dixon,  William  Douglass  (colored),  George  Eckler,  Henry  Feye, 
Sr.,  Henry  Feye,  Jr.,  Samuel  Feye,  William  Guthrie,  John  Fuller,  trade ; 
Elijah  M.  Graham,  William  Graham,  -  -  Himes,  one-half  of  a  saw- 
mill ;  Frederick  Heterick,  one  saw-mill ;  James  Hall  (single  man),  John 
Horam,  Moses  Knapp,  Samuel  Knapp,  one  saw-  and  grist-mill ;  Robert 
Knox,  John  Kelso,  John  Kennedy,  Joseph  Keys,  Matthew  Keys  (single 
man),  Henry  Keys  (single  man),  William  Long  (single  man),  John 
Lucas,  William  Love,  Sr. ,  William  Love,  Jr.  (single  man),  John  Love 
(single  man),  Thomas  Lucas,  one-half  of  a  saw-mill,  land  ;  John  Latti- 
mer,  one-half  of  a  saw- mill;  John  Long,  Alex.  Lyons,  Henry  Lot,  one 
saw-mill ;  Peter  Lot,  Daniel  Long,  William  Lattimer,  Isaac  Matson, 
John  McGiffin  (single  man),  William  Morrison,  Samuel  Magill,  Isaac 
McElvaine,  Abraham  Milliron,  Jacob  Mason,  Benjamin  Mason  (single 
man,  Joseph  McCullough,  John  Matson,  John  Mclntosh,  John  McGhee, 
trade  ;  Timothy  Nightingale,  P.  B.  Ostrander,  Alexander  Osburn,  James 
Parks,  gristmill;  Alexander  Powers,  Isaac  Packer,  William  Rodgers, 
Hance  iRobinson,  one-half  of  a  saw-mill;  David  Roll,  one  saw-mill; 
Joshua  Rhea,  Thomas  Robinson,  Robert  Smith,  James  Shields,  trade ; 
John  Shields,  Peter  Slogerbuck,  Samuel  Stiles,  Michael  Shadle,  Heulet 
Smith,  Andrew  Shippen,  Charles  Sutherland  (colored),  Robert  K.  Scott, 
Joseph  Sharp,  Walter  Templeton,  Joshua  Vandevort,  Jesse  Vandevort, 
Jacob  Vastbinder,  Adam  Vastbinder,  William  Vastbinder,  Henry  Vast- 
binder,  Andrew  Vastbinder,  Hugh  Williamson,  John  Welsh,  house  and 
lot  in  Troy;  John  Walters,  Beach  Wayland,  Patience  Wheeler,  John 
Webster  (single  man),  Peter  Walters,  Robert  Weir,  Daniel  Yeomans, 
William  McDonald,  Nathan  Carrier,  William  Mendenhall,  Alexander 
Scott,  Benjamin  Sies,  Joseph  Hastings,  Robert  Tweedy,  James  Sharp, 
Nicholas  Sharp,  Joseph  Butler,  Jeremiah  McCallester,  Samuel  Rhodes, 
John  Hayes,  John  Scott  (single  man),  Samuel  Johns,  Robert  Maxwell. 

BARNETT. 

Organized  in  1833,  an<^  was  taken  from  Rose.  Barnett  originally 
contained  Jenks  and  Tionesta  townships  and  all  that  part  of  Jefferson 
County  lying  north  of  the  Clarion  River.  In  1838  the  two  above-men- 
tioned townships  were  organized  out  of  it. 

398 


PIOXEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

PIONEERS    IN    BARNETT    TOWNSHIP  AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1833. 

Names  of  Taxable  s. — William  Armstrong  &  Co.,  one  saw-mill ;  Luther 
Barns  &  Co.,  Israel  Ball,  Warren  Barns  (single  man),  John  Cook,  one 
saw-mill ;  Job  Carr,  Nathan  &  Elijah  Tipps,  David  Meads,  Thaddeus 
Meads,  Erastus  Gibson,  William  Manross,  one  saw-mill ;  David  Reynolds, 
John  Wyncoop,  two  saw-mills ;  John  Mays,  James  W.  Mays,  Smith  heirs, 
one  saw-mill;  Alexander  Murray,  Thomas  B.  Mays,  Thomas  Fords,  John 
Av  Kramer,  John  Fitzgerald,  Smith  N.  Myers,  James  Orwin,  William 
Beer,  William  Thomas,  George  &  Samuel  Armstrong,  Ebenezer  Kingly, 
William  Gordon,  William  Forsythe. 

SNYDER. 

Organized  in  1835,  and  was  taken  from  Ridgeway  and  Pine  Creek. 
Snyder  township  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  Clearfield  County  line,  on 
the  north  by  Ridgeway  township,  on  the  south  and  west  by  Pine  Creek 
township. 

PIONEERS    IN    SNYDER   TOWNSHIP   AS    PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1836. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Dillis  Allen,  Hugh  Anderson,  George  Addison, 
James  &  Alonzo  Brockway,  one  saw- mill ;  Elihu  Clark,  David  Carr,  Joel 
Clark,  Sr.,  Joel  Clark,  Jr.  (single  man),  David  Dennison,  John  Dougherty 
(single  man),  Thomas  Dougherty  (single  man),  Miron  Gibbs,  Francis 
Goodar,  Benjamin  Hulet,  Frederick  Heterick,  Joseph  Houston  (single 
man),  William  Houston  (single  man),  Milton  Johnston,  Joseph  McAfee 
(single  man),  Robert  McCurdy  (single  man),  Joseph  McCurdy  (single 
man),  John  McLaughlin,  Thomas  McCormick,  Hamilton  Moody, 
Thomas  Moody,  Andrew  McCormick,  James  Moorhead  (single  man), 
James  W.  Moorhead  (single  man),  John  Moorhead,  David  Moorhead 
(single  man),  John  Pearsall,  Arad  Pearsall,  James  Ross,  David  M. 
Riddle,  Henry  Shaffer  (single  man),  Jacob  Shaffer,  Ami  Sibbley,  Wil- 
liam Shaw,  Stephen  Tibbetts,  Isaac  Temple,  Andrew  Vastbinder,  Paul 

Vandevort,  Joseph  Whitehall. 

ELDRED. 

Organized  in  1836,  and  was  taken  from  Rose  and  Barnett.  Eldred 
township  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Barnett,  on  the  east  by  Ridgeway 
township,  on  the  south  by  Rose,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Armstrong  County 
line. 

PIONEERS    IN    ELDRED   TOWNSHIP   AS   PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1837. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Thomas  Arthurs,  George  Armstrong,  William 
Anderson,  Henry  Boyles,  David  Barr,  Thomas  Barr,  Samuel  Barr,  Abra- 
ham Bickler,  Smith  Benedict,  Richard  Burns,  William  Booth,  Jacob 
Beer,  Thomas  Callen,  Jacob  Craft,  Moses  H.  Carly,  Peter  Coonsman, 
John  D.  Kahle,  George  Catz,  Henry  Clark,  Job  Carly,  William  Douglass 
(colored),  Daniel  Elgin,  Alexander  Fredericks,  Elijah  M.  Graham,  Jo- 

399 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

seph  Graham,  Elias  Gearhart,  Dolly  George,  Isaiah  Guthrie,  William 
Gordon,  Israel  Hughes,  Thomas  Hughes,  Thomas  Hall,  William  Hop- 
per, Malachi  Hopper  (single  man),  William  M.  Hindman,  William 
Hughes,  Richard  Hague,  Richard  Hague,  Jr.,  William  &  John  Hutchi- 
son, William  B.  Kennedy,  Frederick  Kahle,  William  Kennedy,  David 
Aikens,  James  Cochran,  David  McKee,  John  W.  Monks,  Isaac  Matson, 
Sr.,  mill  seat ;  James  McManigle,  James  McNeal,  John  McCracken,  David 
Miller,  Robert  McFarland,  Stewart  Ross,  Jacob  Riddleburger,  Chris- 
tian Ruffner,  George  Royer,  Andrew  Steel,  James  Stewart,  Jr.,  Paul 
Stewart,  Alexander  Scott,  Hiram  Sampson,  John  Summerville,  William 
Summerville,  James  Summerville,  David  Silvis,  Jacob  Trautman,  James 
L.  Thompson,  James  Templeton,  Michael  Traper,  George  Wilson,  Jr. 
(single  man),  Robert  Wilson,  John  Wilson,  Jr.,  William  Wallace,  John 
Wilson,  Esq.,  George  Walford,  Abram  Yokey,  Christy  Yokey. 

TIONESTA. 
Organized  in  1838,  and  was  taken  from  Barnett. 

PIONEERS    IN    TIONESTA   TOWNSHIP   AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1838. 

Names  of  Taxables. — James  Adams,  George  Bests,  Samuel  Cupins, 
Erastus  Gibson,  Ebenezer  Kingsley,  Perry  Kingsley,  Ephraim  Kingsley 
(single  man),  Edward  Kingsley,  Count  Kingsley,  John  Lukins  (single 
man),  George  Leadlie,  one  saw-mill  with  two  saws ;  David  W.  Mead, 

sawyer;  John  Nolf. 

JENKS. 

Organized  in  1838,  and  was  taken  from  Barnett. 

PIONEERS    IN   JENKS    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1838. 

Names  of  Taxables. — James  Anderson,  Cyrus  Blood,  Benjamin  L. 
Baley,  Aaron  Brockway,  Sr.,  Aaron  Brockway,  Jr.,  Amos  Fitch,  Isaac 
Fitch,  John  Hunt,  Phelps  Hunt,  Jessie  Jackson,  Josiah  Leary,  John 
Lewis,  Robert  McLatchlie,  Oran  Newton,  Samuel  Reyner,  Andrew  J. 

Reyner. 

WASHINGTON. 

Organized  in  1839,  and  was  taken  from  Pine  Creek  and  Snyder. 
Washington  township  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  Clearfield  County  line, 
on  the  north  by  Snyder  township,  and  on  the  south  and  west  by  Pine 
Creek  township. 

PIONEERS    IN    WASHINGTON    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1838. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Dillis  Allen,  one  saw-mill ;  Frederick  Alexan- 
der, Hugh  Alexander,  John  Atwell,  James  Alexander  and  father,  James 
Bond,  Samuel  Beman,  Samuel  Crawford,  John  Clendennen,  John  Craw- 
ford, William  Cooper,  John  P.  Clark,  Aaron  Clark,  Robert  Douthard, 
one  grist-mill ;  Thomas  Dougherty,  James  Dougherty,  James  Downs, 

400 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Robert  Dickson,  Michael  Elliott,  William  Feely,  John  Fuller,  Alexander 
B.  Fowler,  George  Feely,  George  Hughes,  Andrew  Hunter,  George 
Horam,  Jacob  &:  William  Horam,  John  Horam,  Sr.,  John  Horam,  Jr., 
Matthew  Keys,  Henry  Keys,  Joseph  Keys;  James  Kyle,  Samuel  Kyle, 
Samuel  Miles,  John  McGhee.  Oliver  McClelland,  Andrew  Moore,  Robert 
Morrison,  William  McConnell,  James  McConnell,  Joseph  McConnell 
(single  man),  John  McClelland,  William  McCullough,  William  Mc- 
Donald, Robert  Mclntosh,  occupation  ;  Henry  Mclntosh,  John  Mclntosh, 
William  Mclntosh,  Jr.,  William  Mclntosh,  Sr.,  Rebecca  Mclntosh,  George 
Ogden,  Joseph  Potter,  tavern  ;  Ramsey  Potter,  Jacob  Peters,  Tilton  Rey- 
nolds, William  Reynolds,  Thomas  Reynolds  (single  man),  David  Rey- 
nolds, Joshua  Rhea,  Samuel  Rhea,  James  Rany,  James  Smith,  Andrew 
Smith,  Matthew  Smith,  B.  Sprague,  Ephraim  Stephen,  Peter  Sharp, 
John  Sprague,  Thomas  Tedlie,  Henry  Vastbinder,  James  Waite,  John 
Wilson,  Oliver  Welsh,  Daniel  Yeomans,  Henry  Yeomans. 

PORTER. 

Organized  in  1840,  and  was  taken  from  Perry.  Porter  township  was 
bounded  on  the  west  by  Armstrong  County  line,  on  the  south  by  Indiana 
County  line,  on  the  north  by  Rose  township. 

PIONEERS    IN    PORTER    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER    ASSESSMENT    IN    1841. 

Names  of  Taxables. — John  Alcorn,  William  Alcorn,  Samuel  Albert, 
Thomas  Adams,  Alexander  Adams,  George  Barickhouse,  Lawrence  Bair, 
Ludwick  Byerly,  Gideon  Bush,  Powel  Baughman,  Robert  Brice,  Arm- 
strong Bartley,  Rev.  Elisha  Coleman,  $30  on  interest ;  John  Coleman, 
William  Callen,  Benjamin  Campbell,  Henry  Cherry,  David  Callen, 
Peter  Callen,  Andrew  Callen,  John  Cherry  (single  man),  Elisha  Camp- 
bell, Frederick  Coonrod.  James  Chambers,  John  Chambers,  Harrison 
Coon,  Jacob  Dinger,  Benjamin  Dimick,  Michael  Tumas,  Henry  Dorn- 
hime,  John  Thomas,  Edward  Enty  (colored),  John  Flisher,  Jr.,  John 
Flisher,  Henry  Flisher,  William  Ferguson,  Sr. ,  William  Ferguson,  Jr., 
John  Ferguson,  Ebenezer  Ferguson,  Henry  Faringer,  William  Foster, 
David  Fairman,  Francis  Fair  man,  Henry  Freece,  Thomas  Gaghagen, 
James  Gaghagen,  Gearhart  &  Spangler,  Henry  Glontz,  Daniel  Gag- 
hagen, Peter  Graver,  Daniel  Geist,  one  saw-mill ;  Solomon  Geist,  Sam- 
uel Geist,  Jesse  Geist,  John  Geist,  Sr.,  John  Geist,  Jr.,  Pollie  Gilbreth 
(widow),  William  Gillespie,  occupation ;  Daniel  Hinderlighter,  Michael 
Hinderlighter,  Daniel  Hass,  William  Himes,  James  Hamilton,  Elias 
Hulwick,  David  Hamilton,  Michael  Heterick,  Peter  Heterick,  Samuel 
Hice,  Michael  Holloback,  E.  E.  Hannager,  Joseph  Hannah,  Adam 
Hane,  Harry  Heckendorn,  John  Hice,  office ;  Isaac  Hamilton,  Jacob 
Huffman,  Daniel  Huffman,  Andrew  Hazlet  (single  man),  John  James, 
Robert  Kennedy,  John  Conklin,  Joseph  Kinnear,  George  Knarr,  Michael 

401 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Lantz,  John  Lantz,  Frederick  Lantz,  George  Letich,  Samuel  Lerch 
David  Langard,  John  Miller,  John  Mohney.  John  Hotter,  Henry  Mill- 
iron  (single  man),  William  McAninch,  Jr.,  William  McAninch,  Sr. ,  Hugh 
McGuier,  occupation  ;  John  McAninch,  John  McClelland,  John  Mower, 
Jr.,  John  Mower,  Sr. ,  William  Montier,  William  McNutt,  Robert  Mc- 
Nutt,  Martin  Miller,  Peter  Minich,  George  Milliron.  David  Milliron, 
Philip  Milliron,  William  Milliron,  Peter  Milliron,  Daniel  Motter,  Sam- 
uel Motter,  Jacob  Motter,  George  McGregor,  M.  McGregor,  John 
Martz,  Gillmore  Montgomery,  Daniel  McGregor,  Matthew  McDavid, 
John  Miller,  Andrew  McDaniel,  Jacob  Minich,  David  McDaniel, 
John  McMillan,  Thomas  McMillen,  Henry  Minich,  occupation  ;  Samuel 
Mickle,  Coonrod  Nulf,  N.  J.  Nesbit,  occupation  ;  Thomas  Nice,  Wil- 
liam Niel,  John  Potts,  George  Potts,  John  Postlethwait,  David  Postle- 
thwait,  Elias  Powel,  Moses  Powel,  Peter  Procius,  Daniel  Procius,  Henry 
Peter,  James  Robinson,  David  Richard,  George  Reitz,  John  Robinson, 
Esq.,  one  saw-mill ;  William  Robinson,  Irwin  Robinson,  Samuel  Richard, 
Carl  Randolf,  Philip  Reed,  Joshua  B.  Farr,  George  Rinehart,  Henry 
Ross,  occupation  ;  George  Reitz  (single  man),  John  Silvas,  occupation  ; 
Michael  Shaffer,  Simon  Stahlman.  Henry  Spare,  Sr.,  Isaac  Shaffer, 
Frederick  Steer,  Jacob  Snyder  (single  man),  Abraham  Shipe,  Henry 
Shipe,  one  tan-yard  ;  Philip  Smith,  Andrew  Shaffer,  Abraham  Shaffer, 
Benjamin  Shaffer,  Valentine  Shaffer,  money  on  interest ;  Francis  Shraw- 
ber,  office;  John  Shrawber,  Martin  Shannon,  occupation;  Peter  Spang- 
ler,  Absalom  Smith,  John  Shadle,  John  Steel,  Jacob  Startzel,  John 
Shofner,  Henry  Spare,  John  Startzel,  Coonrod  Snyder,  Walter  Snyder, 
Daniel  Snyder,  Moses  Shoffstall,  Stephen  Travis,  Broce  Taylor,  Edward 
Chamberlin,  Henry  Truckmiller,  Henry  Chamberlain,  George  Chamber- 
lain, George  Travis,  James  Travis,  Samuel  Trayor,  John  Wilson,  occupa- 
tion ;  Edward  Uptagraff,  George  Wise,  Amos  Weaver,  Moses  Weaver, 
James  Watts,  James  Wilson,  Esq.,  office;  Benjamin  Weary,  Abraham 
Walker,  Robert  Wilson,  Jacob  Wise,  George  Young,  Jr.,  George  Young, 

Sr. ,  Lawrence  Yeager. 

CLOVER. 

Organized  in  1841,  and  was  taken  from  Rose.  Clover  township  was 
bounded  on  the  east  and  north  by  Rose,  on  the  west  by  the  Clarion 
County  line,  and  on  the  south  by  Perry. 

PIONEERS    IN    CLOVER   TOWNSHIP   AS    PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1843. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Daniel  Baldwin,  Wallace  Bratton,  John  H.  Bish, 
Hudson  Bridge,  Samuel  Bratton,  Michael  Brocius,  John  Brocius,  Peter 
Brocius,  Jacob  Brocius,  George  Burns,  Alonzo  &  Fred.  Baldwin,  one 
saw-mill,  one  yoke  of  oxen,  one  cow,  and  two  horses  ;  Adam  Brocius, 
John  Baughman,  John  Bruner,  occupation  as  sawyer;  John  Campbell, 
Hiram  Carrier,  one  saw-mill ;  Nathan  Carrier,  one  fourth  of  a  saw-mill ; 

402 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Darius  Carrier,  Lorenzo  Campbell,  Sanford  Campbell,  George  and  Xa- 
than  Carrier,  George  Cain  (single  man),  Michael  Crawford,  George  Car- 
rier, one-fourth  of  a  saw-mill  ;  Darius  Carrier,  one-half  of  a  saw-mill ; 
Euphrastus  Carrier,  Darius  &:  Hiram  Carrier,  one  grist-mill ;  Isaac 
Covert,  George  Campbell,  Matthew  Dickey,  Dr.  James  Dowling,  James 
S.  Dean,  Andrew  Doyle  (single  man),  James  Defords,  George  Eckler, 
William  Edmond »  Thomas  Edmond,  one  saw-mill ;  David  Edmond, 
John  Fuller  (single  man),  John  H.  Flemming,  Solomon  Fuller,  Jr.,  Chris- 
topher Fogle,  one  tan-yard  ;  David  Farriweather,  C.  Jacox,  house  and 
lot ;  Ira  Fuller,  one  saw-mill ;  William  Fitzsimmons,  transferred  to 
Baldwin,  James  Ferguson,  Abraham  Funk,  Hiram  Fuller,  Thomas 
Guthrie,  Aaron  Fuller,  one  saw-mill ;  George  Gray,  occupation  ;  Wil- 
liam Guthrie,  James  Guthrie  (single  man),  Carder  Gilmore,  James  B. 
Guthrie,  James  Guthrie,  Sr.,  Alexander  Guthrie,  Jacob  Grame,  James 
Gardner,  Elijah  Heath,  one  grist-mill  and  one  saw-mill;  Jacob  Heck- 
man,  James  Hildebrand,  Peter  Himes,  Joseph  Hall,  Sr.,  Joel  &  Porter 
Haskill,  one  saw-mill ;  Gideon  Haskill,  Simon  Hays,  one  house  and  lot ; 
Abram  Hidelman,  occupation  as  miller  ;  John  Johnston,  William  Jack, 
Samuel  Johns,  Hazard  Jaycock,  Charles  Jaycock,  Matson  J.  Knapp, 
Samuel  Knapp,  Moses  Knapp,  Jr.,  one  grist-mill  and  one  sawmill;  Jo- 
seph Knapp,  one  yoke  of  oxen  and  three  cows  ;  John  Knapp,  John 
Kelso,  Jr..  one  dog;  George  Keck,  James  Kelso,  William  Kelly,  Wil- 
liam Lucas  (single  man),  James  S.  Lucas,  occupation ;  Peter  Lucas, 
John  Lucas,  Jr.,  Daniel  Leech,  John  Lucas,  Sr. ,  Samuel  Lucas,  Sr.,  John 
Lucas  (of  Samuel),  Samuel  Lucas,  Jr.,  tradesman  ;  John  T.  Love,  John 
Love  (Yankee),  William  Lucas  (single  man),  Lucas  &  Knapp,  guardians 
of  Battle's  estate ;  James  Long,  trade ;  Rev.  John  McCauley,  Samuel 
Magill,  William  Magill,  Hugh  McGiffin  (Yankee),  Daniel  Milliron,  Sam- 
uel Milliron,  John  McGiffin,  Robert  Morrison,  David  Moore,  Isaac  Mot- 
ter,  Andrew  McElwaine,  estate ;  Eli  McDovvel  (single  man),  Abraham 
Milliron,  Hugh  McGiffin,  Solomon  Milliron,  tradesman ;  Elijah  McAn- 
inch,  estate  ;  George  McAninch,  William  McAninch  (of  Samuel),  Henry 
Milliron,  Jonathan  Milliron,  William  Miller,  one  house  and  lot;  Samuel 
Newcomb,  one  saw-mill ;  Coonrad  &  Frank  Xolf,  William  B.  Newcomb, 
Joseph  Osborne,  William  Rhoney,  Levi  Reed,  William  Rodgers,  James 
Ross,  one  saw-mill ;  Hance  Robinson,  one  grist-mill  and  saw-mill ; 
Joseph  Ross,  William  Robinson  (single  man),  Richards  Richard,  George 
Richard,  one  house  and  lot ;  John  Reitz,  Isaac  Reitz  (single  man),  David 
Smith,  William  Simpson,  Alexander  Smith,  Hulet  Smith,  John  Shields, 
Sr.,  James  Shields,  Peter  Swab,  tradesman  ;  Robert  Shields,  one  yoke 
oxen  and  cow ;  Daniel  and  James  Shields,  one  cow  and  yoke  of  oxen ; 
James  Shields,  Jr.,  George  Simpson,  Benjamin  Sowers,  Abraham  Stine, 
one  house  and  lot ;  Henry  Scott,  Henry  Sowers,  John  B.  Shields, 
James  Sowers,  Jr.,  David  Shields,  James  Sowers,  Sr.,  Gideon  Trumbull, 

403 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Joseph  M.  Thompson,  Samuel  B.  Taylor,  one  lot  and  store ;  Jesse  Van- 
devort,  occupation  ;  Paul  Yandevort,  one  house  and  lot ;  David  Yan- 
devort,  Stephen  Webster,  five  lots  ;  Beech  Wayland,  Patience  \Yheeler, 
John  R.  Welsh,  Jackson  Welsh  (single  man),  Monroe  Webster,  Ezekiel 
White. 

BROOKVILLE    BOROUGH. 

The  pioneer  borough,  and  taken  from  Rose,  bounded  on  the  east  by 
Pine  Creek. 

BROOKVILLE    BOROUGH    AS    PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1844. 

Arames  of  Taxables. — Richard  Arthurs  (single  man),  house  and  lot, 
profession ;  Caleb  Alexander,  one  patent- lever  watch,  $35  ;  Charles 
Anderson  (colored),  one  outlet  and  house;  James  Acheson  (single  man), 
Isaac  Allen,  two  lots  improved,  one-half  lot  and  house,  and  blacksmith- 
shop  ;  John  Arthurs,  James  H.  Ames,  occupation ;  John  Alexander,  Rev. 
Garey  Bishop,  profession ;  Cyrus  Butler,  house  and  lot ;  Samuel  B. 
Bishop,  house  and  stable,  profession,  one  gold  watch,  $50 ;  Thompson 
Barr  (single  man),  office  ;  Robert  P.  Barr,  house  and  lot,  one  grist-mill, 
mill  lot  and  house,  saw-mill ;  Hugh  Brady,  one  lot  improved,  profession  ; 
Thomas  Barr,  house  and  lot,  outlet,  lot  improved ;  John  Brownlee, 
house  and  lot,  printing-office ;  Samuel  M.  Bell,  David  Bittenbenner 
(single  man),  Wakefield  Corbett  (minor),  one  patent-lever  watch ;  Bar- 
clay &  Hastings,  printing-office ;  Jesse  G.  Clark,  house  and  lot,  brick, 
tavern  stand,  lot  improved,  outlets  improved,  profession,  one  gold  watch, 
$50;  James  Corbett,  one  lot,  office,  justice  of  peace;  Levi  G.  Clover, 
house  and  lot,  lots,  outlets,  office  judgeship ;  Solomon  Chambers,  house 
and  lot ;  Joseph  Clements,  house  and  lot,  lots  improved  ;  Samuel  Craig, 
house  and  lot,  lot  improved  ;  James  Craig,  house  and  lot ;  Andrew  Craig 
(single  man),  Corbett  &  Barr,  house  and  lot,  inlot  and  smith-shop ; 
James  C.  Coleman,  William  F.  Clark  (single  man),  inlot,  one  lever 
watch,  $35  ;  George  Darr,  Joseph  Deering  (single  man),  Hugh  Dowling 
(single  man),  George  Darling,  house  and  lot ;  Lewis  B.  Dunham,  house 
and  lot,  outlet,  profession,  one  pleasure  carriage,  $30  ;  Daniel  Dunkle- 
burg  (single  man),  David  Deering  (single  man),  profession,  one  lever 
watch,  $35  ;  John  Dougherty,  house  and  lots  (tavern),  house  and  lots 
(brick),  house  and  lots,  inlot  improved,  inlots,  one  gold  watch,  $45  ; 
James  Dowling,  profession ;  Jared  B.  Evans,  four  lots  and  houses  and 
stables,  eight  lots ;  Samuel  Espy,  house  and  lot ;  Charles  Evans,  house 
and  lot,  brick,  main  street ;  Evan  Evans,  John  Gallagher,  lot  improved, 
office  justice  of  peace,  outlot ;  Enoch  Hall,  house  and  lot ;  William 
Fleming  (single  man),  John  Hutchison,  house,  lot,  and  shop  ;  Joseph 
Henderson,  house  and  one  and  two-thirds  lots;  John  Hastings,  occupa- 
tion, one  lever  watch,  $35  ;  Jamison  Hendricks,  occupation ;  James 
Hall  estate,  house  and  lot,  outlot ;  Joseph  Hughes,  house  and  lot ; 

404 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

George  Irwin,  David  B.  Jenks,  house  and  two  lots,  profession ;  William 
Jack,  house  and  one-half  lot,  house  and  lot,  inlots,  inlots  improved, 
outlets;  William  P.  Jenks,  Sr.,  Samuel  H.  Lucas,  house  and  lot,  one 
gold  watch,  $40 ;  Thomas  Lucas,  house  and  lot,  inlot  improved,  pro- 
fession;  John  Matson,  Jr.,  house  and  lot;  Uriah  Matson,  house  and  lot, 
James  C.  Matson,  Joseph  McAfee,  inlot  improved,  outlets  improved: 
Benjamin  McCreight,  house  and  lot,  brick,  partly  finished,  house  and 
lot,  four  lots  ;  Geo.  McLaughlin  (single  man),  house  and  lots,  lot  im- 
proved ;  William  McCandless  (single  man),  Robert  Matson  (single  man), 
John  McCrea,  office  prothonotary ;  George  Porter,  house  and  two  lots ; 
John  Richards,  occupation,  one  gold  watch,  $75  ;  John  Ramsey,  house 
and  lot ;  William  Rogers,  occupation  ;  Alexander  Scott,  Jr.  (single  man), 
Philip  Schrader,  house  and  t\vo  lots  ;  John  Smith,  house  and  one-half  lot, 
tavern,  outlot;  Daniel  Smith,  house  and  lot;  Gabriel  Vastbinder,  inlot 
improved ;  George  Wilson  (single  man),  William  Wilkins  (single  man), 
one  pleasure  carriage ;  Thomas  Wilkins,  James  C.  Wilson  (single  man), 
watch,  value  of  $25  ;  Wilkins  &  Irwin,  one  and  one-half  lots  and  house, 
tan-yard  and  house ;  Michael  Woods,  Adam  Goodman,  T.  B.  McClellan, 
house  and  lot,  lot  improved  ;  Ephraim  Washburn,  occupation  ;  Alexander 
Scott,  Sr.,  lot  improved;  George  Scott  (single  man),  Wm.  A.  Sloan, 
house  and  lot,  lot  improved ;  Samuel  Truby,  house  and  lot,  lot  im- 
proved :  John  Templeton,  house  and  lot ;  James  Humphrey  (single  man). 

GASKILL. 

Organized  in  1842,  and  was  taken  from  Young.  Gaskill  township 
was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Clearfield  County  line,  on  the  south  by 
the  Indiana  County  line,  and  on  the  west  and  north  by  Young  township. 

PIONEERS   IN    GASKILL   TOWNSHIP   AS    PER   ASSESSMENT   IN    1842. 

Names  of  Taxables. — Levi  Anthony,  unimproved  land  judgments,  §38 ; 
Henry  Bowman,  Philip  Bowers,  Andrew  Bovvers,  John  Bowers,  Eli  Bow- 
ers, Henry  &:  Samuel  Beam,  Calvin  Brooks,  William  Brooks,  Peter  Bu- 
chite,  George  Gulp,  John  Gary,  Daniel  Coffman,  John  Coffman,  Oliver 
Gathers,  Joseph  Cofflett,  Abraham  Cofflett,  Jacob  Cofflett  (single  man), 
Josiah  Covert,  John  Douthett  estate,  Francis  Doros,  John  Deamer,  James 
Dickey,  Alexander  Dickey,  Thomas  Davis,  Josiah  Davis,  George  Gregg, 
David  Henry,  John  Hoover,  Joseph  Hoover,  Sally  Hess,  Rufus  Jorley, 
Frederick  Kuhuley,  Thomas  Kerr,  one  promissory  note,  $20 ;  George 
Keller,  occupation ;  Joseph  Keller,  Abraham  Keller,  Alexander  Lyons, 
Henry  Lot,  Francis  Leech,  George  Leech,  occupation ;  Abraham  Lud- 
wick,  George  Ludwick,  Elizabeth  Ludwick,  John  Long,  Andrew  Mc- 
Creight, Sharp  McCreight,  James  McCreight  (single  man),  Henry  Miller, 
mason ;  John  Miller,  George  Miller,  Henry  Miller,  farmer  :  William  Mc- 
Elheny,  George  Pifer  (single  man),  John  Pifer,  Jonas  Pifer,  Henry  &  John 

405 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

D.  Philipi,  Samuel  Pershing,  Adam  Quigley,  John  Rider,  George  Rhodes, 
Jacob  Smith,  Sr.,  Jacob  Smith,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Stouse,  James  Solesley, 
Samuel  Smith,  Adam  States,  Henry  Sprague,  Ashel  Sprague,  Milton 
Sprague,  carpenter;  Thomas  Thompson,  Adam  Wise,  Jacob  Weaver; 
Joseph  Wilson,  Richard  Waimvright,  George  Wainwright,  William  Wil- 
liams, James  Williams,  Adam  Yohey,  Henry  Yohey,  fcamuel  Yohey 
(single  man),  Samuel  Zufall,  one  saw- mill. 

WARSAW. 

Organized  in  1842,  and  was  taken  from  Pine  Creek.  Warsaw  was 
bounded  by  Snyder  and  Washington  on  the  east,  by  Ridgeway  on  the 
north,  Eldred  on  the  west,  and  Pine  Creek  on  the  south. 

PIONEERS    IN    WARSAW    TOWNSHIP    AS    PER   ASSESSMENT    IN    1843. 

Names  of  Taxables. — William  Anderson,  John  Alexander,  Gilbert 
Burrows,  Ira  Bronson.  John  Bell,  John  W.  Baum,  Joseph  Buell,  Na- 
thaniel Butler,  Philo  Bowdish,  David  Butler,  Bartholomew  Cavinore, 

—  Chapman,  one  cow  and  trade ;  Peter  Chamberlin,  Elihu  Clark,  David 
Carlton,  Sarah  Dixon,  John  Dill,  Thomas  Dixon,  Jared  A.  Evans, 
Thomas  Ewing,  John  Fleming,  George  Frederick,  Aaron  Fuller,  Milton 
Gibbs,  William  Gray,  Francis  Goodar,  Miron  Gibbs,  William  Humphrey, 
Matthew  Humphrey,  Philip  Heterick,  Samuel  Howe,  Joel  Howe,  Elijah 
Heath,  James  K.  Huffman,  George  Hunter,  John  Heterick,  Joseph  E. 
Hannah,  Joseph  Hoey,  Davis  Ingraham,  Eli  I.  Irvin,  William  Jack, 
Milton  Johnson,  Henry  Keys,  William  Long,  Michael  Long,  Sarah  Ann 
Lithgow,  Josiah  Loomis,  Sarah  McCormick,  Thomas  McCormiek,  David 
McCormick.  Jr.,  one  silver  watch;  James  &  John  Moorhead,  David 
Moorhead,  Joseph  McConnell,  Matthew  Metcalf,  one  silver  watch ;  Wil- 
liam and  James  McElvain,  Asa  Morey,  Jacob  Moore,  Mundale  Metcalf, 
Ozias  P.  Mather,  Robert  Montgomery,  Andrew  McCormick,  Samuel  P. 
McCormick,  Findley  McCormick,  one  silver  watch ;  David  McCormick, 
Sr. ,  Thomas  McWilliams,  Elnathan  Marsh,  Charles  Munger,  Nathan 
Perrin,  John  M.  Phelps,  Arad  Pearsall,  trade ,  John  Pearsall,  Solomon 
Riggs,  George  Russell,  William  R.  Richards,  two  saw-mills,  one  silver 
watch;  Peter  Richards,  Sr.,  Peter  Richards,  Jr.,  Abraham  Rufsnyder, 
William  Russell,  John  N.  Riggs,  Davis  E.  Riggs,  James  L.  L.  Riggs, 
Daniel  Snyder,  Eli  Snyder,  Abraham  Snyder,  Nathan  Snyder,  Samuel 
Shul,  one  saw-mill  and  house  ;  Moses  B.  St.  John,  Gideon  Trumbull, 
Isaac  Temple,  Jacob  Yastbinder,  Sr.,  Joshua  Vandevort,  Sr.,  Jacob  Vast- 
binder,  Jr.  (single  man),  John  Vastbinder,  Andrew  Vastbinder,  Abram 
Vandevort,  Levi  Vandevort,  Joshua  Vandevort,  Jr.,  Peter  Vastbinder, 
Tames  A.  Wilkins.  John  J.  Wilson,  Isaac  Walker,  John  Wakefield,  John 
Walker,  Solomon  Wales,  William  Weeks,  John  R.  Wilkins,  Galbraith 
Wilson,  Jeremiah  Wilson,  one  tannery ;  Hiram  Wilson. 

406 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


PIONEER    NEWSPAPER    IN    THE  WEST PIONEER    NEWSPAPER    IN  THE  COUNTY 

TERMS — EARLY    MARKET  —  OTHER    PAPERS. 

PREYIOUS  to  1793  there  were  no  postal  or  post-office  facilities.  Letters 
and  papers  had  to  be  sent  with  friends,  neighbors,  or  by  special  carriers. 
The  first  newspaper  started  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  was  the  Pitts- 
burg  Gazette.  It  was  published  by  John  Scull,  and  issued  in  1786.  It 
was  distributed  to  patrons  by  special  carriers.  The  pioneer  newspaper 
for  Jefferson  County  was  published  in  Indiana,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  es- 
tablished in  1826  It  was  a  four-column  paper,  printed  on  paper  eleven 
inches  wide  and  seventeen  inches  long.  I  have  No.  13  of  vol.  i.,  and 
reprint  here  from  it, — viz.  : 

THE    AMERICAN, 

AND 

INDIANA   &   JEFFERSON    REPUBLICAN. 

"  He  is  a  freeman  whom  the  truth  makes  free  and  all  are  slaves  besides." — COWPER. 

ALEXANDER  T.  MOORHEAD,  PROPRIETOR,  AND  EDITED  BY  JAMES  MOORHEAD. 


NEW  SERIES — VOL.  I. 


MONDAY,  MAY  22,  1826. 


No.  13. 


PRINTED   BY 

WM.   MOORHEAD, 
in  the  frame  house  next  door  to  Mr. 
Jos.    Thompson,    Chair    Maker    and 
Painter, 

North  of  the  Court  House, 
Water  Street,  Indiana,  Pa. 


Terms  of  Publication. 

THE  AMERICAN.  AND  INDI- 
ANA AND  JEFFERSON  RE- 
PUBLICAN wili  be  publuhed  every 
Monday,  at  two  dollars  per  annum, 
exclusive  of  postage ;  and  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents,  including  postage, 
payable  half  yearly  in  advance. 

No  subscription  taken  for  a  shoner 
period  than  six  months,  and  no  with- 
drawal whilst  in  arrears. 

A  failure  to  notify  an  intention  to 
discontinue  at  the  end  of  six  months 
is  considered  a  new  engagement. 

Advertisements  will  be  inserted  at 
the  rate  of  ONK  DOLLAR  per 
square  for  the  three  first  insertions, 
and  TWENTY-FIVE  cents  for  every 
continuance ;  those  of  greaier  length 
in  proportion. 

All  orders  directed  to  the  Editor 
must  be  post  paid  or  they  cannot  re- 
ceive attention. 

GRAIN,  RAGS.  BEES-WAX,  OR 
TALLOW,  will  be  taken  in  payment 
of  subscription,  if  paid  within  the 
current  year. 


40" 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 
Inside  and  local  column  : 


THE   AMERICAN. 

INDIANA: 
MONDAY,  MAY  22,  1826. 

The  price  of  lumber  by  retail  as  advertised 
by  the  Diamond  Mills,  March  6th,  1826. 

Bill    of    Price    of    Pine    BOARDS,    and 
SCANTLING  at  the  MILLS. 
Inch  boards  price  per  loo  feet  $0.80 

^  inch         do  do  0.75 

y2  inch          do  do  0.70 

2  inch  plank  (selected)  0.50 
\l/2  inch               (do)  1.25 

3  inch  (do)  2.00 
2  inch  common  plank   for  barn   or 

stable  floors  1.20 

Scantling  for  Joists,  &c.  &c.  2^ 
inches  by  10,  running  measure  per 
100  feet.  1.30 

3  inches  by  8,  per  100  feet  l-37/4 

3  inches  by  7,          do  1.25 

3  inches  by  5,  (selected)  1.25 

3  inches  by  4,       (do)  1-12^ 

5  inches  by  5,       (do)  1.50 

Scantling  for  Rafters  in  proportion. 
Lath  for  palings  &c.  per  100  feet  0.26 

Selected  boards  of  the  best  timber 

for  Sash,  or  other  particular  uses         i.oo 
Purchasers  are  invited  to  give  us  a  call.         . 
ROBERT   MITCHELL, 
JAMES    HAMILTON, 
A.  T.  MOORHEAD. 

A  common  advertisement  of  those  days  as  found  in  the  above  paper : 

"Six  Cents  Reward. 

"  RAN  away  from  the  residence  of  his  father, 
in  Green  Township,  Indiana  County, 

SIMON   CONNER, 

without  any  just  cause ;  I  therefore  forbid 
any  person  from  harboring  said  boy,  or  the 
law  will  be  rigidly  enforced  against  them. 
He  had  on  when  he  absconded  a  drab  coat 
and  pantaloons,  and  other  clothing;  one  fur 
and  one  wool  hat.  The  above  reward  and 
all  reasonable  expenses  paid  if  brought  home. 

JOHN   CONNERS." 
May  22,  1826. 

The  following  market  report  is  taken  from  the  Blairsville  Record  and 
Conemaugh  Reporter,  dated  February  18,  1830,  published  by  L.  McFar- 
land  : 

"Butter,  per  pound,  n  cents  ;  bacon,  per  pound,  6  and  7 ;  bags,  37 
and  62  ;  beans,  per  bushel,  87  and  $1.00  ;  boards,  pine,  per  100  feet,  $1.50 

408 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  $1.60  ;  coal,  per  bushel,  2  and  3  ;  candles,  per  pound,  10  and  10^  ; 
cheese,  per  pound,  7  and  8;  eggs,  per  dozen,  12^;  flour,  per  barrel, 
$5  and  $5-5°;  featners,  per  pound,  30  ;  wheat,  per  bushel,  70  and  80; 
rye,  per  bushel,  40  and  50  ;  corn,  per  bushel,  40  and  50  ;  oats,  per  bushel, 
31  and  37;  sole  leather,  per  pound,  23  and  26;  lard,  per  pound,  5; 
pork,  fresh,  per  pound,  3  and  3^  ;  potatoes,  per  bushel,  25  ;  salt,  per 
barrel,  $2.50;  wool,  per  pound,  13  and  33;  whiskey,  per  gallon,  27 
and  30. 

"  PITTSBURGH,  PENN'A,  March  4th,  1834. 

"  PRICES    CURRENT. 

Wheat  per  bushel 65  and  70  cents. 

Rye        "        "         50  and  56     " 

Corn       "       "         45  and  59     " 

Oats        "       "         31  and  33     " 

Wheat  flour  per  barrel $3. 

Buckwheat  flour  per  hundredweight $2.50  and  $3. 

Flaxseed  per  bushel 90  certs  to  $i. 

Dried  apples  per  bushel 40  and  50  cents. 

"      peaches $i. 

Feathers  per  pound 33  and  40  cents. 

Rag*          "       "          5  and  5^      " 

Wool          "       "          30  cents. 

Spanish  hides  per  pound 16  and  19  cents. 

Green        "       "        "          5  cents. 

Beeswax  per  pound 16  and  18  cents. 

Havana  coffee  per  pound 14  and  14^  cents. 

Rio  "        "       "         15^  and  17      " 

Java  "        "       •'         16  and  18  cents. 

Whiskey  per  gallon 23  and  25     " 

— Copied  from  the  Olive  Branch,  Freeport,  Pennsylvania,  April  26,  1834, 
vol.  i.,  No.  30. 

In  the  year  1832,  John  J.  Y.  Thompson  established  in  Brookville, 
Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  issued  the  first  number  of  the 
pioneer  paper  within  the  confines  of  the  county.  This  paper  was  printed 
on  coarse  paper,  thirteen  inches  wide  and  twenty  inches  long.  The 
terms  of  subscription  were  the  same  as  printed  for  the  American.  In 
politics  it  was  Democratic.  In  1833,  Thomas  Reid  purchased  a  half 
interest  in  the  establishment.  The  paper  then  was  published  as  a  neu- 
tral or  independent,  and  still  called  Gazette.  Thompson  and  Reid  not 
agreeing,  Reid  retired,  and  Thompson  and  James  P.  Blair  continued  the 
publication. 

In  1833,  Thompson  disposed  of  his  interest  to  Dr.  R.  K.  Scott,  and 
the  firm  became  Blair  &  Scott.  They  changed  the  name  to  Jeffersonian, 
and  in  politics  it  was  Democratic.  On  February  27,  1834,  Blair  &  Scott 
sold  out  to  George  R.  Barrett,  who  published  it  as  the  Jeffersonian 
for  one  year.  It  was  printed  and  published  each  week  on  Thursday,  and 

27  409 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

on  the  same  terms  as  the  Indiana  American.  The  pioneer  printing  office 
under  all  these  parties,  except  Thompson,  was  in  a  one  story-and-a-half 
frame  building,  unpainted,  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Pickering  Streets, 
opposite  the  old,  and  now  the  new,  court-house.  Matson's  brick  block 
is  now  located  on  the  ground.  For  years  this  little  office,  as  well  as  the 
village,  which  was  named  Brookville  by  Joseph  Barnett,  the  patriarch  of 
the  county,  was  surrounded  by  a  boundless  forest,  the  tall  and  lofty  pines 


J.  J.  Y.  Thompson,  pioneer  publisher  of  paper. 

in  the  immediate  vicinity  towering  up  towards  the  clouds,  obscuring  the 
sun's  rays  until  noontide,  while  nightly  revels  of  hungry  wolves  awakened 
the  pioneer  in  his  cabin.  Next  Jesse  G.  Clark  and  Blair  bought  and  ran 
the  [paper  for  six  months,  at  which  time  James  H.  Laverty  and  James 
McCrackin  bought  and  published  the  paper  until  1836.  At  this  time 
Laverty  retired,  and  McCrackin  changed  the  name  to  the  Brookville  Re- 
publican, and  continued  the  publication  until  January  i,  1839,  when  he 
removed  with^his  paper  from  the  county. 

Copy  of  George  R.  Barrett's  indenture,  the  man  who  published  the 
Jlrookville  Jeffersonian  in  1834: 

410 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"Article  of  agreement  made  and  concluded  this  first  day  of  Septem- 
ber, eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one,  between  John  Bigler,  of  the 
borough  of  Bellefonte,  Centre  County,  on  the  one  part,  and  Daniel 
Barrett,  of  Clearfield  County,  on  the  other  part. 

"The  said  John  Bigler,  printer,  doth  agree  to  teach  George  Barrett, 
son  of  the  said  Daniel,  the  art  and  mystery  of  printing ;  and  during  the 
period  that  the  said  George  shall  so  live  with  him  the  said  Bigler  is  to 


Hon.  George  R.  Barrett,  editor  of  paper. 


board  and  clothe  said  George,  and  during  his  time  give  him  one-quarter 
of  day  schooling,  one  quarter  night  schooling,  and  when  free  give  the 
said  George  a  good  suit  of  clothes,  to  be  new  at  that  time. 

"And  the  said  Daniel  doth  hereby  covenant  and  agree  that  the  said 
George  shall  remain  with  the  said  Bigler  for  the  term  of  three  years  and 
six  months  from  the  date  of  these  presents,  and  comport  himself  in  such 
manner  as  is  the  duty  of  an  apprentice  to  a  master. 

"JOHN  BIGLER, 

DANIEL  BARRETT. 

"  Witness  present — FRANKLIN  B.  SMITH." 

411 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  June,  1838,  Thomas  Hastings  and  son  started  and  published  in 
Brookville  a  new  paper  called  the  Backwoodsman.  In  1841,  Colonel 
William  Jack  bought  this  paper  and  had  it  published  by  George  F. 
Humes.  This  was  not  a  success,  and  Humes,  in  a  valedictory  to  his 
patrons,  told  them  to  go  to  h — 11  and  he  would  go  to  Texas.  In  1843 
the  paper  was  owned  and  published  by  David  Barclay  and  Barton  T. 
Hastings.  In  a  short  time  Barclay  retired  and  Hastings  continued  the 
publication.  Those  papers  were  all  printed  on  the  old  Ramage  or 
Franklin  press,  and  every  publisher  made  his  own  "roller"  out  of  glue 
and  molasses,  in  the  proportion  of  a  pound  of  glue  to  a  pint  of  molasses. 
In  Brookville  the  "  youngest  devil"  in  the  office  carried  to  the  residence 
of  each  subscriber  his  or  her  paper.  The  boy  who  delivered  these  papers 
was  called  the  "carrier."  Each  New  Year's  day  this  carrier  would  have 
an  address  in  poetry,  written  by  some  local  bard,  recounting  the  events  of 
the  year  just  closed.  This  New  Year's  address  he  offered  for  sale  to  his 
patrons. 

"ADDRESS  TO  HIS  PATRONS  BY  THE  CARRIER  OF  THE  BROOKVILLE 
DEMOCRAT-REPUBLICAN,  JANUARY    i,  1837. 

"  Here  I  come,  the  '  little  herald'  of  our  town, 
So  early  in  the  morning,  to  prance  the  streets  around, 
Bringing  to  you  news  from  near  and  far, 
Of  murder,  marriage,  death,  and  war ; 
Through  the  bleak  winter's  snow-storm, 
Through  rain,  hail,  and  weather  of  every  form, 
I  my  weekly  courses  round  to  your  house  run, 
As  regularly  as  the  bright  and  unvarying  sun ; 
And  since  I  my  first  visit  here  have  made, 
Changes  many  and  strange,  it  is  said, 
Have  fallen  to  the  poor  creature  man  : 
To  some,  many  thousands  is  a  clan. 

"  But  since  I  have  thus  taken  upon  me 
To  be  merry  and  busy  as  a  honey-bee, 
You  will  please  bear  with  me  awhile, — 
I  will  tell  you  of  wars  strange  and  vile, 
Which,  within  twelve  months,  have  taken  place, 
On  Texas's  fair  soil,  by  the  Mexican  race, 
Who,  like  bloody  monsters  and  fiend, 
Butcher'd  man,  woman,  and  child. 
Brave  Crockett,  like  a  hero  has  a  fallen, 
Far  in  Texas,  while  the  Mexican  mailing. 
His  fame,  may  it  be  handed  down, 
Like  the  never-fading  laurels  of  a  crown. 
May  a  lasting  tribute  be  fully  paid 
To  him  that  low  in  the  Alamo  was  laid ; 
But,  the  commander,  Santa  Anna,  soon  in  snare, 
Was  taken  by  Houston  and  his  men  of  war ; 
412 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  chains  and  fetters  he  long  lay, 

Now  turned  at  liberty,  they  say. 

To  Washington  in  haste  he  comes, 

There  in  its  lofty  and  pure  domes, 

To  acknowledge  TEXAS  to  be  at  liberty; 

And  that  she  shall  no  longer  fear  he, 

In  the  presence  of  Jackson,  noble  and  brave, 

To  declare  her  free  as  the  sea-rolling  wave. 


;  Another  President  has  been  made, 
MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  it  is  truly  said, 
Will  take  this  high  nation's  reins, 
Will,  on  the  fourth,  if  the  Lord  deigns, 
Of  March  next  President  be, 
Over  this  great  nation  of  Liberty; 
While  Johnston,  of  Kentucky  great, 
Yet  has  to  stand  before  the  Senate. 


;  Now  to  you,  fair  lasses,  a  word. 
I  will  speak  to  you  of  neither  famine  nor  sword, 
But  of  plenty  and  happiness,  full  and  free, 
Around  well-furnished  tables  of  tea. 
Leap  year  has  taken  its  flight, 
And  the  bachelors  are  glad  of  the  sight; 
Beaus  you  will  soon  have  in  full  store, 
Since  you  have  courted  them  no  more ; 
But  I  would  advise  and  warn  you, 
To  beware  lest  they  despise  and  scorn  you, 
That  you  pass  not  sweet  twenty- five, 
In  single  blessedness  to  live. 
You  will  please  take  this  friendly  warning, 
And  I  will  bid  you  a  good-morning. 

1  Old  maids,  like  to  have  forgotten  you  I  had ; 
Your  condition  is  surprisingly  bad ; 
Next  to  an  old  bachelor's  dreadful  state 
I  deplore  your  wonderfully  hard  fate. 
But  cheer  up,  ye  lovely  old  dames, 
Husbands  you  shall  have  in  picture-frames. 


1  But  of  all  IMPS  I  am  the  completes!, 
Of  all  patrons  you  are  the  neatest, 
All  so  very  kind,  loving,  and  civil 
To  your  young  friend,  the  printer's  devil ; 
Then  take  it  not  as  impudent  of  me, 
Little,  poor,  and  despised  you  see, 
To  wish  you  a  happy  New  "Year  ; 
And  you  need  not  feel  anxiety  or  fear, 
413 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

About  produce  that  may  fall  or  rise, 
If  you  just  hand  over  to  me  TWENTY-FIVE. 
To  do  this  you  may  not  be  willing, 
Then  extend  unto  me  but  one  shilling. 

"  CARRIER. 
"Republican  Office,  BROOKVILLE,  January  I,  1837." 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

MILITIA   AND    TOWNSHIPS. 

PIONEER    MILITIA    REGIMENT. 

OUR  pioneer  militia  regiment  was  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth, 
Second  Brigade,  Fifteenth  Division,  Pennsylvania  Militia. 

The  first  reference  I  can  find  of  a  militia  company  was  in  what  is 
now  Washington  township.  I  am  unable  to  give  any  further  information 
of  the  militia  at  that  date. 

"  ATTENTION. 

"The  enrolled  militia,  comprising  the  Seventh  Company,  First  Bat- 
talion, One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  Regiment,  Second  Brigade,  Fif- 
teenth Division,  Pennsylvania  Militia,  are  ordered  to  meet,  properly 
equipped  for  drilling,  at  the  home  of  Joseph  Keys,  in  Pine  Creek  town- 
ship, on  the  first  Monday  of  May  next,  at  the  hour  often  o'clock  of  said 
day. 

"  JOHN  WILSON,  Captain." 

April  10,  1834. 

The  lieutenants  of  this  company  were  Henry  Keys  and  Oliver  Mc- 
Clelland. 

Our  battalion  seems  to  have  been  comprised  of  five  companies,  formed 
part  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty- fifth  Regiment,  and  belonged  to  the 
Fifteenth  Division.  The  regiment  was  composed  of  two  battalions,  one 
in  Jefferson,  and  the  division  was  composed  of  the  counties  of  Allegheny, 
Armstrong,  Indiana,  and  Jefferson.  William  F.  Johnston,  of  Kittanning, 
afterwards  governor  of  the  State,  was  the  colonel ;  Alexander  McKnight 
(my  father),  of  Brookville,  was  lieutenant-colonel ;  and  William  Rodgers, 
of  Brookville,  was  major. 

These  regimental  officers  were  commissioned  August  3,  1835,  for 
seven  years,  or  during  good  behavior. 

The  companies  were  numbered,  "first,"  "second,"  etc.,  instead  of 
being  designated  by  letters,  as  at  present 

414 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

OFFICIAL   FIRST   COMPANY. 

Pioneer  Militia  Company  of  Eldred  and  Barnett  Townships. — List  of 
the  voters  or  enrolled  men  of  the  First  Company  of  the  militia  of  Jeffer- 
son County,  Pennsylvania,  March  21,  1836: 

Thomas  Arthurs,  Jacob  Craft,  Henry  M.  R.  Clark,  Daniel  Elgin, 
John  West,  Joseph  B.  Graham,  Nathan  Phipps. 

At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Arthurs,  on  the  2ist  of 
March,  1836,  John  West  was  elected  captain,  Nathan  Phipps  was  elected 
first  lieutenant,  and  Joseph  B.  Graham  second  lieutenant. 

Pioneer  Militia  Officers  of  the  Third  Company,  for  the  Township  of 
Perry. — At  an  election  held  on  the  2ist  of  March,  1836,  at  the  house  of 
John  Sprankle,  the  following  officers  were  elected  : 

For  captain,  Clark  Kithcart  had  seven  votes. 

For  first  lieutenant,  William  Ferguson  had  seven  votes. 

For  second  lieutenant,  John  N.  Shaffer  had  seven  votes. 

Pioneer  Militia  Officers  of  the  Fourth  Company  of  Militia,  for  the 
Township  of  Young. — At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  A.  Weaver,  on 
March  21,  1836,  the  following  officers  were  elected  : 

For  captain,  William  Clawson  had  twelve  votes. 

For  first  lieutenant,  John  Drum  had  eleven  votes. 

For  second  lieutenant,  James  Torrence  had  ten  votes. 

Pioneer  Militia  Company ',  Sixth  Company,  for  the  Township  of  Rose. — 
At  an  election  held  March  21,  1836,  at  the  house  of  Alonzo  Baldwin, 
in  the  township  of  Rose,  for  company  officers  for  the  Sixth  Company  of 
the  Jefferson  County  Militia,  Second  Brigade,  and  Fifteenth  Division  : 

For  captain,  Isaac  Mcllvaine  had  thirteen  votes. 

For  captain,  Christopher  Barr  had  one  vote. 

For  first  lieutenant,  Enoch  Hall  had  seven  votes. 

For  first  lieutenant,  John  Heterick  had  seven  votes. 

For  second  lieutenant,  John  Lucas,  Jr. ,  had  nine  votes. 

For  second  lieutenant,  William  Godfrey  had  five  votes. 

J.  J.  Y.  THOMPSON,  Clerk. 

Voters  on  enrollment : 

Christopher  Barr,  Andrew  Mcllvaine,  William  Godfrey,  John  Wil- 
liams, George  McAninch,  John  Heterick,  Isaac  Mcllvaine,  Hiram  Carrier, 
Andrew  Mcllvaine,  Jr.,  Philip  Burns,  William  McAninch,  David  Moore, 
John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Alonzo  Baldwin. 

Pioneer  Militia  Company  of  Brookville. — At  an  election  held  March 
21,  1836,  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Hastings,  inn-keeper  in  Brookville,  for 
the  purpose  of  electing  officers  for  the  Seventh  Company  of  the  Jefferson 
County  Battalion,  Pennsylvania  Militia,  the  following  members  polled 
their  ballots  : 

Job  McCreight,  Robert  Barr,  Henry  Dull,  William  McGarey,  William 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Barr,  Thomas  Craddick,  Jr.,  Andrew  C.  Vastbinder,  Jared  B.  Evans, 
Thomas  Hastings,  John  Gallagher,  John  Brownlee,  Samuel  Craig,  Cephas 
J.  Dunham,  John  Beck,  Thomas  Barr,  Daniel  Coder,  Isaac  Hallen,  Jo- 
seph Sharp,  Charles  A.  Wells,  Joseph  Clements,  Jesse  G.  Clark,  Benja- 
min McCreight,  Hugh  Brady,  Samuel  Truby,  William  Rodgers,  Arad 
Pearsall,  Alexander  C.  Hamilton,  William  Kelso,  James  Craig,  Andrew 
C.  Hall,  Richard  Arthurs,  James  Lucas,  Caleb  A.  Alexander,  James 
McCracken,  John  Barnett,  James  Templeton,  Henry  Smith. 

William  Kelso  was  elected  captain,  Daniel  Coder  first  lieutenant,  and 
Henry  Smith  second  lieutenant. 

The  following  notice,  dated  November  17,  1836,  was  published  in 
the  Brookville  Republican  by  the  brigade  inspector,  as  required  by  law  : 

"An  appeal  for  the  First  Battalion,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth 
Regiment,  will  be  held  at  the  house  of  J.  Pierce,  in  the  borough  of 
Brookville,  on  Monday,  the  i2th  day  of  December  next.  The  field 
officers  of  said  battalion  are  requested  to  attend  for  the  purpose  of  hear- 
ing excuses  and  exonerating  constables,  etc.  Persons  interested  are 
requested  to  attend.  All  persons  having  claims  for  military  services  are 
requested  to  present  them  at  the  above  time  and  place. 

"  S.  S.  JAMISON,  Brigade-Inspector, 

"  Second  Bat.,  Fifteenth  Div.,  P.  M." 

The  pioneer  musters  and  reviews  were  held  either  at  Port  Barnett,  the 
McCullough  farm,  or  Samuel  Jones's  farm ;  also  on  what  is  now  Jackson 
Heber's  farm,  and  on  what  is  now  our  fair  grounds.  All  marching  was 
done  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle."  The  militia  carried  all  kinds  of 
weapons,  including  "corn-stalks,"  and  hence  were  called  the  "corn- 
stalk militia." 

The  militia  drills  ceased  in  this  State  about  1847  or  1848. 

Marching  was  in  single  file.  In  drill  it  was  "by  sections  of  two, 
march."  Instead  of  "  file  right"  or  "  file  left,"  it  was  "  right"  or  "left 
wheel."  Instead  of  "  front"  it  was  "  left  face."  The  Brookville  militia 
and  Jefferson  Blues  company  drilled  on  the  flat  now  covered  with  water 
by  Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co.  's  dam. 


VOLUNTEERS— THE  PIONEER  MILITARY  COMPANY— JEFFERSON 
BLUES— CONSTITUTION  OF  THAT  ORGANIZATION— MILITARY 
FOURTH  OF  JULY  CELEBRATION. 

As  near  as  I  can  learn,  the  pioneer  military  volunteer  company  in  the 
county  was  the  Jefferson  Blues.  This  body  of  men  was  organized  at 
Brookville  some  time  in  1836,  and  was  a  "  Volunteer  Rifle  Association." 

416 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  officers  were,  captain,  John  Wilson  ;  lieutenants,  William 
Kelso  and  Henry  Vastbinder ;  orderly  Sergeant,  Samuel  Chitister. 
Band  :  Samuel  Lucas,  fifer ;  Oliver  George,  snare  drummer ;  Evans  R. 
Brady,  bass  drummer. 

From  the  Brookville  Democrat- Republican  of  1837  I  quote  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  pioneer  military  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1776: 

"JEFFERSON  BLUES — ANNIVERSARY  CELEBRATION. 

"The  sixty-first  anniversary  of  American  Independence  was  cele- 
brated in  this  place  on  the  memorable  Fourth  by  the  Jefferson  Blues, 
commanded  by  Captain  John  Wilson,  together  with  the  citizens  of  Jef- 
ferson County,  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  the  occasion.  The  company  formed 
in  procession,  and  after  parading  in  the  streets  and  through  the  borough 
for  a  time,  adjourned  to  the  public  house  of  William  Clark,  Esq.,  where 
they  partook  of  a  sumptuous  repast,  served  up  in  his  best  style. 

"Dinner  over,  the  procession  marched  to  the  grove  southeast  of 
Brookville,  where  an  oration  was  spoken  by  Richard  Arthurs,  Esq.,  after 
which  the  following  toasts  were  drunk  : 

"  By  Captain  John  Wilson.  The  young  republic  of  Texas  :  may  she 
soon  be  united  into  the  confederacy  of  our  happy  Union,  and  with  her 
sound  the  trumpet  of  liberty. 

"  By  Lieutenant  Vastbinder.  The  heroes  of  the  army  and  navy  of 
the  last  war :  may  their  memories  be  cherished  while  the  earth  bears  a 
plant  or  the  sea  rolls  a  wave. 

"  By  Sergeant  Samuel  Chitister.  The  Jefferson  Blues:  may  they  have 
the  pleasure  of  being  commanded  hereafter  by  a  commander  of  their  own 
who  is  capable  of  performing  the  duties  assigned  him. 

"  By  Samuel  Miller.  The  Jefferson  Blues  :  it  is  now  about  one  year 
since  their  organization ;  it  it  is  hoped  that  hereafter  they  will  agree 
better,  and  become  a  respectable  volunteer  company. 

"  By  William  Clark.  The  North  Fork  Company:  may  they  last  as 
long  as  laurel  grows  green  or  I  keep  a  tavern  in  Brookville. 

"By  S.  Miller.  Carlton  B.  Curtis,  Esq.,  our  late  representative  in 
the  Legislature.  The  talent  and  ability  with  which  he  represented  us 
last  winter  insures  him  our  suffrage  for  another  term. 

"Sent  by  Levi  L.  Tate.  Universal  education,  the  railroad  to  in- 
ternal improvement :  may  it  go  ahead  and  prosper. 

"  By  Samuel  Lucas.  The  Jefferson  Blues  :  may  they  never  be  com- 
pelled to  slavery  while  the  soil  yields  fruit  or  the  ocean  rolls  a  wave. 

"  By  George  O.  George.  May  we  stand  firm  in  the  field  of  battle, 
undaunted  and  unshaken  by  the  toils  and  dangers  of  a  military  life. 

"By  Joseph  Chitister.  Free  and  independent  Blues:  may  love  and 
unity  prevail  among  us. 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"By  D.  Chitister.  Our  Constitution  :  may  we  all  fearlessly  support 
it  while  we  are  able  to  beat  a  drum  or  shoulder  our  arms. 

"  By  John  W.  Carr.  The  farmers  of  Jefferson  County  who  sold  their 
grain  out  of  the  county  last  winter :  may  they  have  the  pleasure  of 
living  on  potatoes  for  three  months. 

"  By  David  Vandyke.  The  Reform  Convention:  consists  of  many 
men,  many  minds,  and  I  believe  of  birds  of  various  kinds,  a  great  singing 
and  humming,  and  at  least  not  much  doing. 

"By  Thomas  Dixon.  The  people  of  Jefferson  County:  may  virtue, 
liberty,  independence,  ever  be  their  polar  star. 

"  By  George  Matthews.  The  volunteers  of  Pennsylvania  :  may  they 
have  but  one  object,  that  the  good  of  their  country. 

"  By  William  'W.  Stewart.  Daniel  Webster,  a  Democrat  and  Anti- 
Mason,  and  the  best  statesman  in  the  United  States :  may  he  be  chosen 
President  in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty. 

"  By  Thomas  Dixon.  Nicholas  Biddle,  Daniel  Webster,  Henry  Clay, 
and  others  will  find  they  have  '  barked  up  the  wrong  sapling'  in  their 
efforts  to  underrate  the  virtue  of  Old  Hickory  in  his  dealings  towards  the 
United  States  Bank. 

"  By  John  T.  Crow.  The  Jefferson  Blues  :  may  her  members  increase 
in  number  and  in  knowledge  of  military  tactics,  and  may  our  next  choice 
of  a  captain  result  in  the  selection  of  one  who  understands  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  military  duties. 

"By  U.  Matson.  Short  shoes  and  long  corns  to  be  the  enemies  of 
liberty. 

"By  J.  S.  McCullough.  May  the  Jefferson  Blues  be  as  gallant  as  the 
heroes  of  seventy-six  under  the  gallant  Washington. 

"  BY    THE    COMPANY. 

"The  Independence  of  the  United  States  made  the  Fourth  of  July 
sixty-one  years  ago.  Let  us  remember  our  leader  Washington  while  we 
volunteer. 

"The  captain  of  our  company:  thanks  to  you  for  your  good  per- 
formance this  day. 

"May  the  Jefferson  Blues  be  united  unanimously,  so  that  they  may 
understand  their  duty  to  defend  their  country. 

"  May  our  company  become  more  united  together,  and  encourage 
one  another  to  do  their  duty  here  and  hereafter. 

"The  hero  of  Tippecanoe:  may  his  name  be  handed  down  to  pos- 
terity in  letters  of  gold. 

"  (NOTE-QUERY. — Whether  were  the  toasts  drunk,  or  the  persons  by 
whom  they  were  given  ?  We  hope  not  the  latter. — EDITORS  Republican.y ' 

The  martial  bands  at  every  celebration  and  muster  kept  constantly 
beating  the  tune  of  all  tunes  that  delighted  the  pioneer, — viz. : 

418 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Yankee  Doodle  is  the  tune, 
Yankee  doodle  dandy ; 
How  we  made  the  redcoats  run 
At  Yankee  doodle  dandy  !" 

This  tune  was  sometimes  alternated  with  "The  Girl  I  Left  Behind 
Me." 

AGREEMENT  TO  FORM  COMPANY. 

"  The  subscribers,  whose  names  are  hereunto  affixed,  agree  to  form 
themselves  into  a  Volunteer  Rifle  Association,  the  name  of  which  shall  be 
the  'Jefferson  Blues,'  and  have  adopted  the  following  constitution  for 
our  government : 

"JEFFERSON  BLUES'  CONSTITUTION. 
("  Published  by  request.) 

"ARTICLE  i.  Uniform. — Citizen's  blue  coat,  white  pantaloons,  white 
vest,  red  belt,  black  hat,  with  red  scarf  trimmed  with  white  tape  or  cord, 
black  cockades,  white  plumes  with  red  tops,  and  black  leather  stocks  or 
handkerchiefs. 

"ARTICLE  2.  Time  of  Parade, — The  company  shall  parade  upon 
the  three  days  appointed  by  law,  fixing  upon  the  tenth  of  September  for 
the  third,  and  as  many  times  thereafter  as  a  majority  of  the  company 
shall  parade.  Notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  each  parade  shall  be  pub- 
licly given  by  the  orderly  sergeant  at  least  ten  days  previous  to  the  time 
of  the  parade. 

"  ARTICLE  3.  Fines. — The  fines  shall  be  as  follows  :  On  law  days,  for 
each  commissioned  officer  two  dollars,  for  non-commissioned  officer  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents,  and  privates  one  dollar,  and  on  days  appointed  by 
the  company  one-half  of  said  fine. 

"ARTICLE  4.  The  non-commissioned  officers  shall  be  elected  and 
act  during  good  behavior.  The  commissioned  officers  having  the 
power  to  remove  the  non  commissioned  officers  and  hold  another 
election,  the  officer  so  removed,  if  aggrieved,  may  appeal  to  the  com- 
pany. 

"  ARTICLE  5.  The  orderly  sergeant  shall  act  as  clerk  of  the  company, 
and  the  orderly  sergeant  shall  collect  all  fines,  etc. 

"ARTICLE  6.  The  commissioned  officers  shall  constitute  a  standing 
executive  committee  to  manage  all  the  concerns  of  the  company,  and 
court  of  appeals. 

"ARTICLE  7.  Signing  the  constitution  and  fulfilling  the  promises 
shall  constitute  a  membership  previous  to  the  organization,  after  which, 
in  addition  to  the  above,  every  applicant  shall  be  admitted  by  the  con- 
currence of  two-thirds  of  the  company. 

419 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"ARTICLE  8.  The  constitution  shall  not  be  altered  or  amended  ex- 
cept with  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  company. 

"Adopted  this  4th  day  of  July,  1836. 

"  JOHN  WILSON,  WILLIAM  KELSO, 

HENRY  VASTBINDER,  SAMUEL  CHITISTER, 

THOMAS  DIXON,  DAVID  CHITISTER, 

WILLIAM  DIXON,  DANIEL  CHITISTER, 

JOHN  DIXON,  JOSEPH  CHITISTER, 

JAMES  DIXON,  JAMES  MURPHY, 

DANIEL  LONG,  DAVID  MASON, 

WILLIAM  LONG,  WILLIAM  MASON, 

MICHAEL  LONG,  JACOB  MASON, 

JOHN  KNAPP,  BENJAMIN  MASON, 

JOSHUA  KNAPP,  JAMES  S.  McCuLLOUGH, 

SAMUEL  KNAPP,  WILLIAM  MCCULLOUGH, 

PAUL  VANDEVORT,  MOSES  KNAPP,  JR., 

DAVID  VANDEVORT,  DAVID  MOORE, 

JOSHUA  VANDEVORT,  JOHN  HETERICK." 
J.  B.  GRAHAM, 

"ATTENTION,  JEFFERSON  BLUES! 

"  Notice  is  hereby  given  that  an  Appeal  will  be  held  at  the  house  of 
William  Clark  on  Monday,  the  sixth  day  of  November  next,  when  those 
concerned  can  have  an  opportunity  of  attending.  Appeal  to  open  at  10 
o'clock. 

"  By  order  of  the  captain. 

"SAMUEL  CHITISTER,  O.  S. 
"  BROOKVILLE,  October  19,  1837." 

These  Blues  had  an  existence  of  seven  years. 

"  MILITIA    APPEAL. 

"An  appeal  for  the  First  Battalion,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth 
Regiment,  will  be  held  at  the  house  of  J.  Pierce,  in  the  borough  of 
Brookville,  on  Monday,  the  i2th  day  of  December  next.  The  field 
officers  of  said  battalion  are  requested  to  attend  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
excuses  and  exonerating  constables,  etc.  Persons  interested  are  requested 
to  attend. 

"  All  persons  having  claims  for  military  services  are  requested  to 
present  them  at  the  above  time  and  place. 

"  S.  S.  JAMISON,  Brigade  Inspector, 

"  Second  Bat.,  Fifteenth  Div.,P.  M. 

"  November  17,  1836." 

— Brookville  Democrat-Republican . 

420 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"THE    AMERICAN   BOY. 
"  A  POEM  OF  1836. 

"  '  Father,  look  up  and  see  that  flag, 

How  gracefully  it  flies  ; 
Those  pretty  stripes,  that  seem  to  be 
A  rainbow  in  the  skies.' 

"  '  It  is  your  country's  flag,  my  son, 

And  proudly  drinks  the  light, 
O'er  ocean's  wave — in  foreign  climes, 
A  symbol  of  our  might.' 

" '  Father,  what  fearful  voice  is  that, 
Like  thundering  of  the  clouds  ? 
\Vhy  do  the  people  wave  their  hats, 
And  rush  along  in  crowds  ?' 

"  '  It  is  the  noise  of  cannonry, 

The  glad  shout  of  the  free  ; 
This  is  a  day  to  memory  dear, — 
'Tis  freedom's  jubilee.' 

"  '  I  wish  that  I  was  now  a  man, 

I'd  fire  my  cannon  too, 
And  cheer  as  loudly  as  the  rest; 
But,  father,  why  don't  you?' 

"  '  I'm  getting  old  and  weak,  but  still 

My  heart  is  big  with  joy ;          . 
I've  witnessed  many  a  day  like  this ; 
Shout  you  aloud,  my  boy.' 

"  '  Hurrah  for  Freedom's  Jubilee  ! 

God  bless  our  native  land  ! 
And  may  I  live  to  hold  the  sword 
Of  Freedom  in  my  hand.' 

"  '  Well  done,  my  boy.    Grow  up  and  love 

The  land  that  gave  you  birth ; 
A  home  where  freedom  loves  to  dwell 
Is  Paradise  on  earth.' 

"J.  G.  H." 
— Baltimore  Chronicle. 

PINE   CREEK— THE   MOTHER   TOWNSHIP. 

Pine  Creek  in  the  Delaware  language  is  "  Cucoeu-harrue," — i.e.,  a 
pine  creek,  a  stream  flowing  through  pine  woods. 

This  township  was  established  by  an  act  of  Assembly  in  1806,  being 
the  first  and  only  township  in  the  county,  and  named  in  honor  of  Pine 
Creek  township,  Lycoming  County,  from  which  the  county  and  this  town- 

421 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

ship  were  taken.  This  township  was  the  mother  of  all  the  others,  and  its 
historic  reminiscences  are  all  commemorated  in  the  general  history  of  the 
county. 

The  resident  taxables  in  1807  were  23  ;  in  1814,  35  ;  in  1821,  in- 
cluding Perry  township,  161  ;  in  1828,  60;  in  1835,  103;  in  1842,  98. 
The  population  by  census  in  1810  was  161  ;  in  1820,  561  ;  this  also  in- 
cluded Perry  township;  in  1830,  not  obtained;  in  1840,  628. 

Though  the  county  was  organized  provisionally  in  1804,  there  seems 
to  have  been  no  records  kept  nor  any  elections  held  untill  1807. 

The  pioneer  election  district  in  the  county  and  in  Pine  Creek  town- 
ship, Jefferson  County,  was  created  by  an  act  creating  certain  election 
districts,  and  making  alterations  in  other  districts  already  enacted.  Ap- 
proved 3151  March,  A.D.  1806,  which  read  as  follows, — viz.,  Jefferson 
County  made  a  separate  district : 

"  SECTION  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  county  of  Jefferson  shall  be  a  separate  election  district,  and  the 
electors  thereof  shall  hold  their  general  elections  at  the  house  now  occu- 
pied by  Joseph  Barnett,  on  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  in  said  county." 

The  pioneer  election  returns  are  as  follows  : 

"  1807 — Jefferson  County.  At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Samuel 
Scott,  in  said  county,  on  Friday,  the  2oth  of  March,  A.D.  1807,  the  fol- 
lowing persons  were  duly  elected  : 

"  Supervisors,  John  Scott  had  eighteen  votes,  Peter  Jones  had  eigh- 
teen votes.  Signed,  Samuel  Scott,  Thomas  Lucas,  judges." 

"  1808 — At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Scott,  in  said 
county,  on  the  i8th  day  of  March,  A.D.  1808,  the  following  persons  were 
duly  elected  as  returned  below  : 

"  Supervisors,  John  Jones,  Alexander  McCoy,  were  duly  elected  ;  au- 
ditors, Samuel  Lucas,  Samuel  Scott,  Moses  Knapp,  and  Adam  Vastbinder 
were  duly  elected.  Signed,  Samuel  Scott,  John  Dixon,  judges." 

These  returns  are  as  copied  from  the  records  of  Indiana  County, 
where  the  returns  had  to  be  made,  this  county  then  being  under  the  legal 
jurisdiction  of  Indiana. 

In  June,  about  the  year  1818,  a  terrible  hail-storm  swept  through  this 
region  and  extended  its  ravages  several  miles,  killing  and  destroying  the 
largest  pine-trees,  leaving  them  standing  as  dead.  The  width  of  this 
storm  was  about  half  a  mile. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  1806,  there  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun. 
Fowls  went  to  roost  and  bees  hastened  to  their  hives.  The  pioneers 
and  Indians  were  greatly  alarmed. 

Between  the  hours  of  three  and  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
December  16,  1811,  two  distinct  shocks  of  earthquake  startled  the  pio- 
neers of  Jefferson  County.  The  violence  was  such  as  to  shake  their  log 
cabins. 

422 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  explorers  of  the  land  were  Andrew  Barnett  and  Samuel 
Scott,  in  1796. 

The  pioneer  settler  was  Joseph  Hutchison  and  wife  in  1798.  The 
patriarch  was  Joseph  Barnett,  who  settled  here  in  the  fall  of  1800.  The 
pioneer  birth  was  Rebecca  Barnett,  in  1802. 


Andrew  Barnett,  Jr. 

The  pioneer  marriage  was  Sarah  Barnett  to  Elisha  M.  Graham,  March 
30,  1807. 

The  pioneer  minister  of  the  gospel  to  visit  and  preach  was  a  Rev. 
Mr.  Greer,  a  friend  of  Joseph  Barnett.  He  came  on  a  visit  in  1801. 
He  remained  two  weeks,  and  preached  several  times.  He  returned  on  a 
visit  in  1802,  and  again  preached. 

The  pioneer  death  was  that  of  Andrew  Barnett,  in  the  fall  of  1797. 

423 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

He  was  buried  on  the  bank  of  Mill  Creek,  by  Samuel  Scott  and  two 
friendly  Indians,  and  to  this  day  no  man  knoweth  the  exact  place  of  his 
burial. 

The  second  family  to  follow  the  Barnetts  into  this  wilderness  was  Peter 
Jones,  from  Centre  County,  Pennsylvania.  He  came  in  1801.  In  the 
winter  of  1801,  Stephen  Roll,  August  Shultz,  and  a  negro  named  Fudge 
Van  Camp  started  on  foot  near  Easton  for  the  Barnett  settlement. 
When  they  struck  "  Meade's  trail,"  at  the  mouth  of  Anderson's  Creek, 
there  yet  remained  for  them  to  travel  thirty-three  miles  of  unbroken  wil- 
derness. They  were  foolish  enough  to  start  on  this  part  of  their  journey 
without  anything  to  eat  on  the  way.  After  they  started  it  snowed  all 
day  in  this  wilderness  until  the  snow  was  two  feet  deep.  Van  Camp  was 
a  large  and  powerful  man.  He  undertook  to  break  the  road  for  the  other 
two,  but  hunger  and  cold  overcame  him  when  within  a  mile  of  Barnett's, 
and  this  last  mile  he  had  to  make  on  his  hands  and  knees. 

He  reached  Barnett's  at  midnight,  half  frozen,  and  so  exhausted  as  to 
be  scarcely  able  to  tell  of  the  condition  of  his  two  companions.  A  rescue 
party  of  four  or  five  men  was  at  once  started.  Roll  was  met  a  few  rods 
from  the  house,  making  his  way  on  his  hands  and  knees.  Shultz  was  found 
some  two  miles  farther,  almost  frozen.  He  lost  several  toes  from  his  feet, 
and  eventually  died  from  this  exposure.  Roll  and  Van  Camp  lived  to  be 
old  men.  In  1802,  John,  William,  and  Jacob  Vastbinder  settled  on  what 
is  now  the  Ridgeway  road,  near  Kirkman  Post-Office.  In  the  year  1803, 
Ludwig  Long,  a  hunter,  settled  on  the  Ridgeway  road,  two  miles  from 
Brookville.  He  was  father  of  our  great  hunters,  Mike,  John,  Dan,  and 
William  Long.  He  started  the  first  distillery.  At  an  early  day  he 
moved  to  Ohio,  leaving  his  sons  here.  Jacob  Mason  and  Master  John 
Dixon  came  in  1802.  In  1805  or  1806,  John  Matson  settled  where  Robert 
now  lives. 

The  second  or  third  mill  built  in  the  county  was  at  the  head  of  what 
is  now  Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co. 's  mill  pond.  It  was  erected  by  Moses 
Knapp  in  1800.  In  the  thirties  the  Matsons  and  McCulloughs  erected 
mills  on  the  North  Fork  and  Mill  Creek.  These  were  only  mills  in 
name,  being  the  old  up-and-down  mills,  or  commonly  called  thunder- 
gust  mills.  The  mill  at  Bellport  was  erected  in  1830  by  Benjamin 
Bailey.  It  was  carried  away  in  a  flood,  and  then  John  J.  Y.  Thompson 
rebuilt  it  in  1838. 

The  pioneer  graveyard  in  the  county  was  located  on  the  property 
now  of  William  C.  Evans,  near  the  junction  of  the  Ridgeway  road  with 
the  pike.  I  found  this  graveyard  in  my  boyhood,  and  thought  they  were 
Indian  graves.  My  mother  told  me  its  history.  The  graves  are  now  lost 
and  the  grounds  desecrated.  The  second  graveyard  in  the  township  was 
laid  out  in  1842,  on  Nathaniel  Butler's  farm,  and  is  still  called  Butler's 
graveyard. 

424 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1816,  Cyrus,  Nathaniel,  and  David  Butler,  and  John  Lattimer  set- 
tled on  farms  near  the  Barnetts. 

Pioneer  efforts  to  secure  a  county  road  at  September  term,  1807,  of 
Indiana  Court : 

William  C.  Brady,  Thomas  Lucas,  Samuel  Scott,  James  McHenry, 
Captain  Hugh  Brady,  and  James  Johnston  were  appointed  to  lay  out  a 
road  from  Joseph  Barnett's,  on  Sandy  Lick  Creek,  Jefferson  County,  to 
Brady's  mill,  on  the  Little  Mahoning,  Indiana  County. 

The  pioneer  road  was  the  Indiana  and  Port  Barnett,  for  the  creation 
of  which  the  petition  of  a  number  of  citizens  of  Jefferson  County  and 
parts  of  Indiana  County  was  presented  to  the  Indiana  County  Court  at 
the  September  term,  1808.  The  points  of  the  road  were  from  Brady's 
mill,  on  Little  Mahoning  Creek,  Indiana  County,  to  Sandy  Lick  Creek, 
in  Jefferson  County  (Port  Barnett),  where  the  State  (Milesburg  and 
Waterford)  road  crosses  the  same.  The  Court  appointed  as  viewers 
Samuel  Lucas,  John  Jones,  Moses  Knapp,  and  Samuel  Scott,  of  Jefferson 
County,  and  John  Park  and  John  Wier,  of  Indiana  County,  to  view  and 
make  a  report  at  the  next  term.  This  road  was  probably  built  in  1810. 

The  pioneer  justice  of  the  peace  was  Thomas  Lucas,  appointed  Janu- 
ary 1 6,  1809. 

The  early  settlers  to  erect  cabins  on  the  Indiana  road  in  Pine  Creek 
township  were  Joseph  Carr  in  1817,  Manuel  Reitz,  George  Gray,  and 
Samuel  McQuiston  in  1827,  John  Matthews  in  1830,  Elijah  Clark  in 
1833,  Andrew  Hunter  and  William  Wyley  in  1834,  and  Isaac  Swineford 
in  1835.  The  pioneer  school-house  in  this  settlement  was  built  in  1830  ; 
the  pioneer  graveyard  was  on  the  McCann  farm  in  1830. 

"  FINES  FOR  MISDEMEANORS. — In  the  early  days  of  the  county's  his- 
tory the  penalties  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  for  any 
offence  against  any  of  the  statutes  was  rigorously  enforced,  seemingly 
without  regard  to  the  social  standing  of  the  offender.  Sabbath-breaking, 
swearing,  and  intoxication  seem  to  have  been  the  sins  most  vigorously 
punished  by  the  arm  of  the  law.  In  an  old  docket,  opened  on  the 
1 5th  day  of  January,  1810,  by  Thomas  Lucas,  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace  of  Pine  Creek  township,  are  the  following  entries : 

(Copy.) 

"  '  (L.  S.)     JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  ss  : 

"  '  Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  seventh  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ten,  Gabriel  Puntus,  of  sd 
county,  is  convicted  before  me,  Thomas  Lucas,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace  in  and  for  sd  county,  going  to  and  from  mill  unnecessarily 
upon  the  sixth  of  May  instant,  being  the  Lord's  day,  commonly  Coled 
Sunday,  at  the  county  aforesaid,  contrary  to  the  Act  of  Assembly  in 

28  425 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Such  cases  made  and  provided,  and  I  do  adjudj  him  to  forfeit  for  the 
same  the  sum  of  four  dollars. 

"  '  Given  under  my  hand  the  day  and  year  aforesaid. 

"  'THOMAS  LUCAS.' 
(Copy.) 

"  '  COMMONWEALTH  vs.  JOHN  DIXON. 

"  '  (L.  S.)     JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  ss  : 

"'Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  i3th  day  of  January,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve,  John  Dixkson,  of 
Pine  Creek  township,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  is  convicted  before  me, 
Thomas  Lucas,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  in  and  for  sd  county,  of 
being  intoxicated  with  the  drink  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  for  cursing  one 
profane  curse,  in  these  words  :  "  God  dam,"  that  it  is  to  say  this  Day  at 
Pine  Creek  township,  aforesaid,  contrary  to  the  Act  of  General  Assembly 
in  such  cases  made  and  provided,  and  I  do  aguge  him  to  forfeit  for  the 
same  the  sum  of  sixty-seven  cents  for  each  offence. 

"  '  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  the  day  and  year  afore  s'd. 

" '  THOMAS  LUCAS. 

"  '  Justice's  Cost  35  cents;  Constable's  Cost  31  cents.' 

"  Lewis  Long  is  also  convicted  in  1815  for  'having  hunted  and  car- 
ried the  carcis  of  one  deer  on  the  23d  day  of  July  instant,  being  the 
Lord's  day,  commonly  Coled  Sunday,  up  Pine  Creek  township  aforesaid,' 
and  sentenced  to  pay  four  dollars  penalty. 

"  The  first  entry  in  this  old  docket  is  an  action  for  debt.  '  Thomas 
McCartney  vs.  Freedom  Stiles,  to  recover  on  a  promisory  note,  dated 
June  2oth,  1805,  for  $4. 25.' 

"  The  next  entry  is  an  action  of  surety  of  the  peace  : 

(Copy.) 

"  '  COMMONWEALTH  vs.  HENRY  VASTBINDER. 

"  'Surety  of  the  peace  and  good  behavour  on  oath  of  Fudge  Van 
Camp,  January  25th,  1810. 

"  '  Warrant  issued  January  25th,  1810. 

"  '  Fudge  Van  Camp,  principal,  tent,  in  $100,  to  appear,  &c.  Samuel 
Lucas,  (bail,)  tent,  in  $100,  to  prosicute,  &c.  referred  to  Samuel  Scott, 
John  Scott,  Elijah  M.  Graham,  Peter  Jones,  and  John  Matson. 

"'Justice's  Costs. — information  15  cents,  Warrant  15  cents,  2  recog- 
nizances 40  cents,  notice  to  refferees  15  cents,  One  Sum.  3  names  19 
cents,  One  Sum.  i  name  10  cents,  Swearing  3  witnesses  56  cents,  Five 
referees  35  cents,  Entering  rule  of  renewment  10  cents,  Constable's  Cost 
$1.96,  referees  $2.50,  Witnesses  St. 50. 

"  '  We,  the  refferees  within  named  having  heard  the  parties,  the  proofs 
and  allegation  to  wit :  We  find  from  the  evidence  that  the  run  is  to  be 

426 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 

the  line  between  Fudge  Van  Camp  and  Henry  Vastbinder,  from  the  line 

of  the  tract  of  land  to  the  corner  of by  the  camp,  and  thence  along 

the  old  fence  to  the  corner,  thence  by  a  direct  line  the  same  across  the 
ridge  to  the  run,  and  each  party  to  enjoy  these  clearings  till  after  harvest, 
next,  Fudge  Van  Camp  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  sugar  camp  till  the 
line  is  run,  and  John  Jones  and  Moses  Knap  is  for  to  run  the  line  be- 
tween the  parties,  and  eavery  one  of  the  partis  is  to  move  there  fence  on 
their  own  ground,  sd  Van  Camp  is  to  leave  sixteen  feet  and  a  half  in  the 
clear  between  the  stakes  of  the  fences  for  a  lane  or  outlet  between  the 
partis,  and  each  party  is  to  give  sureity  for  there  good  behavior  unto  each 
other,  there  goods  and  chatties,  for  the  term  of  one  year  and  one  day  from 
entering  of  sureity,  to  be  entered  ameditly  if  it  can  be  had ;  if  not  to  be 
had  at  the  present  time,  bail  is  to  be  entered  on  Tuesday,  the  sixth  day 
of  February,  A.D.  1810.  The  plaintiff  to  pay  fifty  cents  costs,  and  the 
defendant  the  remainder  of  the  costs  of  Sute. 

"  '  Witness  our  hands  and  seals  this  second  day  of  february,  A.D.  1810. 

"  '  SAMUEL  SCOTT,  (L.  S.) 
JOHN  SCOTT,  (L.  S.) 
ELIJAH  M.  GRAHAM,  (L.  S.) 
PETER  JONES,  (L.  S.) 
JOHN  MATSON,  (L.  S.) 
"  '  Before  me  THOMAS  LUCAS.' 

"  The  fines  for  Sabbath-breaking,  profane  swearing,  and  intoxication 
seem  to  have  been  rigidly  enforced  all  through  the  term  of  office  of  Mr. 
Lucas,  as  we  find  numerous  entries,  in  some  instances  the  fines  amount- 
ing to  twelve  dollars  for  one  person.  Numerous  other  offences  are  en- 
tered, the  most  curious  being  the  indictments  of  the  '  Commonwealth'™. 
Francis  Godyear  and  Mollie  Taylor  for  Poligamy,'  September  12,  1835. 

"  In  the  same  old  docket  is  the  account  of  Thomas  Lucas's  fees  on 
probates  on  fox,  wolf,  and  wild-cats,  from  February  14,  1832,  to  June  n, 
1838.  Among  the  hunters  are  the  names  of  William  and  Michael  Long, 
Adam,  Philip,  Henry,  and  William  Vastbinder,  John,  Samuel,  and  James 
Lucas,  John  and  Thomas  Callen,  Jacob  Shaffer,  James  Linn,  Ralph  Hill, 
John  Wyncoop,  William  Dougherty,  Frederick  Heterick,  Nelson  T. 
McQuiston,  William  Horan,  and  William  Douglass.  The  list  embraces 
thirty  wild-cats,  forty-eight  wolves,  seventy-six  foxes,  and  one  panther 
(shot  by  Thomas  Callen).  The  justice's  fee  on  each  probate  was  twelve 
and  a  half  cents. 

"  On  the  whole,  however,  the  early  settlers  of  the  county  seem  to  have 
been  a  law-abiding  people,  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  actions  for 
'assault  and  battery,'  there  were  no  serious  breaches  of  the  peace  in  the 
first  quarter  of  a  century  that  this  old  docket  legally  chronicles." — Kate 
Scoffs  History  of  Jefferson  County. 

427 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  following  were  the  early  settlers  up  to  1818  : 

Jacob  Mason,  Richard  Van  Camp,  Samuel  States,  John  Hice,  Henry 
Lott,  Joseph  Clements,  Charles  Sutherland  (colored),  Robert  Dickson, 
Enos  Van  Camp  (colored),  Frederick  Frants,  George  Evans,  Robert 
Knox,  William  Hayns,  Israel  Stiles,  Hulet  Smith,  John  Templeton,  and 
Joseph  Greenawalt,  and  perhaps  a  few  others. 

Fudge  Van  Camp  was  the  pioneer  colored  settler. 

The  pioneer  school  in  the  county  was  started  here,  a  description  of 
which  will  be  found  under  the  chapter  on  education. 

"The  first  election  in  the  county  was  held  at  Port  Barnett,  and  up  to 
1818  it  was  the  only  polling  and  election  precinct  in  and  for  the  county. 
At  the  last  election  (when  the  township  was  the  whole  county),  in 
1817,  Friday,  March  14,  the  names  of  the  contestants  for  office  and  the 
votes  were  as  follows, — viz.  :  Constable,  Elijah  M.  Graham,  22  votes; 
John  Dixon,  13  votes.  Supervisors,  Joseph  Barnett,  25  votes;  Thomas 
Lucas,  28  votes.  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  Henry  Keys,  9  votes ;  John 
Matson,  6  votes.  Fence  Appraisers,  Moses  Knapp,  7  votes;  William 
Vastbinder,  7  votes.  Town  Clerk,  Elijah  M.  Graham,  22  votes. 

"Signed  and  attested  by  the  judges,  Walter  Templeton  and  Adam 
Vastbinder." — Kate  Scott 's  History  of  Jefferson  County. 

From  1831  to  1842,  Andrew  Barnett  kept  a  licensed  tavern  at  Port 
Barnett.  Jacob  Kroh  kept  the  tavern  from  1842  until  1843.  Isaac 
Packer  kept  the  log  tavern  near  Peter  Baum's  from  1834  until  1842.  In 
1834  there  were  but  two  buildings  between  Port  Barnett  and  Reynolds- 
ville, — Packer's  tavern  and  Hance  Vastbinder's  house  near  where 
Emerickville  now  is.  The  pioneer  store  was  opened  by  the  Barnetts 
and  Samuel  Scott,  who,  in  1826,  sold  it  out  to  Jared  B.  Evans,  and  he, 
in  the  fall  of  1830,  removed  it  to  Jefferson  Street,  Brookville,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

PORT    BARNETT. 

Port  Barnett,  where  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Jefferson  County  founded 
a  home  for  themselves,  was  the  property  of  Joseph  Barnett  and  Samuel 
Scott.  The  county  records  describe  the  ownership  of  this  property  as 
follows : 

"The  Port  Barnett  property  containing  two  hundred  and  fifty- six 
acres  and  one  hundred  perches.  One  part  conveyed  to  Samuel  Scott  by 

Jeremiah  Parker,  by  deed  dated  i6th  day  of ,  1818,  recorded  in 

Indiana  County,  in  Deed  Book  No.  2,  page  727,  and  by  sundry  convey- 
ances to  Andrew  Barnett.  Other  moiety  conveyed  to  Joseph  Barnett  by 
Jeremiah  Parker,  by  deed  dated  26th  of  June,  1821,  recorded  in  Indiana 
County,  in  Deed  Book  No.  4,  page  482,  and  by  will  of  Joseph  Barnett 
devised  to  Andrew  Barnett." 

In  1818  there  were  but  three  saw-mills  in  the  county,  and  nineteen 
miles  of  county  road.  "The  only  road  then  in  this  region  was  one 

428 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

from  Port  Barnett,  which  crossed  the  Sandy  near  where  Fuller's  dam  is 
now  built,  and  from  thence  to  Indiana.  There  were  fourteen  men  em- 
ployed in  cutting  it  out,  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Shippen,  of 
Meadville. 

"  The  party  had  a  wagon  to  haul  their  provisions,  and  was  composed  of 
Mr.  Kennedy  and  two  men  named  Halloway  and  Williamson.  No  respect 
was  had  for  the  future  comfort  of  the  traveller,  or  the  poor  horses  that 
had  to  toil  over  the  road,  no  digging  was  done,  and  it  was  up  one  hill 
and  down  another.  The  second  road  was  from  Port  Barnett  to  Troy, 
and  was  made  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other.  These  roads  were  made 
so  as  to  pass  the  homes  of  as  many  settlers  as  possible.  The  unseated 
taxes  were  sufficient  to  pay  all  expenses.  The  nearest  grist-mill  was  run 
by  a  man  named  Parks,  and  was  the  Knapp  mill.  This  mill  was  in 
what  is  now  Brookville.  The  bolting  was  done  by  hand,  and  William 
Kennedy  says  he  often  took  his  turn  at  this  work  when  waiting  for  his 
grist." 

Timber  tracts  could  be  bought  for  twenty-five  and  fifty  cents  per  acre. 
In  1820  there  were  twenty-five  saw-mills  in  the  county,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  of  county  road.  The  early  paths  of  the  settlers  ran  over 
the  steepest  part  of  the  hills,  and  these  paths  were  usually  enlarged  into 
roads.  These  paths  and  roads  were  run  over  the  hills  by  sighting  from 
peak  to  peak  with  a  compass  to  keep  from  being  lost  in  the  wild  woods. 

THE    PIONEER    SQUARE    TIMBER    RAFT. 

Ludwig  Long  and  sons  about  1834  ran  the  first  square  timber  raft.  It 
took  them  six  days  to  reach  the  mouth.  Up  to  the  year  1830  our  people 
were  unable  to  run  much  timber  to  market  in  any  other  way  than  in 
boards.  A  Yankee  by  the  name  of  Samuel  Seeley  moved  into  this  county 
about  the  year  1830  or  1832  and  located  at  Port  Barnett.  This  man 
Seeley  either  invented  or  introduced  into  this  wilderness  the  idea  of 
rafting  timber  sticks  together  with  white  oak  bows  and  ash  pins. 

About  the  year  1834,  Long's  timber  raft  was  taken  out  near  Port 
Barnett,  hauled  to  the  creek,  and  rafted  in.  It  was  three  platforms  long. 
The  timber  sticks  were  of  uniform  length,  which  left  no  stiffness  in  the 
structure.  The  oar-blades  and  stem,  as  was  the  custom  then,  were  hewed 
out  of  a  good-sized  pine-tree  in  one  body.  The  cables  were  hickory,  and 
the  halyards  wild  grape-vine.  The  pilot  stood  on  the  front  end  of  the 
raft,  and  steered  from  there.  The  timber  was  marketed  at  Pittsburg. 

"  Although  more  or  less  of  the  lumber  has  from  the  origin  of  the 
business  until  now  been  annually  exported,  the  trade  in  square  timber 
and  spars  was  not  until  1842  considered  remunerative.  Prior  to  that  it 
was  carried  on  from  necessity.  It  was  important  to  clear  the  land  that 
bread  might  be  raised  and  population  supported,  and,  whilst  the  growing 
trees  were  considered  of  little  or  no  value,  our  citizens  were  satisfied  if 

429 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  pittance  they  then  received  for  their  timber  would  pay  them  for  the 
labor  of  cutting  and  exporting. 

"  During  all  the  early  years  of  the  settlement,  varied  with  occasional 
pleasure  and  excitements,  the  great  work  of  increasing  the  tillable  ground 
went  slowly  on.  The  implements  and  tools  were  few  and  of  the  most 
primitive  kinds,  but  the  soil  that  had  long  held  in  reserve  the  accumu- 
lated richness  of  centuries  produced  splendid  harvests,  and  the  husband- 
man was  well  rewarded  for  his  labor.  The  soil  was  warmer  then  than 
now,  and  the  seasons  earlier.  The  wheat  was  occasionally  pastured  in 
the  spring  to  keep  it  from  growing  up  so  early  and  so  fast  as  to  become 
lodged.  The  harvest  came  early,  and  the  yield  was  often  from  twenty  to 
thirty  bushels  per  acre.  Corn  grew  fast,  and  roasting  ears  were  to  be 
had  by  the  ist  of  August  in  most  seasons." 

PERRY   TOWNSHIP. 

This  was  the  second  organized  township,  being  taken,  in  1818,  from 
Pine  Creek.  The  division  line  separating  at  that  time  these  two  town- 
ships was  called  the  "  Mason  and  Dixon  line  of  Jefferson  County."  This 
township  was  named  in  honor  of  Commodore  Perry,  the  hero  of  the  navy 
on  the  Lakes,  in  the  war  of  1812;  and  its  boundary  then  was,  on  the 
north  by  Pine  Creek  township,  east  by  Clearfield  County,  south  by 
Indiana  County,  and  west  by  Armstrong  County.  There  are  two  pioneer 
villages  in  the  township, — viz.,  Perrysville  and  Whitesville;  and  the 
former  has  a  post-office  called  Hamilton,  and  the  latter' s  post-office  is 
Valier ;  also  the  taxables  were  as  follows  :  in  1828,  85  ;  1835,  209  ;  1842, 
251.  The  population  by  census  of  1840  was  1076. 

The  pioneer  settler  in  what  is  now  Perry  township  was  John  Bell. 
He  erected  his  cabin  there  in  1809.  His  nearest  neighbor  was  nine 
miles  distant,  in  Indiana  County,  and  the  Barnetts  were  the  nearest  on 
the  north  side.  Bell  came  from  Indiana  Town.  He  died  on  the  igih  of 
May,  1855,  in  his  eighty-sixth  year.  He  was  an  intelligent,  industrious 
farmer,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  appointed  in  1818  by  Governor  Findley, 
and  held  this  office  for  twenty-five  years  by  appointment  or  election. 
Once,  while  on  his  way  home  from  Port  Barnett,  he  observed  an  Indian 
taking  aim  at  him  with  his  rifle  from  behind  a  tree.  Mr.  Bell  said  in  his 
lifetime,  "That  Indian  was  never  seen  afterwards."  Mr.  John  Bell  was 
a  great  hunter,  during  his  life  in  Jefferson  County  he  killed  two  panthers, 
ninety-three  wolves,  three  hundred  and  six  bears,  and  over  six  hundred 
deer. 

The  next  settler  in  Perry  was  Archibald  Hadden.  He  came  from 
Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1810,  and  settled  near  Mr.  John 
Bell.  In  1812,  Hugh  McKee,  a  soldier  of  this  war,  settled  near  Perrys- 
ville. John  Postlethwait  came  in  1818,  Reuben  Hickox  in  1822. 

Reuben  Hickox's  hunting  exploits  alone  would  make  a  book.     He, 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  three  days,  caught  six  bears,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  in 
less  than  three  months,  secured  over  fifty  of  the  "bruin"  family.  He 
trapped  and  hunted  principally  for  bears  and  wolves.  Wild  cats  were 
numerous,  and  often  got  into  his  traps,  but  he  cared  naught  for  them, 


Perry  township. 


as  their  fur  was  valueless,  only  bringing  in  the  market  ten  cents  apiece. 
As  for  the  deer,  they  formed  the  major  portion  of  his  bill  of  fare. 
Turkeys,  wild  ducks,  etc. ,  were  numerous,  and  whenever  he  had  a  desire 
for  fowl,  his  trusty  rifle  would  soon  secure  an  amount  far  in  excess  of  the 
wants  of  his  family. 

Other  early  settlers  in  Perry  were  William  Johnston,  Benjamin  Mc- 
Bride,  William  Stewart,  Isaac  Lewis,  Samuel  Newcomb,  and  Thomas  S. 
Mitchell. 

One  of  the  most  useful  and  prominent  citizens  of  Perry  township  was 
Thomas  Sharp  Mitchell,  who  migrated  in  1828,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
to  the  wilderness  of  Perry  township,  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania. 
He  came  in  the  employ  of  Alva  Payne,  from  Armstrong  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, who  in  the  year  1828  opened  the  pioneer  store  in  what  is  now 
Perrysville.  Young  Mitchell  was  Payne's  clerk.  In  addition  to  being 
salesman  in  the  store,  Thomas  peddled  with  a  wagon  among  the  pioneers, 
trading  goods  for  deer  pelts,  furs,  etc.  In  this  vocation  he  sometimes  ex- 
tended his  trips  into  the  adjoining  counties.  He  peddled  and  clerked  in 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


this  way  for  about  two  years,  when  Payne  left  the  country  for  parts  un- 
known. From  1831  to  1837,  Mitchell  peddled  for  himself.  In  1837  he 
and  his  brother  James  opened  a  general  merchandise  store  in  Perrysville, 
and  continued  in  active  operation  as  a  firm  until  1842,  when  James 
moved  to  Indiana  County,  Pennsylvania,  leaving  Thomas  still  engaged 
in  merchandising,  lumbering  on  the  Mahoning,  and  droving.  Our  enter- 


Early  barn. 

prising  merchants  were  drovers  of  horses  and  cattle,  and  Thomas  S. 
Mitchell  was  a  successful  one.  For  several  years  he  "drove"  several 
droves  each  season,  a  single  drove  sometimes  containing  as  many  as  four 
hundred  head  of  cattle.  Thomas  S.  Mitchell's  mother  was  Agnes  Sarah 
Sharp,  daughter  of  Captain  Sharp,  one  of  the  pioneers  on  the  Kiskimini- 
tas,  and  of  some  fame  as  an  Indian  fighter.  He  died  of  wounds  received 
in  an  engagement  with  redskins  outside  of  Fort  Pitt.  But  the  hero  cap- 
tain landed  his  wife  and  children  in  Fort  Pitt,  where  he  died  in  fourteen 
days  from  his  wounds. 

Thomas  S.  Mitchell  married  Miss  Sarah  Blose,  of  Perry  township,  in 
1831.     She  was  a  daughter  of  George  Blose,  who  emigrated  from  West- 

432 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

moreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  to  Perry  township,  Jefferson  County, 
in  the  twenties.  George  Blose  owned  the  land  where  Perrysville  is 
now  located. 

Thomas  S.  Mitchell  was  a  large  man  of  exceedingly  fine  presence, 
able,  intelligent,  genial,  social,  and  popular.  He  served  a  term  as  sheriff. 
I  knew  him  well,  and  remember  him  with  great  kindness  and  respect. 
lie  died  in  August,  1883.  His  wife  died  in  1875. 

The  pioneer  church  was  built  in  1835,  at  Perry;  the  pioneer  school- 
house  in  1820,  in  what  is  now  Perrysville.  The  pioneer  saw- mill  was 
built  by  Elijah  Heath,  above  the  Round  Bottom.  The  pioneer  hotel 
in  Perrysville  was  kept  by  Irvin  Robinson,  and  the  pioneer  store  was 
opened  by  Alva  Payne.  The  pioneer  graveyard  was  located  where  Perry 
church  was  built,  and  Robert  Stunkard  was  the  pioneer  burial. 

At  the  pioneer  election  held  at  Bell's,  on  Friday,  March  20,  1818, 
the  following  were  contestants  for  the  township  offices, — viz.  :  "  Con- 
stables, David  Hamilton,  5  votes ;  Jacob  Hoover,  3  votes.  Supervisors, 
John  Bell,  5  votes  ;  Hugh  McKee,  5  votes.  Auditors,  Archibald  Hadden, 
5  votes ;  Jesse  Armstrong,  5  votes ;  James  McClennen,  5  votes ;  Michael 
Lance,  5  votes.  Fence  Appraisers,  Joseph  Grossman,  5  votes  ;  Adam 
Long,  5  votes.  Overseers,  Henry  Lott,  5  votes  ;  Elijah  Dykes,  5  votes. 
Signed,  Archibald  Hadden,  Hugh  McKee,  judges. 

"  At  the  next  election  the  voters  had  increased  to  eight,  and  at  the  last 
election  before  Young  township  was  formed  the  number  of  voters  ap- 
pears to  ha.ve  been  seventy-seven.  At  this  election  in  1825  'schoolmen' 
appear  to  have  been  voted  for,  John  W.  Jenks,  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  and 
John  Bell  being  elected.  This  is  the  only  record  of  any  such  office  in 
the  election  returns  of  the  county  from  1807  to  1830.  These  elections 
were  held  at  the  house  of  John  Bell,  and  in  the  first  ten  years  he  was 
eight  times  elected  to  office,  being  supervisor,  auditor,  overseer  of  the 
poor,  and  schoolman." 

Act  of  the  Legislature,  No.  174,  establishing  the  polling-place  : 

"  SECTION  29.  The  electors  of  the  township  of  Perry,  in  the  county 
of  Jefferson,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  general  elections  at  the  house  of 
William  Stunkard,  in  said  township.  Approved — April  15,  1835." 

Among  the  pioneer  and  early  settlers  along  Little  Sandy  Creek,  in 
Perry  township,  were  Andrew  Shaffer,  David  Milliron,  and  Mr.  Vanlear. 

Daniel  Geist  erected  his  cabin  there  in  1834,  and  founded  Geistown, 
now  called  Worthville.  He  built  a  grist  mill  in  1840.  Henry  Frease 
located  also  near  where  the  town  of  Ringgold  now  stands,  and  erected  a 
grist-mill  about  1840.  John  Philliber,  Ludwick  Byerly,  Henry  Nulf, 
Conrad  Nulf,  Solomon  Gearhart,  George  Reitz,  and  Michael  Heterick 
all  erected  cabins  on  farms  in  the  early  thirties.  Thomas  Holt,  a  veteran 
of  the  war  of  1812,  settled  there  in  1837.  Samuel  Lerch,  a  carpenter 
and  cabinet-maker,  erected  his  cabin  near  Ringgold  in  1836.  Farther 

433 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

up  the  stream  from  Geistown,  near  where  the  Indiana  and  Brookville  road 
now  crosses,  William  Hadden  settled  in  1831,  and,  being  a  great  hunter, 
killed  annually  turkeys,  bears,  and  deer.  George  and  William  Newcomb 
erected  cabins  in  1825,  John  Jones  in  1826,  Peter  Depp  in  1828,  Alex- 
ander and  William  McKinstrey  in  1833,  Joseph  Manners  in  1835.  James 
Gray,  in  1836,  opened  a  small  store  near  McKinstrey's.  James  Gray  was 
postmaster  for  Cool  Spring.  In  1833,  Frederick  Sprankle  erected  a  grist- 
mill near  the  junction  of  Big  Run  and  Kellar's  Run.  Adam  Dobson 
located  his  cabin  in  1833,  John  and  William  Coulter  in  1841,  and  Samuel 
Burket  in  1842. 

YOUNG   TOWNSHIP. 

Young,  the  third  township,  was  organized  in  1826,  and  was  taken 
from  Perry  township.  The  township  was  then  of  very  large  proportions, 
but  is  now  rather  attenuated.  It  was  named  after  Judge  Young,  then 
president  judge  of  the  Westmoreland  judicial  circuit. 

The  taxables  in  the  township  were,  in  1828,  73 ;  in  1829,  70 ;  in  1831, 
70;  in  1835,  *46;  in  1842,  271.  The  population  by  the  census  in  1840 
was  1321. 

Abraham  Weaver  was  the  pioneer  settler  in  Young  township.  In  1818, 
Dr.  John  W.  Jenks,  Rev.  David  Barclay,  and  Nathaniel  Tindle  came  to 
what  is  now  Young  township,  prospecting  for  a  future  home,  and  they 
were  so  well  pleased  that  in  the  spring  of  1819  they  returned  with  their 
families  and  settled  where  Punxsutawney  now  stands.  Phineas  W.  Jenks 
was  the  first  white  child  born.  Rev.  Barclay  and  Dr.  Jenks  donated  and 
laid  out  the  ground  for  the  present  cemetery. 

Isaac  P.  Carmalt,  John  B.  Henderson,  and  John  Hess  came  in  1821, 
Joseph  Long  came  in  1824,  James  St.  Clair  came  in  1831,  William  and 
Robert  Campbell  and  John  Dunn  came  in  1832,  Obed  Morris  came  in 
1824,  Daniel  Graffius  came  in  1823. 

Among  the  early  lumbermen  were  Jesse  Armstrong  and  William 
Neel. 

The  pioneer  church  erected  was  a  hewed  log  building, — Presbyterian. 
The  first  school-house  was  built  of  round  logs  in  1822,  on  or  near  T. 
Pantall's  farm.  Rev.  Barclay  laid  out  Punxsutawney  for  "  a  white  man's 
town"  in  1821.  In  1832  it  contained  fifteen  dwellings,  two  taverns, 
and  a  store.  Adam  Long  was  the  pioneer  hunter. 

The  pioneer  tavern  was  kept  by  Elijah  Heath,  and  his  first  license  to 
sell  liquor  was  in  1824.  This  tavern  was  built  by  Elijah  Heath  in 
1824 

The  pioneer  military  company  was  organized  in  the  thirties.  William 
Long  was  captain  in  1840.  The  company  was  attached  to  the  Third 
Battalion,  Second  Brigade,  Fifteenth  Division,  Pennsylvania  Militia. 

The  pioneer  election  held  for  the  township  of  Young  after  it  was  sep- 

434 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

arated  from  Perry,  as  the  returns  appear  in  the  office  of  the  prothonotary 
at  Indiana,  are  as  follows  : 

''  Young  township  return  for  1826:  Constable,  Joseph  Long  had  32 
votes,  John  Hum  n  votes.  Signed  Philip  Bowers,  judge,  etc." 

At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  Elijah  Heath,  in  Punxsutawney, 
Young  township,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  1827,  the  following  persons 
contested  for  the  township  offices:  Constable,  Joseph  Long,  22  votes; 
Obed  Morris,  13  votes.  Supervisors,  Nathaniel  Tindle,  29  votes;  Benoni 
Williams,  32  votes.  Auditors,  Andrew  H.  Bowman,  30  votes;  Josiah 
Caldwell,  27  votes  ;  Matthias  Clawson,  24  votes  ;  Philip  Bowers,  18  votes. 
Poor  Overseers,  Frederick  Rinehart,  15  votes  ;  Christian  Rishel,  20  votes. 
Fence  Appraisers,  Adam  Long  (cooper),  20  votes ;  John  Hum,  9  votes. 
Signed,  Frederick  Rinehart,  Joseph  Long,  Josiah  Caldwell,  judges ; 
Matthias  Clawson,  A.  H.  Bowman,  clerks. 

"  TURNPIKE  NOTICE. 

"  The  stockholders  of  the  Armstrong  and  Clearfield  Turnpike  Road 
Company  are  hereby  notified  that  an  election  will  be  held  at  the  house 
of  James  Caldwell,  in  Punxsutawney,  on  Wednesday,  the  i7th  day  of 
September  next,  to  elect  officers  of  said  company  for  the  ensuing  year. 
By  order  of  the  President. 

"  WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  Secretary. 

"PUNXSUTAWNEY,  August   IJ ,  1834." 

"One  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  county,  and, 
if  tradition  serves  us  right,  one  of  the  earliest  lumbermen  of  the  Maho- 
ning,  was  Jesse  Armstrong,  who  built  his  cabin  in  a  bend  of  the  creek, 
now  called  Armstrong's  Bend,  a  short  distance  below  where  the  mill  of 
J.  U.  Gillespie  now  stands.  He,  with  William  Neel,  devised  the  plan  of 
constructing  a  raft,  and  early  in  the  spring  of  1818  the  two  men,  with 
Sally,  Armstrong's  wife,  and,  tradition  says,  assisted  by  two  Indians,  who 
had  been  in  the  neighborhood,  perhaps  visiting  the  graves  of  their 
people,  started  on  their  raft  to  explore  the  lower  waters  of  the  Mahoning, 
a  peaceful  enough  stream  in  summer,  but  when  swollen  by  the  spring 
rains  and  melting  snows  a  veritable  rushing,  foaming  river.  The  raft, 
which  was  not  one  of  the  deftly  put  together  square  timber  or  board 
rafts  of  the  present  day,  but  constructed  of  round  logs  roughly  withed 
together,  was  swept  down  the  mad  current.  The  oars  were  poor,  and  the 
oarsmen  and  pilot  unskilled  and  ignorant  of  the  stream  ;  and  at  length 
the  frail  craft  struck  on  the  rocks,  and  the  crew  barely  escaped  with  their 
lives  to  the  shore.  Indeed,  poor  Sally  Armstrong  would  have  found  a 
watery  grave  had  not  Billy  Neel  caught  her  long  red  hair  and  pulled  her 
out  of  the  seething  flood.  It  is  said  that  the  eddy  where  this  catastrophe 

435 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

occurred  was  ever  after  known  as  'Sally's  Eddy.'  Just  before  this  mis- 
hap occurred,  Sally  had  prepared  some  food  from  the  stores  which  they 
had  with  them  ;  but  Owenoco,  one  of  the  Indians,  said,  '  No,  no,  we  no 
eat  now;  maybe  never  eat.'  At  the  same  time  he  was  trying  with  great 
strength  and  skill  to  keep  the  tossing  craft  from  dashing  against  the  great 
rocks  that  loomed  up  on  every  side.  Suddenly  they  were  drawn  into  the 
fearful  eddy,  and,  the  oar  of  Owenoco  breaking  off  suddenly,  he  lost 
control  of  the  craft.  Extricating  themselves  with  difficulty  from  their 
perilous  predicament,  the  white  men  and  Indians  finally  got  their  broken 
raft  safely  moored  to  shore  and  tied  fast  to  a  tree.  Then,  by  the  aid  of 
a  flint  and  torch,  the  Indians  called  down  a  sacred  fire,  which  they  as- 
cribed as  a  gift  from  their  Manitou,  and  soon  the  little  band  of  lumber- 
men and  the  poor  drenched  lumber-woman  were  gathered  around  the 
welcome  fire.  All  their  provisions,  with  the  exception  of  some  bread 
and  salt  Sally  had  placed  in  a  box,  which  was  saved,  went  down  into  the 
watery  flood,  with  some  crocks  of  honey,  the  product  of  wild  bees,  which 
Sally  was  taking  to  Pittsburg  to  purchase  finery  with.  The  bows  and 
arrows  of  the  Indians  soon,  however,  procured  them  food,  and  in  the 
cheerful  light  and  warmth  of  the  fire  they  soon  regained  their  spirits, 
and  after  a  night's  rest  were  ready  early  the  next  morning  to  again  under- 
take the  perilous  journey,  and  without  any  more  serious  mishaps  gained 
their  journey's  end,  being  safely  landed  at  Pittsburg,  where  their  dusky 
companions  bade  them  farewell  forever  and  wended  their  way  to  Canada, 
there  to  join  the  remainder  of  their  tribe. 

"Armstrong  and  his  wife  exchanged  their  logs  for  such  provisions 
and  wearing  apparel  as  they  could  carry,  and  returned  on  foot  to  Punxsu- 
tawney.  It  was  after  night  when  they  came  in  sight  of  their  cabin, 
where  Adam  Long  and  his  wife  dwelt  with  them.  The  loud  barking  of 
the  dog  announced  their  coming,  and  Adam  said  to  his  wife,  '  I  bet  a 
deer-skin  it  bees  Jess  and  Sail  comin'  ;  and  soon  the  weary  travellers 
were  seated  around  their  own  fireside,  enjoying  the  rest  they  so  much 
needed;  and  while  they  partook  of  the  repast  of  bear's  meat,  etc.,  that 
Mrs.  Long  hastily  provided  for  them,  they  told  the  story  of  their  perilous 
journey  and  its  successful  ending,  and  Adam  Long  in  turn  narrated  the 
story  of  his  fight  with  the  bear  whose  skin  was  then  drying  on  the  wall 
of  the  cabin,  and  which  he  had  killed  near  their  very  door.  '  Oh,  lor', 
but  I  am  tired  !'  said  Mrs.  Armstrong.  '  I  would  not  do  that  again  for 
all  the  plagued  raft  and  honey.  I  feel  so  crippled  up  I  can  scarcely  walk.' 
'  Yes,'  said  Adam,  '  but  you  give  the  honey  to  the  fish  an'  to  te  allegators.' 
'Yes,  I  lost  my  seven  crocks  of  honey,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  Billy 
Neel  I  would  have  went  with  the  honey.  I'll  always  respect  him  for 
that.  Jesse  never  tried  to  put  out  his  hand  to  catch  me,'  said  the  irate 
dame.  '  Why,  Sally,'  said  Armstrong,  '  you  know  that  when  you  jumped 
in  I  was  trying  to  save  myself  on  the  other  side  of  the  raft. '  '  But  what 

436 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

te  tivel  you  do  rait  Neel?'  said  Adam.  '  Did  de  Injun  kill  him,  or  did 
you  sell  him  mit  your  raft?'  'Oh,'  said  Jesse,  'Neel  went  with  us  to 
Pittsburg,  where  we  left  him.  We  got  on  Leslie  Ramsey's  boat.  I 
helped  to  push  the  boat  up  to  Kittanning,  and  Sally  and  me  come  afoot 
from  there  along  the  Indian  path.  We  come  it  in  two  days.' 

"  Then  Adam  Long  told  the  story  of  the  bear's  death.  His  dog  had 
started  the  bear  on  the  hill  above  the  creek,  and  they  had  followed  it 
from  crag  to  crag  until  at  last,  just  on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  it  turned 
and  gave  them  battle,  and  caught  the  dog  in  its  embrace,  when  the 
hunter  dealt  the  huge  beast  a  powerful  blow  with  his  hatchet.  The 
furious  animal  relaxed  its  hold  on  the  dog  and  sprang  at  Adam  with  ex- 
tended jaws,  and  seemed  to  realize  that  the  conflict  was  for  life  or  death. 
The  hunter's  gun  was  useless.  He  had  no  time  to  aim  at  the  bear,  but, 
springing  aside,  he  drew  his  long,  keen  hunting-knife  and  returned  to  the 
charge.  The  huge  black  beast  was  standing  erect,  and  received  the 
thrust  of  the  knife  in  his  neck,  and  as  Long  was  about  to  give  him  an- 
other blow  with  his  knife  he  struck  him  with  his  powerful  paw  and 
stretched  him  on  the  ground,  while  the  knife  flew  from  his  hand  into  the 
creek ;  and  had  not  the  dog  at  this  juncture  come  to  the  rescue,  poor 
Adam  would  never  have  lived  to  tell  of  this  exploit ;  but  seeing  his 
master  at  the  mercy  of  their  common  enemy,  he  sprang  upon  the  bear, 
and  there  ensued  a  fierce  struggle ;  but  the  bear  was  badly  wounded,  and 
the  dog  at  last  threw  him  almost  into  the  creek,  when  the  bear  gave  up 
the  contest,  and,  springing  into  the  water,  made  for  the  other  shore,  the 
brave  dog  still  holding  on  to  his  flank.  Adam  Long  had  by  this  time 
recovered  his  faculties,  and,  reloading  his  gun,  fired  at  the  bear,  the  ball 
taking  effect  in  his  shoulder.  He  then  plunged  into  the  creek  and  en- 
countered him  upon  the  other  shore  with  his  hatchet,  and  soon  despatched 
him.  He  believed  that  the  huge  beast  would  have  weighed  at  least  four 
hundred  pounds.  Adam  always  loved  to  narrate  this  story." — History 
of  Jefferson  County. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Young  township,  east  of  Punxsutawney,  on 
the  Mahoning  stream,  were  Jesse  Armstrong  and  John  Grube  in  1833, 
Daniel  Smeyers  in  1839,  Abraham  Rudolph  in  1833,  Jacob  Bowersock, 
and  Daniel  Graffius.  John  Hess  built  a  saw-mill  in  1828.  James  H.  Bell 
settled  on  this  stream  in  1831,  built  a  grist-mill  in  1833,  and  opened  a 
store  in  1840.  James  McCracken  erected  his  cabin  near  Bell  in  1839, 
building  saw-mills  and  farming.  Mr.  McCracken  was  an  active,  popular 
man.  John  Pifer  erected  his  cabin  in  what  is  now  known  as  Paradise  in 
1829. 

The  pioneer  church  in  the  Pifer  settlement  was  built  in  1840.  Other 
early  settlers  to  erect  cabins  on  farms  north  of  the  Mahoning  in  1830 
were  John  Smith,  John  Deemer,  William  Best,  Samuel  McGhee,  and 
others. 

437 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Joseph  and  Daniel  North  erected  cabins  in  the  early  thirties.  The 
pioneer  saw-mill  was  built  on  Big  Run  by  William  Best  in  1830. 

This  illustration  is  of  South  Side  pioneers  who,  by  invitation  of  D. 
S.  Altman,  Esq.,  and  wife,  partook  of  a  dinner  at  their  home  in  Punxsu- 


£S 
*K 


I       S 
od    £ 


I 


tawney,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  8th  day  of  February,  AD.  1877.  This 
picture  was  taken  with  the  pioneers  seated  and  standing  in  the  snow. 
The  first  name  is  in  the  standing  row,  and  the  second  name  in  the  row 
of  seated  pioneers. 

438 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


Name. 

Rev.  Jacob  I 
David  Willard 
Thomas  McKee 
Isaac  P.  Carmalt 
Robert  Law 
James  Winslow 
James  H.  Bell 
Reuben  Hickox 
J.  K.  Coxen,  Esq. 
John  Drum,  Esq. 
Dr.  George  Kurtz 
Isaac  Rodg< 
Ellis  Evans 
Joseph  W.  1 
Abraham  Ruth. 
Obed  Morris  . 


Date  of  Birth. 


Where  Born. 


Located  in  Jef- 
ferson Co.,  Pa. 


'.  Wall  . 

.  June  29,  1805 

d  .    .    . 

.  June  II,  1801 

lee     .    . 

.  Oct.  24,  1801 

aalt    .    . 

.  Sept.   9,  1794 

Nov.  10,  1802 

5W        .     . 

.  Apr.  14,  1798 

11    .    .    . 

.  Oct.   18,  1800 

tox     .    . 

.  Nov.  n,  1794 

Esq.     . 

.  July  12,  1802 

Esq.  .    . 

.  July  12,  1806 

Curtz     . 

.  Nov.  II,  1792 

•s    .    .    . 

.  June  1  8,  1806 

... 

.  Feb.  13,  1788 

rinslow 

.    .  Dec.  10,  1804 

Allegheny  County,  Pa.    ...  1854 
Westmoreland  County,  Pa.     .  1837 

Centre  County,  Pa 1839 

Philadelphia,  Pa 1819 

Huntingdon  County,  Pa.    .    .  1836 

Maine 1818 

New  York  City 1826 

New  Haven,  Conn 1820 

Mercer  County,  Pa 1844 

Westmoreland  County,  Pa.    .  1831 

,  Germany 1836 

Huntingdon  County.  Pa. 
.  Schuylkill  County,  Pa.   ...  1837 
.  Maine   .  .  1818 


Dec.    8,  1792  .    .  Bucks  County,  Pa 1824 


These  old  pioneers  met  after  this  event  annually  for  a  few  years  at  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Altman,  to  partake  of  a  dinner  and  relate  inci- 
dents of  pioneer  hardships ;  but  sickness,  extreme  old  age,  and  death 
soon  stopped  their  pleasant  reunions. 


"A    PIONEER    POSTAL   ROUTE. 

"  More  than  sixty  seven  years  ago  the  first  Tuesday  of  April,  1830,  a 
bright,  beautiful  morning,  I  started  forth  from  my  log  cabin  home  with 
a  United  States  mail-bag,  on  my  black  pacing  horse  Billy,  with  Bob 
Thompson,  then  about  my  own  age  (twelve  years),  on  his  dwarf  mule 
Bully,  to  penetrate  the  wilderness  through  a  low  grade  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  between  the  Allegheny  River  at  Kittanning  and  the  west 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  at  Curwensville,  sixty-five  miles  and 
return  each  week,  Robert  going  along  to  show  me  the  way. 

"  I  have  climbed  the  Rockies  with  a  burro  since  that  period  in  search 
of  gold  and  silver,  but  I  have  never  met  either  so  primitive  a  people  or  a 
rougher  route  of  sixty- five  miles  than  that  wilderness  route.  The  post- 
offices  were  Glade  Run,  Smicksburg,  Ewing's  Mill,  Punxsutawney,  and 
Curwensville.  The  first  of  these  was  eighteen  miles  from  Kittanning, 
near  where  is  now  the  little  town  of  Dayton. 

"In  about  three  months  the  route  was  changed  up  the  Cowanshan- 
nock,  and  the  Rural  Valley  post-office  established  about  two  miles  above 
Patterson's  mill.  The  changed  route  intersected  the  old  one  at  Glade 
Run  post-office.  The  next  place  east  of  Glade  Run  was  the  residence  of 
George  McComb,  where  I  rested  for  dinner  and  fed  my  horse.  A  stretch 
of  over  two  miles  brought  me  to  Smicksburg,  as  now  spelled,  but  the 
original  founder  spelled  his  name  Schmick.  Mr.  Carr,  the  blacksmith, 

439 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  postmaster.  For  more  than  four  miles  there  was  not  a  single  house 
on  the  road,  though  a  cabin  was  to  be  seen  in  the  distance,  until  I  reached 
Ewing's  Mill,  another  post-office.  My  place  of  lodging  for  the  first  night 
was  with  James  McComb,  four  miles  from  Punxsutawney,  and  never  did 
a  boy  find  a  more  pleasant  home. 

"The  second  day  I  rode  ten  miles  for  breakfast,  passing  Punxsutaw- 
ney, where  Dr.  Jenks  was  postmaster.  The  town  was  a  mere  hamlet, 
principally  a  lumbering  camp,  surrounded  with  the  finest  of  white  pine, 
which  was  rafted  in  hewed  logs  down  Mahoning  Creek  to  the  Allegheny 
River,  and  thence  to  Pittsburg.  It  is  a  rapid,  rocky,  crooked  stream, 
and  the  logs  were  hewed  square  to  make  their  transit  over  safe,  both  by 
reducing  their  size  and  securing  a  smooth,  even  surface.  Six  miles  farther 
on  was  a  farm,  a  few  acres,  the  home  of  Andrew  Bowers,  where  I  ate 
breakfast,  then  entered  a  wilderness  of  sixteen  miles.  Those  sixteen 
miles  of  wilderness  were  then  a  most  dismal  district  of  country,  heavily 
timbered  with  pine,  spruce,  hemlock,  and  chestnut,  with  much  under- 
growth of  laurel  In  this  dreary  waste  I  saw  every  animal  native  to  the 
clime,  except  the  panther,  of  which  more  hereafter. 

"After  emerging  from  this  wilderness,  in  which  the  sun  was  never 
visible,  there  was  a  settlement  of  Quakers,  known  as  the  Grampian  Hills, 
near  the  centre  of  which  was  a  fine  farm,  the  home  of  a  colored  man, 
Samuel  Cochran,  where  I  took  dinner,  and  then  passed  on  to  Curwens- 
ville,  the  end  of  my  route.  I  returned  to  Cochran's  for  the  second  night's 
rest.  The  object  of  this  return  was  to  be  ready  to  enter  the  wilderness 
and  give  good  time  to  get  through  it  before  the  shades  of  evening  had 
fallen.  Once  I  realized  the  wisdom  of  this  plan  when  high  water  delayed 
me,  so  that  I  was  compelled  to  stop  at  Bowers's  place  for  the  night  and 
ride  through  the  wilderness  twice  in  a  day,  entering  at  the  dawn  of 
morning  and  reaching  the  place  of  departure  amid  darkness. 

"  Was  I  lonely?  If  the  shriek  of  the  panther,  the  growl  of  the  bear, 
the  howling  of  the  wolf,  the  hooting  of  the  owl  is  society,  I  was  far  from 
lonely.  When  I  realized  my  situation  I  drove  the  spurs  into  my  horse 
and  rushed  him  with  all  his  speed.  My  heart-beats  seemed  to  drown  the 
racket  of  his  hoofs  upon  the  stony  road.  The  return  was  but  a  repetition 
of  the  outgoing  journey.  I  never  made  such  a  trip  again. 

"  My  predecessor  was  John  Gillespie,  of  whose  history  since  I  know 
nothing,  but  there  was  a  story  that  in  his  ambition  to  create  a  favorable 
impression  of  the  importance  of  his  charge  he  frequently  horrified  a 
good  Presbyterian  preacher,  who  was  the  Glade  Run  postmaster,  by 
stuffing  the  mail-bag  with  crab-apples,  and  made  indignant  the  good  Mrs. 
McComb,  where  he  had  lodged  the  night  previously,  by  laying  the  mis- 
chief to  the  McComb  children.  A  plethoric  mail-bag  always  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  rural  postmaster,  and  it  was  fun  to  John  to  witness  the  indig- 
nation of  the  good  Mr.  Jenks  and  hear  the  screaming  of  laughter  of  the 

440 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

villagers,  just  arrived  to  get  the  latest  news,  when  a  peck  of  crab-apples, 
but  no  letter,  rolled  out  on  the  floor  at  Punxsutawney. 

"  Those  were  the  days  of  William  T.  Barry  as  postmaster  general.  I 
used  to  collect  government's  moiety  in  each  of  the  little  post-offices  in 
driblets  of  five  to  ten  dollars,  with  the  plain  signature  of  '  Wm.  T.  Barry, 
P.  M.  G.,'  attached  to  the  orders,  and  looked  at  the  great  man's  name 
with  admiration,  until  I  really  think  1  could  distinguish  his  handwriting 
now. 

"  On  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  little  farms  no  wagon-tracks  were 
to  be  seen,  all  the  work  being  done  with  sleds.  Nevertheless,  there  were 
occasional  freighters  through  the  wilderness,  generally  loaded  with  salt. 
The  only  stores  in  that  sixty  miles  were  one  at  Glade  Run  and  one  at 
Punxsutawney.  The  people  made  all  their  own  clothes.  Nearly  every 
family  that  had  a  daughter  as  old  as  fourteen  years  had  a  weaver.  The 
blooming  miss  who  learned  that  art  was  an  artist  indeed.  It  was  a  treat 
for  the  boys  who  had  no  sister  weaver  to  carry  the  yarn  to  the  neighbor  girl 
and  help  her  adjust  the  web  for  the  work.  Their  clothes  were  made  from 
the  backs  of  the  sheep  and  the  flax  in  the  field.  The  girls  wore  linsey- 
woolsey  and  the  boys  linen  and  tow  shirts,  and  indeed  full  suits  of  the 
same  for  common  work.  The  fine  clothes  for  the  girls  were  barred  flan- 
nel of  their  own  spinning,  and  the  boys  satinet, — then  generally  called 
cassinet, — flax,  and  wool.  The  preachers  and  the  teachers  were  rever- 
enced and  respected,  but  woe  unto  them  if  they  even  seemed  to  put  on 
airs  on  account  of  their  '  store  clothes. ' 

"  Many  were  the  expedients  for  social  gatherings ;  but  to  these  brave, 
industrious  pioneers  it  was  essential  to  unite  business  with  pleasure,  and 
I  rarely  heard  of  a  party  which  was  not  utilized  for  the  advancement  of 
improvements  on  the  farm.  The  singing-school  was  the  only  exception. 
In  the  log-rolling,  the  wood-chopping,  the  flax-skutching,  the  sheep- 
shearing,  all  the  neighbors  would  go  the  rounds  helping  each  other,  in 
the  spirit  of  the  song, — 

"'  Let  the  wide  world  wag  as  it  will, 
We'll  be  gay  and  happy  still.' 

"  '  Skutching'  was  the  term  used  for  the  primitive  mode  of  separating 
the  woody  part  of  the  flax  from  the  fibre  used  in  weaving  cloth,  and  a 
skutching  was  a  jolly  party,  in  which  the  boys  took  the  heavier  part,  and 
passed  the  '  hank'  to  the  girls  for  the  lighter,  more  delicate  work  of 
polishing. 

"Thus  the  logs  were  rolled  in  the  clearings,  the  flax  and  wool  pre- 
pared for  the  loom,  and  the  firewood  made  ready  for  the  winter.  But 
the  most  primitive,  most  amusing,  and  the  merriest  gathering  of  all  was 
the  kicking  frolic. 

29  44i 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  of  the  readers  of  this  book  have  ever  seen 
a  kicking  frolic.  Let  me  try  to  describe  it.  As  I  have  said,  the  people 
made  all  their  own  clothes  in  those  days.  After  the  web  was  woven,  the 
next  process  was  fulling,  whereby  the  cloth  was  properly  shrunken  for 
use.  Generally  it  was  taken  to  fulling-mills,  but  in  some  parts  they  were 
so  far  away  and  so  expensive  that  the  wits  of  the  pioneers  were  compelled 
to  invent  a  substitute.  One  night,  at  my  journey's  end  for  the  day,  near 
.  Punxsutawney,  I  was  invited  to  go  with  the  McComb  boys  to  Hender- 
son's kicking.  The  girls  of  the  whole  neighborhood  had  spent  the  after- 
noon at  quilting,  for  the  quilting  was  an  accompaniment  of  nearly  all  the 
other  frolics,  and  at  dark  the  boys  assembled  for  the  kicking.  The  good 
old  Mrs.  Henderson  had  prepared  a  boiler  full  of  soapsuds.  The  web 
of  cloth  was  placed  on  the  kitchen  floor, — a  floor  generally  made  from 
puncheons, — that  is,  logs  split  and  smoothed  with  the  axe  and  adze. 
Around  the  web  was  placed  a  circle  of  chairs,  with  a  plough-line  or  a 
clothes-line  circling  the  chairs,  to  hold  the  circle  together  for  work. 
Thus  equipped  the  boys  took  off  shoes  and  stockings,  rolled  up  their 
pants  to  their  knees,  placed  themselves  on  the  chairs  in  the  circle,  and 
then  the  kicking  began.  The  old  lady  poured  on  the  soapsuds  as  hot 
as  the  boys'  feet  could  stand,  and  they  sent  the  web  whirling  and  the 
suds  splashing  to  the  ceiling  of  the  kitchen,  and  thus  the  web  was  fulled 
to  the  proper  thickness  and  dimensions.  Despite  the  good  Mrs.  Hen- 
derson's protestations  that  '  the  hard  work  would  kill  the  boys,'  I  stripped 
and  went  in,  and  never  did  a  boy  so  sweat  in  his  life.  The  work  was 
done.  The  barred  flannel  was  ready  for  the  girls'  dresses,  the  blankets  for 
the  beds,  and  the  satin  for  the  boys'  clothes.  A  merrier  time  boys  and 
girls  never  enjoyed,  nor  did  a  party  ever  have  a  better  supper  than  Mrs. 
Henderson  prepared.  There  was  no  dance,  but  the  kissing  plays  of  the 
time  lent  zest  to  the  occasions,  and 

"  '  In  the  wee  sma'  hours  ayont  the  twal' 

all  returned  to  happy  homes. 

"The  threshing  machinery  was  unknown  to  the  farmers  anywhere, 
and  the  flail  did  the  work  of  threshing.  Even  the  fanning-mill  was  un- 
common, as  I  remember  of  but  three  on  all  that  route.  There  was  a 
mode  of  winnowing  grain  by  three  men,  one  shaking  the  wheat  in  the 
chaff  through  a  ridder  or  sieve,  and  two  waving  a  tightly  drawn  sheet, 
producing  wind  to  separate  the  chaff  from  the  grain. 

"In  places  I  have  seen  hand  mills  for  grinding  corn  and  wheat. 
They  had  an  upper  and  nether  millstone,  the  upper  stone  being  turned 
by  a  '  handle'  standing  nearly  perpendicularly  above  the  centre  of  the 
stone. 

"In  the  wilderness  was  every  animal  native  to  the  clime, — the  deer, 

442 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  wild  turkey,  the  fox,  the  raccoon,  the  wolf,  the  porcupine,  the  bear, 
and  the  panther.  There  I  have  seen  scores  of  such  animals.  Frequently 
I  have  met  bears  in  pairs,  but  I  never  saw  a  panther,  though  I  frequently 
heard  their  familiar  screams.  It  was  a  shy  animal,  but  considered  the 
most  dangerous  of  all  wild  animals.  On  one  occasion,  when  near  the 
middle  of  that  wilderness  of  sixteen  miles,  I  was  startled  by  the  fearful 
screams  of  a  panther,  which,  from  the  sound,  seemed  fast  approaching 
me.  Hurriedly  breaking  a  limb  from  a  spruce -tree,  I  lashed  my  horse 
into  all  his  speed ;  still  the  screams  became  more  distinct  and  frightful. 
I  had  perhaps  run  my  horse  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  a  bear  rushed 
through  the  thick  underbrush  across  the  road,  not  more  than  two  rods 
ahead  of  me,  the  screaming  of  the  panther  sounding  as  if  he  was  not  a 
rod  behind  in  the  brush.  The  bear  never  stopped  to  look  at  me,  and  I 
plied  my  stick  to  the  horse's  back,  shoulder,  and  flank  with  all  my  power, 
running  him  until  the  sounds  gradually  died  away,  and  the  exhausted 
horse  gave  out  and  I  was  compelled  to  slacken  my  speed.  My  first  stop- 
ping-place was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Andrew  Bowers,  at  the  edge  of  the 
wilderness.  I  told  him  my  story,  and  he  replied,  'John,  that  was  a 
"painter,"  and  that  "painter"  was  after  that  bear,  and  if  he  had  come 
up  to  that  bear  when  you  were  near  it,  he  would  have  jumped  onto  you 
quicker  than  the  bear.  Now,  John,'  he  continued,  '  don't  run,  nor  don't 
advance  on  it.  If  you  do  either,  the  "painter"  will  attack  you.  But 
just  stop  and  look  the  "painter"  in  the  eye,  and  by  and  by  he  will 
quietly  walk  off.' 

"I  have  twice  seen  in  the  wilderness  that  rarest  of  animals,  the  black 
fox,  whose  fur  rivals  the  seal  and  the  sable  in  ladies'  apparel. 

"  Did  I  ever  see  ghosts  ?  Of  course  I  did.  What  could  a  poor  post- 
boy know  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  wilderness  which  has  since  developed 
some  of  the  most  wonderful  gas-wells  of  the  age  ?  In  that  wild  country 
the  ignis-fatuus  was  frequently  seen.  Once  I  saw  a  floating  light  in  the 
darkness,  and  in  my  fright  was  trotting  my  horse  at  his  best  speed,  when 
he  stumbled  on  a  rock,  throwing  me  clear  over  his  head,  the  mail-bag 
following.  I  grabbed  the  bags  and  was  on  my  horse's  back  before  he 
could  get  off  his  knees.  The  '  ghost'  in  the  mean  time  had  vanished. 
Once,  when  about  half-way  between  Smicksburg  and  Punxsutawney,  a 
light  as  brilliant,  it  seemed  to  me,  as  Paul  saw  on  his  way  to  Damascus, 
shot  up  under  my  horse.  I  grabbed  my  hat,  as  my  hair  seemed  to  stand 
on  end.  I  was  so  alarmed  that  I  told  my  story  to  the  postmaster  at 
Ewing's  Mill,  and  he  relieved  my  mind  greatly  by  explaining  the  phe- 
nomenon. He  said,  'Was  there  snow  on  the  ground?'  'Yes.'  And 
then  he  went  on  to  relieve  my  fears  in  the  most  kindly  way,  telling  me 
that  all  the  stories  about  ghosts,  spooks,  and  hobgoblins  could  be  ex 
plained  on  natural  principles.  He  said  that  at  times  natural  gas  exuded 
from  between  the  rocks,  and  that  the  snow  confined  it,  and  that  my 

443 


PIONEER  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

horse's  shoe  had  struck  fire  from  the  flinty  rock,  and  the  gas  exploded. 
I  believed  him,  and  my  ghost  story  was  exploded,  too,  but  I  would  have 
killed  a  horse  before  I  would  have  ventured  over  that  spot  in  night-time 
again. 

"The  boys  of  that  period  had  as  much  fun  in  their  composition  as 
those  of  the  present  age.  One  Halloween  we  sauntered  '  on  fun  intent' 
near  where  Dayton  now  stands.  We  lodged  a  yearling  calf  in  a  hay- 
mow, changed  the  hind  wheels  of  the  only  two  wagons  in  the  neighbor- 
hood to  the  forward  axles,  and  vice  versa,  robbed  a  loom  and  strung  the 
maiden's  web  from  tree  to  tree  across  the  road,  and  changed  the  natural 
order  of  things  generally.  I  remember  especially  that  in  our  mischief  we 
accidentally  broke  a  window  in  the  house  of  a  good  old  couple.  We  re- 
paid damages  by  a  boy  slipping  up  and  depositing  fifty  cents  on  the  sill 
of  the  broken  window.  The  old  people  were  so  universally  esteemed  that 
malicious  mischief  would  have  been  investigated  ;  but  whether  the  motive 
for  recompense  was  remorse  for  a  bad  act  or  esteem  for  their  two  beautiful 
daughters  with  raven  locks  and  black  eyes,  this  boy  will  only  confess  for 
himself.  The  McComb  boys  reported  that  one  of  the  girls  called  on  the 
way  to  the  store  the  next  day  for  glass  and  expressed  the  gratitude  of  the 
family  for  the  kind  consideration  of  the  boys  in  making  restitution. 

"  I  distinctly  remember  how  we  all  put  in  our  utmost  strength  to 
place  a  log  endwise  against  the  door  of  Dr.  Sims's  house,  so  as  to  press 
it  inward  with  such  force  that  an  urgent  call  before  morning  compelled 
the  doctor  to  crawl  out  of  the  window." — Punxsutawney  News. 

RIDGWAY   TOWNSHIP. 

THE  PIONEER  SETTLER  AND  OTHER  EARLY  SETTLERS — PIONEER  ROAD  UP 
HOGBACK  HILL — PIONEER  GRIST-MILL  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS — PIONEER 
PHYSICIAN  AND  MINISTERS — PIONEER  BLACKSMITH — THE  PIONEER  ELEC- 
TION— JAMES  L.  GILLIS,  ETC. 

Ridgway,  the  fourth  township,  was  organized  in  1826,  being  taken 
from  Pine  Creek,  and  named  after  a  Mr.  Jacob  Ridgway,  residing  in 
Philadelphia,  a  large  landholder  in  the  township.  It  was  then  bounded 
on  the  north  and  east  by  McKean  County,  and  south  and  west  by  Pine 
Creek  township.  The  taxables  in  1826  were  20  ;  in  1835,  4°  >  in  I&42> 
75.  The  population  by  census  in  1830  was  50;  and  in  1840,  195.  In 
1843  this  township  was  separated  from  Jefferson  County  by  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  new  county  called  Elk,  and  has  now  within  its  bounds  the  seat 
of  justice  for  that  county,  and  which  is  also  named  Ridgway. 

The  pioneer  settler  of  Ridgway  township  was  "a  pioneer  hunter 
named  General  Wade  and  family,  with  a  friend  named  Slade,  who  came 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  Little  Toby  in  1798,  and  settled  temporarily. 
In  1803  the  party  returned  east,  but  the  same  year  came  hither  and  built 

444 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 


445 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

a  log  house  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Toby  on  the  east  bank.  In  1806, 
while  Wade  and  Slade  were  hunting  near  what  is  now  Blue  Rock,  they 
saw  an  Indian  girl  watching  them.  Approaching  her,  Wade  enticed  her 
to  follow  him  to  his  home,  and  there  introduced  her  to  Mrs.  Wade.  In 
1809  this  Indian  girl  married  Slade,  Chief  Tamisqua  performing  the  cere- 
mony. Slade  removed  with  his  wife  to  where  Portland  now  is  and  estab- 
lished a  trading  house  there." — Elk  County  History. 

Of  the  early  settlers  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  wrote  as  follows : 

"About  the  time  of  the  'late  war'  with  England,  in  1812,  some  ven- 
turesome men  pushed  their  way  up  the  Susquehanna  River  and  up  the 
Sinnemahoning  Creek  to  the  mouth  of  Trout  Run  on  Bennett's  Branch, 
at  which  place  Leonard  Morey  located  and  built  a  saw- mill.  Dwight 
Caldwell,  John  Mix,  and  Eben  Stephens  came  at  the  same  time.  These 
were  the  first  settlers  on  Bennett's  Branch.  About  the  same  time  a  large 
tract  of  country,  containing  some  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  acres, 
which  had  been  surveyed  on  warrants  issued  in  the  name  of  James  Wil- 
son, had  come  into  the  possession  of  Fox,  Norris  &  Co.,  Quakers,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  sent  William  Kersey  as  agent  to  construct  a  road  into 
their  lands  and  build  a  mill.  The  road  started  from  a  point  on  an  old 
State  road  leading  to  Waterford,  Pennsylvania,  about  eight  miles  west  of 
the  Susquehanna  River,  passed  through  the  woods  over  Boon's  Mountain, 
crossed  Little  Toby's  Creek,  without  a  bridge,  where  Hellen  Mills  now 
stand,  followed  up  the  creek  seven  miles  to  the  point  of  Hogback  Hill, 
up  which  it  went,  though  steep  and  difficult,  continued  over  the  high  and 
undulating  grounds  to  the  spot  which  had  been  selected  for  a  mill  site  on 
a  stream  which  was  afterwards  called  Elk  Creek,  where  the  mill  was  built, 
about  two  miles  from  the  present  Centreville.  Jacob  Wilson  was  the 
miller  who  for  many  years  attended  this  mill.  Often  the  old  man  had 
to  go  a  mile  and  a  half  from  his  own  house  to  the  mill  to  grind  a  small 
grist  of  a  bushel,  brought  on  horseback  ;  but  his  patience  was  quite  equal 
to  the  emergency,  and  he  did  it  without  complaining. 

"A  few  settlers  came  into  the  county  about  the  time  the  Kersey  Mill 
was  built ;  of  these  I  may  mention  Elijah  Meredith,  James  Green,  Josiah 
Taylor,  J.  R.  Hancock,  David  Reesman,  John  Kyler,  and  John  Shafer, 
with  their  families  ;  these  constituted  the  Kersey  settlement." 

This  settlement  was  in  Clearfield  County,  but  was  along  the  line  of 
Jefferson,  and  its  history  is  a  part  of  ours. 

"In  1822,  Alonzo  and  James  W.  Brockway  settled  on  the  Henry 
Pfeffer  tract,  Lottery  Warrant  No.  34 ;  they  had  to  cut  their  way  down 
the  creek  five  miles  from  Philetus  Clark's.  This  was  the  first  settlement 
in  what  afterwards  became  Snyder  township,  and  where  Brockwayville 
now  stands.  Rev.  Jonathan  Nichols  settled  on  the  Brandy  Camp.  He 
was  the  first  clergyman  who  settled  in  this  section,  and  spent  his  life  in 
serving  the  people.  He  was  the  first  physician,  and  his  visits  were  re- 

446 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

quired  over  a  large  extent  of  country.  As  a  clergyman,  his  ministrations 
were  generally  well  accepted,  and  his  meetings  as  well  attended  as  could 
be  in  a  country  so  sparsely  settled ;  people  frequently  went  six  or  eight 
miles  to  meeting.  In  the  winter  their  carriages  were  sleds  drawn  by 
oxen ;  in  the  summer,  men,  women,  and  children  could  walk  nine  or  ten 
miles  and  home  again  the  same  day." 

The  old  State  road  spoken  of  here  by  Dr.  Clarke  was  the  Milesburg 
and  Le  Bceuf  road  that  passed  through  Port  Barnett. 

One  of  the  pioneers  of  Ridgway  township  was  James  L.  Gillis.  In 
June,  1820,  he  left  his  home  in  Ontario  County,  New  York,  to  look  over 
the  land,  and  in  December,  1820,  he  moved  his  family  into  the  wilder- 
ness. They  came  in  sleds,  and  it  required  two  days ;  they  had  to  camp 
out  overnight.  Gillis  was  an  agent  for  Ridgway,  and  was  furnished 
ample  means  for  all  expenses.  He  cleared  five  hundred  acres  of  land, 
erected  a  large  frame  house,  and  built  a  grist-mill  and  a  carding-machine. 
Reuben  A.  Aylesworth  and  Enos  Gillis  came  with  his  family. 

James  L.  Gillis  was  a  man  of  State  celebrity.  He  was  absent  nearly 
all  the  time,  lobbying  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  or  at  Washington. 
He  was  a  very  interesting  man  to  talk  with. 

In  1826,  William  Morgan,  of  Batavia,  New  York,  was  abducted  from 
his  home  at  night  and  never  heard  of  afterwards.  Morgan  had  been  a 
Mason,  and  published  the  alleged  secrets  of  the  Masonic  order.  The 
Masons  were  charged  with  abducting  and  murdering  him.  Mystery  sur- 
rounds his  disappearance  to  this  day.  Intense  excitement  prevailed  all 
over  the  nation. 

Mr.  Gillis  was  a  Mason,  and  was  arrested  at  Montmorenci  and  carried 
to  New  York  State,  and  there  tried  for  the  abduction  and  murder  of 
Morgan.  In  the  trial  he  was  cleared. 

Mr.  Gillis  was  a  cavalry  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  took  part  in 
several  severe  engagements.  He  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British  and 
suffered  severely.  He  was  a  model  man  physically,  and  by  nature  en- 
dowed with  much  intelligence.  This,  added  to  his  extensive  travels  and 
political  experience,  gave  him  a  prominence  in  the  State  and  nation  that 
few  men  possessed.  Gillis  was  the  Patriarch  in  Ridgway  township.  He 
migrated  in  1821  to  what  he  named  Montmorenci,  Pine  Creek  townsbip, 
then  in  Jefferson  County.  He  brought  his  children  and  brother-in-law 
with  him.  He  cleared  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  one  chopping,  and 
built  a  grist-mill  and  a  carding-mill  in  those  woods. 

For  five  years  he  was  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed,  and  without  any 
post-office  nearer  than  fifty  miles  of  him.  He  came  to  Port  Barnett, 
near  Brookville,  to  vote,  was  liable  to  and  for  militia  service,  and  for  all 
legal  business  had  to  go  to  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  a  distance  of  ninety 
miles.  While  at  Montmorenci  in  1826  he  was  instrumental  in  securing 
a  mail-route  from  Kittanning  to  Olean,  New  York.  This  gave  him  mail 

447 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

service  once  in  two  weeks.     He  was  a  great  horseman  and  horseback 
rider. 

Gillis  was  related  to  Jacob  Ridgway,  one  of  the  richest  men  in  the 
State,  and  he  was  agent  for  all  his  lands  in  Jefferson  County.  Gillis  was 
slow  and  methodical  in  his  habits;  was  fond  of  games, — viz.,  chess, 
backgammon,  checkers,  and  euchre.  He  carried  a  snuff-box  that  held 
about  a  pint  of  the  choicest  snuff,  in  which  was  buried  a  Tonka  bean, 
that  imparted  to  the  snuff  a  delightful  aroma.  He  walked  with  a  gold- 
headed  cane,  and  in  winter  he  wore  a  panther-skin  overcoat.  Physically 
he  was  a  large  man,  and  was  sociable  and  agreeable.  In  1830  he  moved 
to  where  Ridgway  now  is.  He  was  elected  to  several  offices,  including 
Congress.  He  moved  to  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  where  he  died  in  1881, 
aged  eighty-nine  years. 

"  Sleep,  soldier,  though  many  regret  thee 

Who  pass  by  thy  cold  bier  to-day  ; 
Soon,  soon  shall  the  kindest  forget  thee, 

And  thy  name  from  the  earth  pass  away. 
The  man  thou  didst  love  as  a  brother 

A  friend  in  thy  place  will  have  gained, 
And  thy  dog  shall  keep  watch  for  another, 

And  thy  steed  by  another  be  reined." 

The  second  saw-mill  was  erected  by  Enos  Gillis  in  1823,  at  the 
western  end  of  what  is  now  Ridgway,  and  is  standing  as  it  did  seventy 
years  ago,  only  it  is  transformed  into  part  of  an  axe-factory. 

James  Gallagher  and  family  arrived  in  1825,  over  the  same  trail 
Gillis  came.  Enos  Gillis  and  James  Gallagher  were  the  pioneers  in  what 
is  now  called  Ridgway  borough,  by  having  erected  there  three  or  four 
log  cabins  and  a  saw-mill  in  1824.  About  1838,  J.  S.  Hyde,  father  of 
Hon.  W.  H.  Hyde,  reached  Ridgway  clothed  in  overalls,  and  all  his 
possessions  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief.  He  entered  the  store  of  Gillis  & 
Clover  and  wanted  to  buy  an  axe  on  credit ;  on  being  refused  he  told 
the  storekeeper  to  keep  his  axe ;  that  he  would  see  the  day  when  he 
could  buy  the  whole  store. 

Caleb  Dill  was  the  "  post-boy"  in  1828. 

The  pioneer  tannery  was  started  in  1830.  Enos  Gillis,  owner;  James 
Gallagher,  tanner. 

"WANTED  IMMEDIATELY. 

"  Two  apprentices  to  the  TANNING  BUSINESS.  Two  boys,  about  17  or  18  years  of 
age,  who  can  come  well  recommended,  will  find  a  good  place.  All  pains  will  be  taken 
to  acquaint  them  with  the  business. 

"  JAMES  GALLAGHER. 
"  RIDGWAY  TOWNSHIP,  March  13,  1834." 
—  The  Jeffersonian. 

448 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  road  was  the  State  road  from  Kittanning  to  Olean. 
There  was  great  excitement  and  enthusiasm  by  the  land- owners  and 
settlers  over  this  State  road.  But  it  all  came  to  naught,  for  the  road  has 
never  been  used  to  any  extent.  It  is  still  known  as  the  Olean  road 
where  it  is  not  grown  up  and  abandoned. 

The  Ceres  road  was  laid  out  in  1825  and  finished  in  1828.  The 
Milesburg  and  Smethport  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  1825, 
and  the  road  was  finished  about  1830.  (See  Laws.) 

In  1840  the  waters  of  what  is  now  called  the  Clarion  were  as  clear  as 
crystal,  pure  as  life,  and  gurgled  into  the  river  from  the  mountain 
springs.  No  tannery  or  other  refuse  was  to  be  found  in  it.  In  1749  the 
French  named  the  stream  Gall  River.  It  was  declared  a  public  highway 
as  Toby's  Creek  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  March  21,  1798,  up  to  the 
second  great  fork. 

In  early  times  this  river  was  known  as  Stump  Creek,  and  sometimes 
as  Toby's  Creek,  and  it  is  said  that  it  got  these  two  names  after  two 
Indian  hunters,  who  were  in  the  habit  (in  the  winter)  of  going  up  this 
river  in  canoes,  to  hunt  and  trap.  They  would  return  each  spring  with 
their  furs  and  meat  to  their  villages  down  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  Rivers. 

It  was  called  Toby's  Creek  as  early  as  1758.  Unable  myself  to  find 
any  authority  for  a  change  to  Clarion,  I  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  Inter- 
nal Affairs,  and  received  the  following, — viz.  : 

"June  8,  1897. 
"  HON.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  your  letter  of  recent  date,  we  beg  to  say 
that  we  are  unable  to  find  any  act  of  Assembly  changing  the  name  of 
Toby's  Creek  to  Clarion  River.  In  an  act  to  authorize  the  erection  of  a 
dam,  passed  in  1822,  this  stream  is  designated  as  'Toby's  Creek,  other- 
wise called  Clarion  River.' 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

'•JAMES  W.  LATTA, 

' '  Secretary. ' ' 

The  early  mills  in  and  around  Ridgway  were  the  Elk  Creek  Mill, 
owned  by  J.  S.  Hyde,  the  Mill  Creek  Mill,  owned  by  Yale  &  Healey, 
and  the  Dickinson  Mill.  This  mill  was  erected  by  Hughes  &  Dickinson, 
and  painted  red.  The  boarding-house  was  also  red. 

In  the  year  1833  there  were  seven  families  in  what  is  now  Ridgway, 
— viz.,  Reuben  Aylesworth  and  Caleb  Dill  west  of  the  river,  and  Enos 
Gillis,  James  W.  Gallagher,  H.  Karns,  Thomas  Barber,  and  Joab  Dobbins 
on  the  east  side. 

About  1840,  common  hands  on  the  river  received  one  dollar  per  day 
and  board.  Pilots,  two  and  three  dollars  per  day  and  board.  The 
"  head"  sawyer  on  the  Red  Mill  received  twenty-five  dollars  per  month 

449 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  board  ;  the  assistant,  eighteen  dollars  per  month  and  board  ;  and 
common  hands,  fifteen  dollars  a  month  and  board. 

The  usual  religious  exercises  on  Sunday  at  the  Red  Mill,  in  1842, 
were  wrestling,  fishing,  pitching  quoits,  shooting  at  mark,  running  foot- 
races, and  "jumping  by  the  double  rule  of  three." 

The  Beech  Bottom  Mill  belonged  to  the  Portland  Lumber  Company. 
The  diet  at  these  old  mills  was  bread,  potatoes,  beans,  flitch,  and  mo- 
lasses ;  brown  sugar,  old  tasted  butter,  coffee  and  tea  without  cream,  and 
for  dessert  dried  apple-sauce  or  pie.  Labor  was  cheap.  Pine  boards  of 
the  finest  quality  sold  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  at  seven  and  nine  dollars 
per  thousand.  If  the  operator  cleared  twenty-five  or  fifty  cents  on  a 
thousand  feet  he  was  thankful 

All  goods  and  groceries  were  dear,  they  had  to  be  hauled  from  Olean, 
New  York,  or  Waterson's  Ferry  on  the  Allegheny  River.  Money  was 
scarce,  the  people  social  and  kind.  Whiskey  and  New  England  rum  was 
three  cents  a  drink. 


PIONEER   TEAMSTERS — MELANCHOLY    ACCIDENT. 

"  On  Thursday,  the  4th  of  July,  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  Schram, 
from  Ridgway  settlement,  in  Jefferson  County,  a  wagoner,  while  at 
Freeport  waiting  the  arrival  of  some  store  goods  from  Pittsburg,  came  to 
a  sudden  and  untimely  end  by  his  wagon  oversetting  upon  him,  while 
driving  rather  faster  than  prudence  would  justify,  along  the  towpath. 
An  inquest  was  held  by  Robert  Criswell,  Esq.  Verdict  that  he  came  to 
his  death  by  the  upsetting  of  his  wagon  in  the  Pennsylvania  Canal.  The 
unfortunate  stranger  was  interred  in  decency  and  respect." — Armstrong 
Democrat,  July  4,  1837. 

Other  early  teamsters  from  Ridgway  to  Freeport,  Kittanning,  and 
Waterson's  Ferry  were  Conrad  Moyer,  Coryell  Wilcox,  Barney  McCune, 
and  Charles  B.  Gillis.  The  pioneer  and  early  teamsters  from  St.  Mary's 
to  those  points  were  John  Walker,  Charles  Fisher,  and  Joseph  Wilhelm. 
The  merchandise  carried  from  Pittsburg  to  this  region  was  by  canal  to 
Freeport,  by  keel-boat  and  steamboat  to  Kittanning  and  Waterson's 
Ferry.  The  teamsters  loaded  their  wagons  with  wheat  flour,  etc.,  in 
barrels  bound  with  hickory  hoops,  bacon  and  salt  and  whiskey  in  barrels 
bound  with  iron  hoops.  But,  strange  to  say,  there  was  always  a  soft  stave 
in  these  whiskey-barrels  through  which  a  "  rye  straw"  could  be  made  to 
reach  the  whiskey  for  the  teamster  and  his  friends  while  en  route  home. 

"  From  1825  to  1845  ^e  P'an  °f  Fourier — that  of  communities  with 
a  union  of  labor  and  capital  and  working  under  fixed  rules — was  actively 
put  into  operation  in  this  section  of  Pennsylvania.  On  the  main  road 
from  Ridgway  to  Smethport  are  the  remains  of  the  town  of  Teutonia, 
once  a  large  community ;  but  jealousies  grew  up,  and  the  members  dis- 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

persed  among  the  people  at  large,  and  became  industrious  and  useful 
citizens. 

"  The  sudden  advent  and  exit  of  this  community  had  its  prototype 
within  half  a  mile  of  Teutonia.  The  mouldering  wood  and  growth  of 
trees  of  half  a  century  mark  the  spot  where  was  laid  out  the  town  of 
Instanter.  Its  plot  is  duly  recorded  in  McKean  County.  Mr.  Cooper, 
a  large  landholder,  was  the  instigator,  if  not  the  forerunner  of  the  settle- 
ment. As  the  streets  were  marked  out,  the  buildings  went  up  like  magic ; 
but  Madam  Rumor  spread  a  report  that  the  land-title  was  unsound,  and 
on  investigation  such  was  found  to  be  the  fact.  Work  suddenly  ceased 
and  the  settlers  left." 

Part  of  the  Cooper  lands  were  situated  in  what  was  then  Jefferson 
County,  and  the  flaming  hand-bill  which  was  gotten  up  to  advertise  these 
lands  gave  the  following  explicit  directions  for  getting  to  them  : 

"  Title. — Three  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  for  sale  and  settle- 
ment. In  the  counties  of  McKean  and  Jefferson,  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, joining  the  New  York  line  and  the  Genesee  lands,  extending 
for  forty  miles,  and  situate  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  northwest 
from  Philadelphia,  etc. 

"  Settlers  and  others  wishing  to  go  into  the  aforesaid  lands  from  the 
northern  part  of  Jersey,  New  York,  and  New  England  States,  take  the 
Newburg  and  Cohecton  Turnpike,  or  such  roads  as  will  be  most  direct  to 
the  Painted  Post ;  then  cross  the  York  and  Pennsylvania  line,  taking  the 
Tioga  road  to  Dr.  Willar's  or  Widow  Barry's ;  thence  to  and  on  the  east 
and  west  road,  passing  Wellsborough  and  Coudersport  to  Smethport; 
thence  ten  miles  to  Instanter  (proposed  county  town  of  McKean).  For 
settlers  and  others  south  of  Easton,  fall  into  the  Lehigh  and  Berwick  or 
Sunbury  pike,  from  thence  to  Williamsport,  passing  by  Jersey  Shore  to 
the  aforesaid  east  and  west  road.  For  such  as  go  on  foot  or  horseback, 
they  can  take  the  Ellicott  road  from  Jersey  Shore,  passing  through  Duns- 
town,  and  up  the  Susquehanna  and  Sinnemahoning  to  Cox's  settlement 
and  Instanter. 

"  BENJAMIN  B.  COOPER. 

"COOPER'S  POINT,  April  25,  1812." 
— History  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  1835  a  man  by  the  name  of  Frank  Goodar  lived  in  Ridgway  town- 
ship, on  the  Beechwoods  road,  near  what  is  now  Brockwayville,  Snyder 
township.  He  was  married,  but  concluded  that  he  ought  to  have  two 
wives,  so  with  the  consent  of  wife  No.  i  he  married  Mollie  No.  2,  Squire 
McCullough,  of  Pine  Creek  township,  performing  the  ceremony  in  the 
summer  of  that  year.  For  this  offence  against  morals  Isaac  Temple 
prosecuted  Goodar  before  Thomas  Lucas,  Esq. ,  for  bigamy ;  but  at  the 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

hearing  of  September  12,  1835,  he  failed  to  prove  a  marriage  with  wife 
No.  i,  and  of  course  Goodar  was  discharged.  All  three  lived  together 
for  seven  years  in  a  log  cabin,  on  what  was  afterwards  the  Frost  farm, 
and  now  the  William  Kearney  place,  where  Frank  and  Mollie  deserted 
Beckie,  wife  No.  i. 

Ralph  Hill  settled  at  Portland  Mills  about  1832.  He  came  from 
Massachusetts.  He  lived  the  life  of  a  hermit.  Portland  becoming  too 
much  in  civilization,  he  moved  up  Spring  Creek,  and  lived  in  Forest 
County,  the  companion  of  wild  animals,  "where  his  right  there  was  none 
to  dispute."  He  died  at  a  ripe  old  age. 

The  pioneer  railroad  was  the  Sunbury  and  Erie.  "  The  Sunbury  and 
Erie,  now  the  Philadelphia  and  Erie,  a  portion  of  that  magnificent  sys- 
tem, the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  was  chartered  April  3,  1837,  but  it  was 
not  until  1852  that  construction  was  commenced,  and  the  road  was  not 
completed  until  1864." 

In  the  speculative  times  of  1836  non-residents  of  then  Jefferson 
County  bought  largely  of  the  wild  lands  in  and  around  Ridgway  town- 
ship, which,  of  course,  when  railroad  and  other  bubbles  burst,  was  left 
on  their  hands.  This  land  had  been  advertised  to  contain  valuable  iron 
ore  and  bituminous  coal,  and  much  of  it  could  have  been  bought  as  late 
as  1841  at  fifty  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre. 

To  build  a  railroad  through  a  dense  wilderness  of  worthless  hemlock, 
ferocious  beasts,  gnats,  and  wintergreen  berries  required  a  large  purse 
and  great  courage.  Of  course,  there  was  no  subject  talked  about  in  the 
cabin  homes  of  that  locality  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  pioneers  as  this 
railroad. 

There  was  not  a  cabin  on  the  line  of  this  proposed  road  from  Shippen 
to  Ridgway,  and  but  one  at  Johnsonburg  from  Ridgway  to  the  waters 
of  Tionesta. 

The  pioneer  justice  of  the  peace  was  Reuben  A.  Aylesworth,  appointed 
February  18,  1832. 

In  1839,  James  Watterson,  of  Armstrong  County,  Pennsylvania, 
settled  at  the  mouth  of  Spring  Creek,  and  he  and  Job  Paine  built  a  saw- 
mill. In  1833,  Ralph  Hill  and  a  man  named  Ransom  were  living  in  a 
shanty  at  Beech  Bottom. 

"The  pioneer  school  was  held  in  Gallagher's  log  cabin  (near  the 
present  Ridgway  Central  Graded  School),  in  1826,  under  the  control  of 
Hannah  Gilbert,  and  attended  by  the  children  of  the  three  families  re- 
siding there.  Subsequently  Ann  Berry  and  Betsey  Hyatt  taught  in  an  old 
red  school-house,  which  was  situated  at  the  present  site  of  Dillon's  meat 
market.  In  1834  a  house  for  common  school  purposes  was  erected 
above  the  old  Dickinson  homestead,  on  the  west  side  of  the  race  and 
north  side  of  Main  Street,  by  Messrs.  Crow,  Gallagher,  Thayer,  Dickin- 
son, Cobb,  and  Cady,  and  Betsey  (Elizabeth  M.)  Hyatt  installed  teacher. 

452 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

She  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Barnutz  in  1835.     ^  second  building  was 
erected  in  1838,  near  where  the  B.  R.  &  P.  depot  now  stands. 

In  the  winter  of  1832,  L.  Wilmarth,  Arthur  Hughes,  and  George 
Dickinson  erected  the  red  saw-mill.  Ridgway  was  laid  out  for  a  town 
in  1833. 

"  In  1834  the  first  bridge  was  put  across  the  Clarion  River.  This  was 
a  toll-bridge.  It  was  built  of  twelve  by  sixteen  inch  stringers  resting  on 
cribbing.  Before  this  time  teams  forded  the  river,  and  in  high  water  boats 
were  used.  The  country  was  covered  by  a  thick  growth  of  hemlock-trees. 
Game,  such  as  elks,  deer,  bears,  panthers,  and  wild-cats  were  found  in 
great  abundance,  fish  abounded  in  the  streams,"  and  rattlesnakes  and 
other  reptiles  were  numerous  and  dangerous. 

Up  to  1835,  Ridgway  township  included  all  that  portion  of  Snyder 
township  that  is  now  Brockwayville  borough,  and  even  west  of  Sugar 
Hill,  as  well  as  a  good  portion  of  what  is  now  Washington  township. 
Ridgway  in  1836  was  a  small  village.  At  the  west  end  of  the  town  was 
George  Dickinson's  boarding-house,  then  Henry  Gross's  home,  then 
Dickinson's  saw-mill  and  barn,  Caleb  Dill's  home,  justice  office,  and 
blacksmith-shop,  Stephen  Weis's  home  and  John  Cobb's  house,  Hon. 
James  L.  Gillis's  home  and  store,  George  Dickinson's  home  and  store, 
and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Clarion  was  the  Exchange  Hotel,  owned  by 
David  Thayer,  then  Edward  Derby's  old  red  house,  then  the  Lone  Star 
Hotel,  owned  by  P.  T.  Brooks. 

»  When  P.  T.  Brooks,  who  was  quite  a  wag,  very  polite  and  demon- 
strative, was  keeping  this  hotel  in  the  wilderness,  two  finely  dressed  and 
appearing  gentlemen  rode  up  one  day  in  front  of  and  stopped  at  his  hotel 
for  dinner.  Of  course,  this  was  an  opportunity  for  Mr.  Brooks  to  be 
demonstrative  and  polite.  After  seeing  that  the  horses  were  properly 
cared  for,  Brooks  approached  the  gentlemen  in  this  way:  "What  kind 
of  meat  would  you  gentleman  prefer  for  dinner?"  "Why,  Mr.  Land- 
lord, we  would  prefer  venison."  "I  am  sorry  that  we  are  just  out  of 
venison."  "Oh,  well,"  said  the  strangers,  "a  little  good  beef  or  mut- 
ton will  do."  "Well,  well,"  replied  Mr.  Brooks,  "I  am  sorry  to  say 
we  are  just  out  of  beef  and  mutton."  At  this  the  strangers  were  a  little 
nonplussed,  but  finally  said,  "We  will  be  satisfied  with  fish."  "Well, 
well,"  replied  Mr.  Brooks,  rubbing  his  hands,  "  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we 
are  just  out  of  fish,  but  we  have  some  very  excellent  pickled  pork." 

Uncle  Eben  Stevens,  an  old  hunter  who  came  to  the  Sinnemahoning 
region  about  1812,  told  me  there  was  an  Indian  graveyard  at  the  mouth 
of  Mill  Creek,  that  he  used  to  go  up  there  and  hunt  with  the  Indians,  and 
in  the  spring  they  would  paint  their  canoes  red  with  that  "iron  paint" 
on  the  Clarion. 

And  down  the  Toby  Creek — 

453 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Where  the  rocks  were  gray  and  the  shores  were  steep, 
Where  the  waters  below  looked  dark  and  deep, 
Where  the  shades  of  the  forest  were  heavy  and  deep  the  whole  day  through," 

Stevens  and  the  Indians  in  these  red  canoes  would  carry  their  game, 
skins,  and  furs  to  the  Pittsburg  market. 

The  pioneer  effort  to  erect  what  is  now  the  county  of  Elk  was  on 
Tuesday,  February  28,  1837,  when  an  act  to  erect  the  county  of  Ridg- 
way  was  reported  in  the  State  Senate. 

The  present  town  or  borough  of  St.  Mary's  was  established  in  1842. 
Father  Alexander  had  the  colony  in  charge  then.  Early  in  the  summer 
of  1842  a  number  of  Germans  in  the  cities  of  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia 
associated  themselves  in  a  society  to  form  a  German  settlement  on  the 
community  plan,  and  appointed  John  Albert,  Nicholas  Reimel,  and 
Michael  Deileth  to  select  the  place  for  settlement.  This  committee 
selected  Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  site  where  the  borough 
of  St.  Mary's  and  the  adjoining  settlement  now  is.  For  this  colony 
they  purchased  thirty-five  thousand  acres  of  land  from  Mr.  Kingsbury. 
In  October  of  this  year  the  first  instalment  of  settlers — one  from  Phila- 
delphia and  one  from  Baltimore — reached  John  Green's,  in  Kersey. 
From  Kersey  these  men,  in  two  instalments,  opened  a  path  to  where  St. 
Mary's  now  is,  and  immediately  set  to  work  to  erect  their  log  cabins  on 
St.  Mary's  Street.  In  December,  1842,  they  moved  their  families  to 
these  cabins,  and  the  county  of  Elk  was  organized  in  1843. 

The  pioneer  election  for  township  officers  was  held  in  Ridgway 
township,  at  the  house  of  James  Gallagher,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  1837. 
The  following  persons  contested, — viz. :  Constable,  Nehemiah  Bryant,  8 
votes ;  Alanson  Viall,  7  votes.  Supervisors,  James  Gallagher  and  Alonzo 
Brockway,  no  opposition.  Poor  Overseers,  Naphtala  G.  Barrun  and 
William  Maxwell,  no  opposition.  Fence  Appraisers,  Nehemiah  Bryant 
and  William  Taylor,  no  opposition.  Town  Clerk,  James  Gallagher. 
Officers  of  Election :  Inspector,  John  Stratton ;  Judges,  Nehemiah 
Bryant,  James  Brockway,  and  Alonzo  Brockway;  Clerk,  James  Gal- 
lagher. 

ROSE   TOWNSHIP. 

Rose,  the  fifth  township,  was  organized  in  1827,  and  was  also  taken 
from  Pine  Creek  township.  It  was  named  for  Dr.  Rose,  then  a  prom- 
inent landholder  in  its  territory.  He  founded  the  village  of  Roseville, 
and  labored  hard  to  make  it  the  county  seat,  but  failed  in  this  aspiration. 
Roseville  was  celebrated  for  the  early  horse-racing.  The  other  village  in 
the  township  is  Bellview  (post-office,  Stanton),  about  five  miles  south  of 
Brookville.  The  taxables  in  1828,  123;  in  1835,  252  (tms  included  the 
taxables  in  the  borough  of  Brookville).  The  town  and  township  held 
their  elections  together  for  a  number  of  years,  and  the  taxables  were  as- 

454 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

sessed  together  up  to  1845.  The  population  of  Rose  township,  including 
Brookville,  in  1840,  was  1421.  The  pioneer  settlers  in  Rose  township 
were  John  Matson  and  Mary,  his  wife.  He  built  his  cabin  on  the  land 
now  owned  by  his  son,  Robert  L.,  in  1805.  The  next  settler  was  Joseph 
Clements,  the  next  Andrew  Vastbinder.  John  Lucas  came  from  Crooked 
Creek,  Indiana  County,  in  1816,  and  settled  at  Puckety.  John  Kennedy 
came  in  the  spring  of  1822.  Walter  Templeton,  grandfather  of  Thomas 
L.  Templeton,  the  efficient  cashier  of  the  Brookville  National  Bank,  was 
living  in  the  township  then.  He  was  the  mechanic  of  that  time.  He 
could  do  any  and  all  kinds  of  repairing.  In  1826,  Samuel  D.  Kennedy 
settled  on  the  pike  near  Corsica.  There  was  a  log  house  then  in  what  is 
now  Corsica,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Powers  kept  a  tavern  in  it. 
Luther  Geer  settled  in  the  township  in  1833.  Peter  Thrush  in  1837. 


Square  timber. 

Peter  Himes  in  1838.  The  Enoch  and  Joseph  E.  Hall  family  came  in 
1833.  Joel  Spyker  came  in  1835.  The  Witherows  came  in  1833. 
William  Thompson  came  in  1834. 

James  Corbett  built  the  pioneer  saw-mill  on  Red  Bank,  near  Coders. 
The  pioneer  church  building  was  the  Bethel  log,  in  1824  (Presbyterian). 

The  pioneer  brick-yard  was  started  by  Colonel  William  Jack  and 
General  Wise.  It  was  situated  on  the  head  of  what  is  now  Heidrick, 
Matson  &  Co.'s  mill-pond,  on  the  east  side  of  the  North  Fork,  and  was 
operated  about  1830. 

455 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  improvement  in  what  is  now  Rose  township  was  made 
by  John  Matson.  He  built  the  first  pioneer  grist-mill  in  the  township, 
on  the  North  Fork,  above  Verstine  &  Kline's  saw-mill,  in  1830.  In 
1829  he  built  the  saw-mill  now  known  as  Verstine  &  Kline's  mill. 

The  pioneer  election  polling-place  was  at  the  house  of  John  Lucas. 
In  1836  it  was  changed  as  follows :  By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed 
the  1 6th  day  of  June,  1836,  it  was  enacted  "that  all  that  part  of  Rose 
township,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  lying  west  of  a  line  commencing  at 
the  home  of  Robert  Morrison,  on  the  line  of  Perry  township ;  thence 
north  along  an  old  line  to  the  Eldred  township  line,  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  erected  into  a  separate  election  district,  and  shall  hereafter  hold 
their  general  elections  at  the  house  now  occupied  by  Darius  Carrier 
within  said  bounds." 

Among  the  pioneer  industries  was  tar-burning.  Kilns  were  formed 
and  split  fagots  of  pitch-pine  knots  were  arranged  in  circles  and  burned. 
The  tar  was  collected  by  a  ditch  and  forced  into  a  chute,  and  from  there 
barrelled.  John  Matson,  Sr.,  marketed  on  rafts  as  high  as  forty  barrels 
inoneseason.  Freedom  Stiles  was  the  king  "tar-burner."  Pioneer  prices 
at  Pittsburg  for  tar  was  ten  dollars  a  barrel. 

The  pioneer  licensed  tavern  was  kept  by  John  Matson  on  the  old  State 
Road  in  1812. 

The  early  tavern-keepers,  or  those  to  whom  license  to  sell  whiskey 
was  granted,  were  William  Vastbinder,  William  Christy,  John  Shoemaker, 
David  Orcutt,  Anthony  Rowe,  James  Green,  Isaac  Mills,  and  Joshua 
McKinley.  The  two  latter  kept  at  Roseville.  Joseph  Henderson  at 
Dowlingville  in  1841. 

The  early  brick-kilns  were  started  in  1832,  one  by  Robert  P.  Barr 
and  the  other  by  Joseph  Kaylor. 

The  pioneer  birth  in  the  township  was  Jane,  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  Matson. 

At  the  pioneer  local  election  for  1828  the  number  of  votes  cast  was 
65,  and  at  the  general  election  in  the  fall,  66. 

At  an  election  held  at  the  home  of  John  Lucas,  March  20,  1829,  the 
following  persons  contested, — viz.  :  Supervisors.  Moses  Knapp,  39  votes ; 
James  Shields,  30  votes.  Poor  Overseers,  John  Lucas,  10  votes;  John 
Avery,  10  votes.  Auditor,  John  Hughes,  50  votes ;  Alonzo  Baldwin,  42 
votes;  R.  K.  Scott,  36  votes;  William  Morrison,  32  votes.  Constable, 
William  Love,  Jr.,  51  votes.  Fence-Viewers,  John  Kelso,  16  votes; 
Elijah  M.  Graham,  14  votes.  Town  Clerk,  John  Christy,  3  votes;  James 
Corbett,  3  votes.  Attest :  Alonzo  Baldwin,  John  Lucas,  judges. 

Election  district  according  to  the  act  of  April  16,  1838: 

"  SECTION  52.  That  the  citizens  of  Rose  township,  Jefferson  County, 
within  the  following  boundaries, — viz.  :  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  a  run 
putting  into  the  north  side  of  Red  Bank  Creek,  a  short  distance  west  of 

456 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  mill  of  Dr.  Bowling ;  thence  up  said  creek  till  it  strikes  the  Rose  dis- 
trict line ;  thence  west  to  county  line  between  Armstrong  and  Jefferson 
Counties,  and  from  a  place  or  point  the  nearest  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
aforesaid  run,  by  a  line  running  due  south  till  the  same  shall  strike  the 
northern  line  of  Perry  township,  shall  hold  their  elections  in  the  borough 
of  Brookville,  at  the  place  now  appointed  by  law  for  holding  the  borough 
election." 

A    POLITICAL    CANDIDATE. 

"  Prior  to  March,  1832,  our  neighboring  county  of  Jefferson  was  with- 
out any  newspaper,  and  the  announcements  of  candidates  for  county 
offices  were  then  made  through  the  weekly  papers  of  this  county,  and  it 
might  be  incidentally  added  that  then,  as  ever  since  over  that  way,  there 
was  no  scarcity  of  candidates. 

"The  announcements  were  generally  inserted  prominently  in  large 
type,  occupying  from  three  to  five  times  as  much  space  as  would  be 
allowed  in  these  days. 

"  One  of  these  announcements,  which  was  shown  us  a  few  days  ago  by 
one  of  our  subscribers,  appeared  regularly  in  the  Indiana  Free  Press  for 
three  months  prior  to  the  October  election  in  1831.  It  is  a  curiosity. 
Here  it  is  in  its  original  form  and  style : 

"'TO   THE   FREE   AND   INDEPENDENT    ELECTORS   OF   JEFFERSON    COUNTY. 

"  '  Solicited  it's  I  have  been, 

To  stand  a  poll  by  many, 
For  office  of  Commissioner 

Before,  have  not  agreed  to  any ; 
My  name  at  length  I  will  let  go, 

Through  medium  of  the  press. 
By  word  of  mouth  and  by  hand-bills, 

Which  way  they  think  it  best ; 
It's  free  and  independent  times, 

October  you  will  see, 
The  second  Tuesday,  if  I'm  right, 

The  polls  will  ended  be; 
And  now  I'll  say  what  I  have  said 

Before,  on  such  occasions, 
That  if  elected  to  an  office, 

I'll  do  my  best  endeavors 
To  fill  the  office  I'm  put  in 

With  punctuality, 
And  with  the  utmost  of  my  skill, 

Though  best  it  may  not  be ; 
If  I'm  elected  to  that  trust, 

My  best  wishes  shall  be  fervent, 
Whilst  here  I  stand  a  candidate, 

Your  most  obedient  servant. 
30  457 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

JOHN  CHRISTIE  is  my  name  in  full, 

America  is  my  nation, 
Rose  township  is  my  dwelling  place, 

A  Farmer  is  my  station. 
'"July  31,  1831.'" 
— Indiana  Messenger. 

I  copy  the  following  advertisement  from  the  Brookville  Democratic 
Republican  of  the  year  1837  : 

"CAMP-MEETING. 

"There  will  be  a  camp-meeting  held  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  below  Troy,  to  commence  on  Friday,  the  ist  day  of  September, 

1837- 

"DARIUS  CARRIER." 

HORSE-RACING. 

Horse-racing  was  practised  as  early  as  when  Troy  was  besieged  by 
the  Greeks.  In  the  plain  before  the  city  the  besiegers  celebrated  holi- 
days by  sports  and  horse-races,  and  Homer  says  the  walls  of  Troy  were 
covered  with  sporting  Trojans  watching  the  result. 

The  trotting  horse  is  an  institution  of  the  present  century.  Before 
1800  running  was  the  only  method  of  racing. 

Horse-racing  as  practised  in  the  pioneer  days  of  our  county  was  a 
great  sport.  People  came  here  from  all  the  northwest. 

THE   ROSEVILLE    PIONEER   RACE -GROUND. 

" Jefferson  County  Races. — On  Tuesday,  the  i4th  of  November, 
instant,  will  be  run  over  the  race-course  on  the  Levvistown  and  Erie 
Turnpike,  near  the  public  house  of  Mrs.  Mills,  four  miles  west  of  Brook- 
ville, a  match  race  of  600  yards  between  the  celebrated  racers  Robin  and 
Zib.  The  public  and  all  others  friendly  are  hereby  invited  to  attend. 
By  order  of 

"THE  PROPRIETORS. 

"November  2,  1837." 

"  Robin' '  was  a  Brookville  horse,  and  won  this  race.  He  was  a  sorrel, 
and  belonged  to  John  Pierce  and  Major  William  Rodgers.  These  men 
purchased  him  from  Ephraim  Bushly  for  five  hundred  dollars,  and  they 
sold  him  to  Benjamin  Bennett,  Sr.,  of  Bellefonte,  where  he  was  taken  and 
matched  for  a  race.  He  had  never  been  beaten  in  a  race,  but  before  this 
match  took  place  in  Centre  County  he  was  poisoned  and  ruined. 

"  Zib"  was  a  dark  bay  horse,  and  was  owned  by  a  Mr.  Chambers,  of 
Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  "stake"  in  the  above  race  was 
three  hundred  dollars.  Great  crowds  attended  these  races.  People 
came  from  Indiana,  Armstrong,  Crawford,  Clearfield,  and  Centre.  The 

458 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PEXNA. 

stake  was  usually  three  hundred  dollars,  and  the  excitement  and  side- 
betting  was  lively. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  no,  regulating  election  districts,  ap- 
proved July  u,  1842,  established  the  polling-place  for  Rose  township  as 
follows  : 

"SECTION  n.  That  the  qualified  voters  of  Rose  township,  Jefferson 
County,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  general  election  at  the  court-house  of 
Brookville,  in  said  county." 

The  pioneer  to  clear  land  in  what  might  be  called  South  Rose  was 
Joseph  Millen.  Robert  Morrison  was  the  second. 

The  pioneer  school-house  was  on  the  farm  of  William  Carr.  The 
one  at  Bellview  was  built  in  1842. 

The  pioneer  church  was  on  the  land  of  William  Ohl  in  1837. 

The  Brookville  Republican,  under  date  of  June  13,  1837,  contains  the 
following : 

"DISTRESSING  ACCIDENT. 

"  On  Saturday,  the  24th  day  of  May  last,  a  few  men  were  collected 
in  building  a  church  in  this  vicinity.  While  in  the  act  of  pushing  up  a 
log  it  accidentally  slipped  off  the  skates  and  fell  upon  Mr.  Robert  Mor- 
rison and  crushed  him,  so  that  he  survived  but  a  few  hours." 

This  church  was  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Simon  Reitz,  of  Beaver 
township. 

"  Between  the  years  of  1830  and  1840  a  number  of  German  families 
came  into  the  lower  part  of  the  county  and  settled  near  Red  Bank 
Creek. 

"The  impulse  given  to  the  lumber  trade  by  the  speculations  in  the 
State  of  Maine  was  not  without  its  influence  in  the  remote  sections  of  the 
Union.  The  keen  sagacity  of  the  Yankee  discovered  that  there  were 
vast  bodies  of  pine  lands  lying  around  the  sources  of  the  Allegheny  River, 
not  appreciated  at  their  full  value  by  the  few  pioneers  who  lived  among 
them.  The  Yankees  had  learned  to  estimate  the  value  of  pine  land  by 
the  tree  and  by  the  log  ;  the  Pennsylvanians  still  estimated  it  by  the  acre. 
Somewhere  between  1830  and  1837  individuals  and  companies  from  New 
England  and  New  York  purchased  considerable  bodies  of  land  on  the 
head-waters  of  Red  Bank  and  Clarion  Rivers  from  the  Holland  Land 
Company  and  other  large  land-holders.  They  proceeded  to  erect  saw- 
mills and  to  drive  the  lumber  trade  after  the  most  approved  method. 
The  little  leaven  thus  introduced  caused  quite  a  fermentation  among  the 
lumbermen  and  land-holders  of  the  county.  More  land  changed  owners, 
new  water  privileges  were  improved,  capital  was  introduced  from  abroad, 
and  during  the  spring  floods  every  creek  and  river  resounded  with  the 
preparation  of  rafts  and  the  lively  shouts  of  the  lumbermen  as  they  shot 

459 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

their  rafts  over  the  swift  chutes  of  the  mill-dams.     The  population  of  the 
county  was  trebled  in  ten  years." 


Matson  dam. 

In  1840-43  large  bodies  of  original  tracts  were  still  held  by  rich  pro- 
prietors at  a  distance.  The  price  of  land  then  was  fifty  cents,  one  dollar, 
and  three  dollars  per  acre. 

BARNETT   TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  was  so  called  for  Joseph  Barnett,  the  patriarch ;  it  was 
the  sixth  organization,  and  was  separated  from  Rose  township  in  1833. 
That  part  lying  north  of  the  Clarion  River  was  taken  away  from  it  by 
the  organization  of  Forest  County.  The  taxables  in  1835  were  70; 
1842,  67.  The  census  gave  it  for  population,  in  1840,  259. 

In  1827,  William,  George,  and  Samuel  Armstrong  came  to  that  sec- 
tion. In  1829,  David  and  Joseph  Reynolds,  John  Cook,  John  H.  Maize, 
and  Alex.  Murray  located.  David  Reynolds  cleared  the  first  land  and 
ran  the  first  lumber  in  1829.  Other  early  settlers  were  Alex.  Forsythe, 
Robert  Wallace,  Richard  Burns,  and  Orrin  Butterfield.  The  pioneer 
birth  was  Evaline  Armstrong,  daughter  of  William. 

The  pioneer  marriage  was  Thomas  Maize,  who  married  Martha  Hall 
in  1836.     The  pioneer  death  was  James  Maize,  who  died  in  1831.     The 
first  grave  was  at  Troutman's  Run.     The  pioneer  school-house  was  built 

460 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

at  the  mouth  of  this  run.  The  pioneer  grist-mill  was  built  on  the  Toby, 
now  Clarion  River,  bv  William  Armstrong,  who  also  opened  a  store, 
in  1830.  The  pioneer  hotel-keeper  was  Alex.  Murray.  The  pioneer 
blacksmith  was  Andrew  Clough.  The  pioneer  saw-mill  was  built  by 
Wm.  Reynolds,  at  Maple  Creek,  in  1829. 

The  pioneer  election  for  township  officers  was  in  1833,  and  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected :  Constable,  John  Maize ;  Supervisors,  David 
Mead,  William  Armstrong ;  Auditors,  John  Wynkoop,  Edwin  Forsythe, 
Wm.  Manross ;  Poor  Overseer,  Enos  Myers,  John  Maize. 

From  an  act  regulating  election  districts  in  the  State : 

"SECTION  29.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  the  electors  of  Barnett  township,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  shall 
hereafter  hold  their  general  elections  at  the  house  now  occupied  by  John 
Wynkoop,  in  said  township. 

"Approved — the  third  day  of  May,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-two. 

"  SECTION  64.  The  electors  of  the  township  of  Barnett,  in  the  county 
of  Jefferson,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  elections  at  the  house  of  Alexander 
Murray,  in  said  township. 

"Approved — the  fifteenth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-five." 

In  1833,  Job  Carr  had  a  saw-mill  about  a  mile  above  Millstone,  on 
the  river. 

In  Big  Toby  Creek  (now  Clarion  River)  and  in  the  Little  Toby 
Creek  pike  were  occasionally  shot  and  gigged  weighing  from  thirty  to 
fifty  pounds.  The  Mahoning,  Sandy  Lick,  North  Fork,  and  Red  Bank 
also  were  full  of  choice  pike,  catfish,  bass,  sunfish,  suckers,  and  chubs. 
It  was  a  common  thing  to  shoot  pike  ;  the  others  were  caught  by  hook 
and  line,  in  seines,  and  gigged  after  night.  The  lesser  streams,  like  the 
mill  creeks,  in  addition  to  many  of  the  others  just  mentioned,  were  alive 
with  speckled  trout,  and  every  run  in  the  county  then  contained  these 
speckled  beauties. 

"In  1835,  James  Aharrah  migrated  with  his  family  from  Indiana, 
Pennsylvania,  to  Wynkoop  Run,  and  erected  a  cabin  eighteen  by 
twenty  feet  with  a  few  small  windows  in  it.  One  night  when  James 
was  absent  a  panther  paid  them  a  visit.  Sitting  up  on  his  haunches, 
he  peered  into  the  small  cabin.  In  desperation  Mrs.  Aharrah  seized 
an  axe  which  was  standing  near  by  and  took  her  place  at  the  side  of 
the  window,  ready  to  receive  the  visitor  should  he  decide  to  enter, 
while  her  son,  armed  with  the  old-time  poking-stick,  came  to  her 
assistance  and  took  post  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  window.  Henry 
and  his  sister  Jane  (Jack  Knopsnyder's  mother),  who  were  both 
quite  young,  took  refuge  under  the  bed  and  waited  for  the  panther's 
departure. 

461 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Mr.  Panther  soon  tired  of  this,  and  bade  them  an  affectionate  fare- 
well, which  shook  the  earth  with  its  vibrations." 

The  provisions  were  brought  by  canoes  up  the  Clarion  River  from  the 
place  where  Parker  now  stands.  Two  canoes  were  engaged  in  delivering 
groceries,  etc.  Ephraim  and  John  Shawl  were  the  two  men  who  had 
control  of  one,  and  David  Ridder  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Sampson 
manned  the  other. 

CRIME. 

From  1778  to  1855,  inclusive,  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  per- 
sons were  hanged  in  Pennsylvania.  Of  these,  five  suffered  the  penalty  of 
death  for  high  treason,  eight  for  robbery,  fourteen  for  burglary,  three  for 
assault,  one  for  arson,  four  for  counterfeiting,  and  seven  for  unknown 
offences.  On  April  22,  1794,  the  death  penalty  was  abolished  except  for 
murder  in  the  first  degree.  Before  1834  hangings  took  place  in  public, 
and  since  then  in  jail  yards  or  corridors. 

The  pioneer  murder  in  Jefferson  County  was  committed  on  May  i, 
1844.  Daniel  Long,  one  of  the  mighty  hunters  of  Pine  Creek  township, 
and  Samuel  Knopsnyder,  were  murdered  in  Barnett  township,  now 
Heath,  near  Raught's  Mills.  There  was  a  dispute  between  Long  and 
James  Green  about  a  piece  of  land.  The  land  was  a  vacant  strip.  James 
Green  and  his  son  Edwin  took  possession  of  Long's  shanty  on  this  land 
while  Long  was  absent.  On  Long's  return  to  the  shanty  in  company 
with  Knopsnyder,  Long  was  shot  by  young  Green  as  he  attempted  to 
enter  the  shanty,  with  Long's  own  gun.  Knopsnyder  was  so  terribly  cut 
with  an  axe  in  the  hands  of  the  Greens  that  he  died  in  a  few  days.  The 
Greens,  father  and  son,  were  arrested,  tried,  and  convicted  of  murder  in 
the  second  degree,  and  each  sentenced  to  four  years  in  the  penitentiary. 

James  Green,  the  father,  served  a  year  and  was  pardoned.  Edwin 
served  his  time  and  returned  to  Jefferson  County  a  few  days  only,  as  he 
was  in  terror  of  the  Longs.  He  therefore  returned  to  Pittsburg,  and 
settled  down  somewhere  and  lived  and  died  highly  respected. 

"In  1784,  the  year  in  which  Pittsburg  was  surveyed  into  building 
lots,  the  privilege  of  mining  coal  in  the  '  great  seam'  opposite  that  town 
was  sold  by  the  Penns  at  the  rate  of  thirty  pounds  for  each  mining  lot, 
extending  back  to  the  centre  of  the  hill.  This  event  may  be  regarded 
as  forming  the  beginning  of  the  coal  trade  of  Pittsburg.  The  supply  of 
the  towns  and  cities  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  with  Pittsburg 
coal  became  an  established  business  at  an  early  day  in  the  present  century 
or  in  1800.  Pittsburg  coal  was  known  long  before  the  town  became 
noted  as  an  iron  centre. 

"Down  to  1845  a^  tne  coal  shipped  westward  from  Pittsburg  was 
floated  down  the  Ohio  in  flat-bottomed  boats  in  the  spring  and  fall 
freshets,  each  boat  holding  about  fifteen  thousand  bushels  of  coal.  The 

462 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

boats  were  usually  lashed  in  pairs,  and  were  sold  and  broken  up  when 
their  destination  was  reached.  In  1845  steam  tow-boats  were  introduced, 
which  took  coal-barges  down  the  river  and  brought  them  back  empty. ' ' 


PIONEER    FLAT-BOATS — PIONEER   TIPPLES,   ETC. 

The  pioneer  boats  in  what  is  now  Jefferson  County  were  built  at 
Port  Barnett  for  the  transportation  of  Centre  County  pig-metal.     In  1830 


Making  a  boat,  Clarion  River. 

they  were  built  on  the  North  Fork  for  the  same  purpose.  In  after-years, 
when  tipples  were  used,  boats  were  built  and  tipples  erected  at  the  fol- 
lowing points, — viz. :  at  Findley's,  on  Sandy  Lick,  by  Nieman  and  D.  S. 
Chitister ;  at  Brookville,  by  John  Smith ;  at  Troy,  by  Peter  Lobaugh ; 
at  Heathville,  by  A.  B.  Paine  and  Arthur  O'Donnell;  at  the  mouth  of 
Little  Sandy,  by  William  Bennett ;  at  Robinson's  Bend,  by  Hance  Rob- 
inson. This  industry  along  Red  Bank  was  maintained  by  the  charcoal 
furnaces  of  Clarion  and  Armstrong  Counties.  The  boats  were  sold  at 
the  Olean  bridge  at  Broken  Rock,  and  sold  again  at  Pittsburg  for  coal- 
barges.  Some  of  the  boats  were  sold  for  the  transportation  of  salt  to 
the  South  from  Freeport.  The  industry  on  Red  Bank  ceased  in  the 
fifties. 

Anthony  and  Jacob  Esbaugh  built  scaffolds  and  boats  for  the  dealers 
on  Red  Bank.     The  pioneer  boat  was  sixteen  feet  wide  and  forty  feet 

463 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

long.  These  boats  were  always  built  from  the  best  lumber  that  could  be 
made  from  the  choicest  timber  that  grew  in  our  forests.  Each  gunwale 
was  hewed  out  of  the  straightest  pine-tree  that  was  to  be  found, — viz.  : 
twenty-eight  inches  high  at  the  "rake,"  fourteen  inches  at  the  stern,  ten 
inches  thick,  and  forty  feet  long,  two  gunwales  to  a  boat.  The  ties  were 
hewed  six  inches  thick,  with  a  six-inch  face,  mortised,  dove-tailed,  and 
keyed  into  the  gunwale  six  feet  apart.  The  six  "streamers"  for  a  boat 
were  sawed  three  by  twelve  inches,  sixteen  feet  long,  and  "pinned"  to 
the  ties  with  one  pin  in  the  middle  of  each  streamer.  These  pins  were 
made  of  white  oak  one  and  a  half  inches  square  and  ten  inches  long. 
The  plank  for  the  "  bottoms"  were  first-class  white  pine  one  and  a  half 
inches  thick,  and  pinned  to  the  streamers  and  gunwales  with  white  oak 
pins,  calked  with  flax  or  tow.  All  pioneer  boats  were  built  on  the 
ground  and  turned  by  about  ten  men — and  a  gallon  of  whiskey — over 


Rafting-in  on  the  Clarion,  at  Armstrong's. 

and  on  a  bed  made  of  brush  to  keep  the  planks  in  the  bottom  from 
springing.  All  boats  were  "sided  up"  with  white  oak  studding  two  and 
a  half  by  five  inches  and  six  feet  (high)  long.  Each  studding  was  mor- 
tised into  a  gunwale  two  feet  apart.  Inside  the  boat  a  siding  eighteen 
inches  high  was  pinned  on.  These  boats  were  sold  in  Pittsburg,  to  be 
used  as  coal-barges  for  the  transportation  of  coal  to  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi. The  boats  were  manned  and  run  by  two  or  three  men,  the  pilot 
always  at  the  stern.  The  oar,  stem  and  blade,  was  made  the  same  as  for 
ordinary  rafts.  The  pioneer  boats  were  tied  and  landed  with  halyards 
made  of  twisted  hickory  saplings.  The  size  of  these  boats  in  1843  was 
eighteen  feet  wide  and  eighty  feet  long,  built  on  tipples  similar  to  the 

464 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

present  method.  The  boats  are  now  made  from  one  hundred  and  twenty 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  from  twenty  to  twenty-four  feet 
wide,  and  from  spliced  gunwales. 

Sixty  years  ago  boats  were  built  on  the  Big  Toby  at  Maple  Creek, 
Clarington,  Millstone,  Wynkoop,  Spring  Creek,  Irvine,  and  Ridgway. 
The  pioneer  boat  was  probably  built  at  Maple  Creek  by  William  Reynolds. 


Turning  a  boat. 

The  pioneer  boats  were  gems  of  the  art  as  compared  with  those  made  to- 
day. Now  the  gunwales  are  spliced  up  of  pieces  to  make  the  required 
length,  and  the  boats  are  made  of  hemlock.  The  industry,  however,  is 
carried  on  more  extensively  on  the  Clarion  now  than  ever  and  for  the 
same  market. 

From  this  time  forth,  as  has  been  the  case  for  several  years  of  the 
past,  the  boat  bottom  will  be  of  hemlock,  patched  of  many  pieces,  spiked 
together  instead  of  built  with  long  oak  pins,  and  they  will  have  to  be 
handled  with  care  to  serve  the  purpose.  Of  such  a  kind  of  boat  bottoms 
there  is  small  danger  of  scarcity. 

SNYDER    TOWNSHIP. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  ITS  EXISTENCE  AS  AN  ORGANIZED  COMMUNITY — DR.  A. 
M.  CLARKE'S  REMINISCENCES — JOEL  CLARKE'S  SETTLEMENT  WITH  HIS 
SONS — PIONEER  LUMBERING  ON  LITTLE  TOBY — PIONEER  POST-ROUTE, 
1828 — POST-OFFICE  AND  POSTMASTER — PIONEER  ELECTION — PIONEER 
HUNTER,  ETC. 

Snyder,  the  seventh  township,  was  organized  out  of  Pine  Creek  and 
Ridgway  townships  in  1835.  It  is  situated  and  lies  on  the  western  and 

465 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

southwestern  water-shed  of  the  Elk  Mountains,  which  consist  of  spurs  of 
the  Allegheny  range.  One  of  the  most  prominent  of  these  high  grounds 
is  called  Boone's  Mountain,  or  frequently,  in  the  common  usage  of  the 
neighborhood,  "  The  Mountain."  The  rock  formation  of  this  eminence 
is  sandstone  and  conglomerates,  giving  rise  to  many  springs  of  pure 
cold  water.  These  are  the  sources  of  Little  Toby  and  Sandy  Lick 
Creeks. 

The  township  was  called  for  Governor  Simon  Snyder.  The  taxables 
in  1835  were  41 ;  in  1842,  72.  The  population  by  census  of  1840  was 
291.  In  1843  part  of  this  township  was  detached  and  added  to  Elk 


County.     Owing  to  so  many  changes  in  the  lines  I  am  unable  to  tell  the 
pioneer  settlers. 

Ami  Sibley  was  one  of  the  early  hunters  and  trappers  in  this  sec- 
tion, having  arrived  in  1818.  The  tales  of  his  adventures  in  hunting 
would  make  an  interesting  volume.  He  died  in  1861.  His  wife  was 
Rachel  Whitehill,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1827,  when  they  located 
in  what  is  now  Snyder. 

466 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1819,  Joel  Clarke,  with  his  wife  and  sons,  Elisha  and  Joel,  Jr., 
came  to  and  settled  on  Little  Toby  from  Russell,  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York.  Later,  the  same  year,  Philetus,  the  third  son  of  Joel  Clarke, 
came  also  from  Russell,  New  York,  and  settled  on  Little  Toby.  The  late 
Dr.  Clarke  describes  their  coming  as  follows, — viz. : 

"  I  was  about  eleven  years  old  when  my  father,  Philetus  Clarke,  came 
from  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York,  into  the  Little  Toby  wilderness. 
The  journey  was  long  and  tedious.  We  moved  with  oxen  in  wagons, 
which  were  covered  with  canvas,  and  which  gave  us  shelter  from  sun- 
shine and  storm.  I  was  the  oldest  child,  and  there  were  three  of 
us.  Sometimes  I  had  to  drive,  while  my  father  would  support  the 
wagon  to  keep  it  from  upsetting.  The  Susquehanna  and  Waterford 
turnpike  was  being  made,  and  we  came  along  an  old  road  near  it 
to  '  Neeper's  Tavern,'  about  four  miles  from  where  Luthersburg  now  is. 
This  was  the  old  State  Road  from  Bald  Eagle's  Nest,  Mifflin  County, 
to  Le  Boeuf,  Allegheny  County,  at  this  time  the  Milesburg  and  Water- 
ford  road.  I  remember  the  motto  that  was  over  the  sign-board  at 

Neeper's : 

"  '  It  is  God's  will 

This  woods  must  yield, 
And  the  wildwood  turn 
To  a  fruitful  field.' 

"From  that  place  the  road  was  very  rough  over  the  hills  and  moun- 
tains. We  could  not  get  through  in  one  day,  and  had  to  stop  one  night 
at  a  place  where  the  road-makers  had  built  a  shanty,  but  it  had  burned 
down  and  the  place  was  called  '  Burnt  Shanty. '  Our  wagon  gave  us 
shelter,  and  a  good  spring  was  pleasant  indeed.  The  next  day  we  passed 
over  Boone's  Mountain,  came  to  the  crossing  of  Little  Toby,  near  where 
the  Oyster  House  was  built  many  years  afterwards.  We  pursued  our  jour- 
ney onward  to  Kersey  settlement.  My  father  thought  best  to  examine 
the  lands  for  which  he  had  exchanged  his  New  York  property  before 
going  any  farther,  and  was  utterly  disappointed  and  disgusted  with  them. 
He  made  explorations  in  various  directions  in  search  of  a  mill  site,  and 
finally  concluded  to  settle  at  what  is  now  Brockport,  where  he  built  a 
saw-mill,  the  first  ever  built  on  Little  Toby.  He  put  a  small  grist-mill 
with  '  bolts'  in  the  saw-mill,  which  answered  the  requirements  of  the  few 
settlers  for  a  while,  and  afterwards  built  a  good  grist-mill,  which  did  good 
service  for  the  people."  His  first  home  was  a  cabin,  twelve  by  fourteen, 
of  round  logs. 

Old  settlers,  frequently  carrying  a  peck  or  a  half-bushel  of  corn  on 
their  backs,  came  to  this  mill  and  waited  for  their  grist  to  be  ground. 
Ofttimes  a  bushel  or  two  of  grain,  too  heavy  to  carry,  was  suspended 
across  the  yoke  of  an  ox  team. 

In  1823,  Jacob  Shafer  located  about  a  mile  and  a  half  above  Brock- 

467 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

wayville,  on  the  Henry  Sivert  tract.  He  was  a  fine  old  German  gentle- 
man of  the  olden  time.  He  was  always  a  good  Democrat,  and  voted 
for  Jackson  for  many  years.  He  died  in  185 1 .  Henry  Walborn,  brother- 
in  law  of  Mr.  Shafer,  came  at  the  same  time,  and  located  near  Mr.  Shafer 
on  the  stream  which  took  his  name, — Walborn  Run.  He  sold  his  place 
to  Joel  Clarke,  Jr.,  and  went  off,  and  his  name,  but  for  the  run,  would 
have  been  forgotten. 

In  1828  the  lumbermen  of  Little  Toby  commenced  to  open  up  the 
creek  for  a  public  highway.  This  was  attended  with  much  labor,  and  re- 
quired two  years'  time.  In  1830  the  lumber  from  these  mills  was  started 
to  market, — viz.,  Brockway's,  Philetus  Clarke's,  and  Horton's,  these 
being  the  only  mills  at  that  time  on  the  creek.  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  says, 
"  I  went  with  the  first  lumber  that  was  sent  from  Little  Toby  to  Pitts- 
burg.  It  was  a  great  company  raft,  awkwardly  put  in  and  poorly  man- 
aged from  beginning  to  end.  After  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  much 
staving,  the  rafts  were  all  collected  and  coupled  together  in  one  unwieldy 
raft  at  Miller's  Eddy,  on  the  Allegheny  River.  On  account  of  the  ex- 
ceeding rough  appearance  of  this  raft  it  was  called  the  'Porcupine.' 
Want  of  experience  and  lack  of  skill  nearly  wrecked  the  whole  business, 
for  in  their  anxiety  to  get  to  market,  and  encouraged  by  their  pilot,  the 
unwieldy  craft — I  think  it  was  three  abreast  and  thirty-two  platforms 
long — was  started  on  very  high  water.  They  soon  discovered  their  mis- 
take, but  were  unable  to  land,  and  went  rushing  forward,  and  miles  of 
foaming  water  were  traversed  before  the  frightened  crew  effected  a  land- 
ing. I  was  sent  to  take  care  of  my  father's  share  in  the  adventure.  We 
went  down  in  May,  1830,  and  came  back  in  July.  Our  best  sales  were 
made  for  five  and  ten  dollars  per  thousand  feet  for  common  and  clear 
stuff." 

In  1828  a  post-route  was  established,  and  the  mail  ordered  to  be  car- 
ried once  a  week  on  horseback  from  Kittanning  to  Smethport,  McKean 
County.  The  route  lay  through  this  section  of  country,  and  in  April  of 
that  year  Hellen  Post-Office  was  established,  and  Philetus  Clarke  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster ;  this  was  the  first  post-office  in  this  neighborhood. 
Letter  postages  were  six  and  a  quarter,  twelve  and  a  half,  eighteen  and 
three  quarters,  and  twenty-five  cents,  according  to  the  distance  over 
which  they  were  conveyed.  In  1829  a  post-office  was  established  at 
Brockwayville,  and  Alonzo  Brockway  appointed  postmaster ;  this  gave 
name  to  the  place,  which  it  has  retained. 

The  first  burial  was  an  infant  child  of  Alonzo  and  Huldah  Brockway. 
The  scathed  stump  of  a  pine-tree,  which  grew  over  the  grave,  until  re- 
cently it  was  struck  by  lightning,  marks  the  place,  though  the  appearance 
of  a  grave  has  been  entirely  obliterated,  and  the  unconscious  passer-by, 
as  he  walks  over  the  spot,  has  no  thought  that  a  human  form  lies  mould- 
ering under  his  heel.  The  second  burial  was  also  a  child,  one  of  the 

468 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

family  of  Mr.  Jacob  Shafer.  They  buried  it  in  a  corner  of  a  field,  on  a 
somewhat  elevated  spot,  between  two  ravines,  by  the  roadside,  near  where 
Marvin  Allen  now  resides.  Others  were  afterwards  buried  there,  until 
it  came  to  be  called  "  Shafer 's  Burying- Ground."  In  that  "little  city 
of  the  dead' '  rest  the  remains  of  Joel  Clarke  and  Chloe,  his  wife,  Baily 
Hughes,  A.  J.  Ingalls,  Joel  Clarke  and  Mary,  his  wife,  Philetus  Clarke 
and  Ada,  his  daughter,  Annie  Sibley,  Mrs.  Monahan,  Mrs.  Stephens, 
Samuel  Bernan  and  wife,  Jacob  Shafer  and  Mary,  his  wife,  Hiram, 
Willis,  and  Jane,  children  of  Joel  and  Mary  Clarke,  Jacob  Myers, 
Comfort  D.  Felt,  and  others.  It  has  lately  been  much  neglected,  and 
is  rapidly  going  to  decay.  Some  of  the  dead  have  been  removed  to 
Wildwood  Cemetery. 

"  In  1821,  John  S.  Brockway  purchased  at  treasurer's  sale,  at  Indiana, 
the  '  Henry  Peffer'  tract  on  Little  Toby,  and  the  next  year  Alonzo  and 
James  M.  Brockway  moved  over  from  Bennett's  Branch  and  commenced 
improvements  on  the  land.  They  had  to  cut  their  way  five  miles  down 
the  creek  from  Philetus  Clarke's.  They  planted  fruit-trees  of  various 
kinds  as  soon  as  the  land  was  cleared,  and  peach-  and  plum-trees  were 
soon  in  bearing.  They  also  made  large  quantities  of  maple  sugar,  raised 
all  their  own  supplies,  and,  with  game  in  abundance,  lived  luxuriously 
for  those  days.  This  was  the  first  settlement  in  what  is  now  Snyder 
township."  Other  early  settlers  were  Baily  Hughes,  A.  J.  Ingalls,  James 
Pendleton,  Dr.  William  Bennett,  A.  R.  Frost,  Samuel  Beman,  Stephen 
Tibbetts,  Jacob  Myers,  Alonzo  Ferman,  Bennett  Prindle,  Charles  Mat- 
thews, Joseph  W.  Green,  McMinns,  and  others. 

The  pioneer  saw-mill  was  built  in  1828  by  the  Brockway  brothers. 
Dr.  William  Bennett  built  one  of  the  first  saw-mills  in  the  township.  In 
1836,  Hoyt  and  Wilson  built  a  mill  where  Ferman's  is  now.  In  1841, 
James  Pendleton  built  a  saw-mill,  grist-mill,  and  carding-mill  on  Rattle- 
snake. Early  school-teachers  were  Miss  Clarissa  Brockway,  A.  M.  Clarke, 
John  Kyler,  and  Mary  Warner. 

1  he  first  township  election  was  held  in  1 835  at  what  is  now  Matthew 
Bovard's,  and  the  following  officers  were  elected, — viz. :  Constable,  Myron 
Gibbs ;  Supervisors,  John  McLaughlin,  Ami  Sibley  ;  Auditors,  Milton 
Johnston,  Thomas  McCormick,  Joseph  McCurdy ;  Town  Clerk,  Thomas 
McCormick  ;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  Myron  Gibbs,  Joseph  McAfee ; 
Assessor,  Milton  Johnston  ;  Inspector,  Myron  Gibbs ;  Fence  Appraiser, 
James  Ross. 

In  1836,  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  moved  into  the  township  and  laid  out  the 
town  of  Brockwayville.  It  is  pretty  hard  to  locate  these  old  settlers. 
They  are  found  in  different  townships,  owing  to  the  fact  that  new  town- 
ships were  being  formed,  county  lines  changed,  and  townships  or  parts 
thereof  stricken  from  one  county  and  added  to  either  Clearfield  or 

Elk. 

469 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"No.  174.      AN  ACT  ESTABLISHING  AND  ALTERING  CERTAIN  ELECTION 
DISTRICTS,  AND  FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is  hereby 
enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same.  .  .  . 

"SECTION  28.  The  township  of  Snyder,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson, 
shall  hereafter  be  a  separate  election  district,  and  the  electors  thereof 
shall  hold  their  general  elections  at  the  house  of  John  McLaughlin,  on 
the  Brock  way  road,  in  said  township.  Approved  April  15,  1835." 

The  act  of  the  Legislature,  No.  no,  regulating  election  districts, 
approved  July  u,  1842,  established  the  polling-place  for  Snyder  as 
follows : 

"  SECTION  27.  That  the  qualified  voters  of  the  township  of  Snyder,  in 
the  county  of  Jefferson,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  general  and  township 
elections  at  the  house  of  James  M.  Brockway,  in  said  township." 

The  pioneer  justice  of  the  peace  was  Stephen  Tibbetts,  appointed 
February  14,  1835. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  relates  the  following  incident :  "  When  I  was  about 
twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age  I  was  sent,  in  the  winter  season,  with  a  yoke 
of  oxen  and  a  sled  to  procure  a  load  of  corn  from  any  source  from  which 
it  could  be  obtained,  and  found  myself  belated  in  the  woods  ;  but  at  last 
came  to  a  little  clearing,  where  there  was  an  old  man  by  the  name  of 
Stevens  and  his  wife  living  in  a  poor  log  cabin.  I  was  made  welcome  to 
the  warmth  of  their  fire,  which  was  very  pleasant,  as  I  was  cold,  tired, 
and  perhaps  hungry.  I  had  brought  forage  with  me,  and  the  team  was 
soon  cared  for,  and  the  old  lady  busied  herself  for  some  time  in  pre- 
paring a  supper  for  me.  She  first  fried  some  salt  pork,  then  greased  a 
griddle  with  some  of  the  fat  procured  from  the  meat  and  baked  some 
corn-cakes,  then  made  what  she  called  'a  good  cup  of  rye  coffee,'  sweet- 
ened with  pumpkin  molasses.  I  was  not  hungry  enough  to  much  enjoy 
this  repast.  In  the  morning,  on  inquiry  of  my  host,  I  learned  that  six 
miles  farther  down  the  stream  (Bennett's  Branch)  I  could  likely  get  the 
corn  at  a  Mr.  Johnston's.  I  must  not  return  without  it,  so  onward  we 
went  in  the  morning,  bought  the  corn  and  returned  home." 

ELDRED   TOWNSHIP. 

Eldred,  the  eighth  township,  was  organized  in  1836,  and  was  taken 
from  Rose  and  Barnett  townships,  and  named  for  Hon.  Nathaniel  B. 
Eldred,  then  president  judge  of  this  judicial  district.  Taxables  in  1835, 
37  ;  in  1842,  123.  The  census  was,  in  1840,  395. 

The  pioneer  settler  in  Eldred  was  Isaac  Matson,  in  1828.  In  1829, 
Walter  Templeton,  James  Linn,  and  Robert  McCreight.  In  1830,  Elijah 
M.  Graham  and  John  McLaughlin.  In  1831,  David  English  and  Jacob 

470 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Craft.  In  1832,  Paul  Stewart,  James  Templeton,  and  James  Trimble.  In 
1833,  Stewart  Ross,  John  Wilson,  and  Thomas  Hall.  In  1834,  William 
and  George  Catz  and  James  Summerville.  In  1836,  Frederick  Kahle. 
In  1842,  Professor  S.  W.  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  highly  educated  man, 
and  served  the  county  as  teacher,  professor  in  the  academy,  and  county 
superintendent  of  schools. 

The  pioneer  school-house  was  built  at  Hall's  in  1839. 

The  first  election  for  township  officers  was  in  1836.  The  following 
persons  were  elected, — viz.  :  Constable,  Elijah  M.  Graham  ;  Supervisors, 
Thomas  Barr  and  Thomas  Anthony ;  School  Directors,  George  Catz, 
Henry  Boil,  Thomas  Hughes,  Thomas  Hall,  Jacob  Craft,  and  John  Maize  ; 
Poor  Overseers,  Thomas  Callen  and  Michael  Long ;  Town  Clerk,  Jacob 
Craft.  The  pioneer  polling-place  was  at  the  home  of  James  Linn,  now 
the  farm  of  Timothy  Caldwell. 

Joseph  Matson,  Esq.,  lived  in  Eldred  township,  and  in  the  early  days 
he  built  an  outside  high  brick  chimney.  He  employed  a  pioneer  stone- 
mason by  the  name  of  Jacob  Penrose  to  do  the  job.  Penrose  was  a  very 
rough  mason,  but  had  a  high  opinion  of  his  own  skill,  and  was  quite 
confiding  and  bombastic  in  his  way.  After  he  finished  the  chimney,  and 
before  removing  the  scaffold,  he  came  down  to  the  ground  to  blow  off  a 
little  steam  about  his  work.  Placing  his  arms  around  Matson's  neck, 
he  exclaimed,  pointing  to  the  chimney,  "There,  Matson,  is  a  chimney 
that  will  last  you  your  lifetime,  and  your  children  and  your  children's 
children."  "  Lookout !"  said  Matson.  "  God,  she's  a  coming  !"  True 
enough,  the  chimney  fell,  a  complete  wreck. 


JENKS   TOWNSHIP— A   LOST   TOWNSHIP. 

Jenks,  the  ninth  township,  organized  in  1838,  was  taken  from  Barnett 
township.  This  and  Tionesta  township  might  be  called  twins,  as  both 
were  separated  at  the  same  time  from  the  same  township.  Taxables  in 
1842,  16;  in  1849,  32.  The  population  in  1840  was  40.  The  township 
was  named  in  honor  of  Hon.  John  W.  Jenks,  then  one  of  the  associate 
judges  of  Jefferson  County.  It  is  now  in  the  bounds  of  Forest  County. 

Cyrus  Blood  was  the  pioneer  of  Jenks  and  Tionesta  townships.  He 
brought  his  family  into  this  wilderness  in  1833.  For  years  his  farm  was 
called  the  "Blood  settlement."  When  he  settled  there,  the  region  was 
full  of  panthers,  bears,  wolves,  wild  cats,  and  deer.  Mr.  Blood  was  a 
powerful  man,  of  great  energy  and  courage.  He  was  well  educated  and 
a  surveyor. 

Cyrus  Blood  was  born  at  New  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire,  March  3, 
1795.  He  was  educated  in  Boston.  When  twenty-two  he  migrated  to 
Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  the  principal  of  the  academy. 
He  was  afterwards  principal  of  the  Hagerstown  Academy,  Maryland. 

47i 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

He  accepted  and  served  as  a  professor  in  the  Dickinson  College,  at  Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania. 

Ambitious  to  found  a  county,  Cyrus  Blood  made  several  visits  into 
this  wilderness,  and  finding  that  the  northern  portion  of  Jefferson  County 
was  then  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  he  finally  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  on  which  Marienville  is  now  located,  and  decided  to  make  his 
settlement  there. 

It  was  understood  when  Mr.  Blood  purchased  in  Jefferson  County 
from  the  land  company  that  a  road  would  be  opened  into  it  for  him.  In 
1833,  when  Mr.  Blood  arrived  where  Corsica  now  is,  on  the  Olean  road, 
he  found  to  his  annoyance  that  no  road  had  been  made.  Leaving  his 
family  behind  him,  he  started  from  what  was  then  Armstrong's  Mill,  now 
Clarington,  with  an  ox  team,  sled,  and  men  to  cut  their  way  step  by  step 
through  the  wilderness  twelve  miles  to  his  future  home.  Every  night  the 
men  camped  on  and  around  the  ox  sled.  When  the  party  reached  Blood's 
purchase,  a  patch  of  ground  was  cleared  and  a  log  cabin  reared.  In 
October,  1833,  Mr.  Blood  and  his  five  children  took  possession  of  this 
forest  home.  For  many  years  Mr.  Blood  carried  his  and  the  neighbors' 
mail  from  Brookville.  Panthers  were  so  plenty  that  they  have  been  seen 
in  the  garden  by  the  children,  playing  like  dogs.  For  years  they  had 
to  go  with  their  grist  to  mill  to  Kittanning,  Leatherwood,  or  Brook- 
ville. 

Trumbull  Hunt  was  the  second  pioneer. 

The  pioneer  election  was  held  in  Jenks  township  in  1838.  The  fol- 
lowing persons  were  elected  to  fill  township  offices :  Constable,  Cyrus 
Blood ;  Supervisors,  Cyrus  Blood,  John  Hunt ;  School  Directors,  Cyrus 
Blood,  John  Hunt,  Aaron  Brockway,  Sr.,  Aaron  Brockway,  Jr.,  Josiah 
Lacey,  and  John  Lewees ;  Auditors,  John  Hunt,  Aaron  Brockway,  Sr. , 
and  Aaron  Brockway,  Jr. ;  Poor  Overseers,  Cyrus  Blood,  Aaron  Brock- 
way,  Sr. ;  Town  Clerk,  John  Hunt ;  Fence  Viewer,  Aaron  Brockway, 
Jr. ;  Inspector,  John  Hunt. 

The  last  and  only  beavers  in  this  State  made  their  homes  here  in  the 
early  thirties,  in  the  great  flag  swamp  or  beaver  meadows  on  Salmon  Creek. 
These  meadows  covered  about  six  hundred  acres.  Furs  were  occasion- 
ally then  brought  to  Brookville  from  these  meadows  by  trappers. 

Pioneer  election  district  according  to  the  act  of  April  16,  1838  : 

"  SECTION  48.  That  the  township  of  Jenks,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson, 
is  hereby  declared  a  separate  district,  the  election  to  be  held  at  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Cyrus  Blood  in  said  township." 

The  pioneer  hunter  was  John  Aylesworth.  He  came  to  Barnett  town- 
ship, Jefferson  County,  or  what  in  1838  became  Jenks  township,  Jefferson 
County,  and  is  now  Jenks  township,  Forest  County,  in  1834.  He  was  a 
Connecticut  Yankee,  but  came  to  this  wilderness  from  Ashtabula,  Ohio. 
He  was  the  most  noted  and  famous  hunter  in  this  section  of  Jefferson 

472 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

County.     Other  early  professional  hunters  were  Philip  Clover  and  Ami 
Sibley. 


The  pioneer  path  or  trail  was  opened  by  Cyrus  Blood  from  Claring- 
ton  to  Blood's  settlement.     This  was  in  the  year  1833.     The  pioneer 
31  473 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

road  was  this   "path"  widened  and  improved  by  Blood  several  years 
later. 

The  pioneer  tavern  was  the  home  of  Cyrus  Blood.  Mr.  Blood  built 
the  pioneer  saw-mill  in  1834  and  the  pioneer  grist-mill  in  1840.  These 
mills  were  erected  by  him  on  Salmon  Creek. 

The  pioneer  school-master  was  John  D.  Hunt.  He  taught  in  the 
winter  of  1833-34  in  Mr.  Blood's  home. 

The  pioneer  preacher  was  Dr.  Otis  Smith.  The  pioneer  sermon  to 
white  people  was  preached  in  Mr.  Blood's  house. 

Brookville  was  the  post-office  for  this  settlement  from  1833  to  1843. 

The  pioneer  court  house  of  Forest  County  was  built  in  Marienville, 
of  hewed  logs,  and  afterwards  weather-boarded  and  painted  white.  The 
work  was  done  by  Bennett  Dobbs.  (See  illustration.) 

What  is  now  Marienville  was  called  for  many  years  "  the  Blood 
settlement. ' ' 

TIONESTA   TOWNSHIP— A   LOST   TOWNSHIP. 

This,  the  tenth  township  organization,  was  taken  from  Barnett,  in 
1838,  and  named  after  a  river  in  its  boundary.  Taxables  in  1842,  9  ; 
population  in  1840,  27.  This  township  is  now  Howe,  a  member  of 
Forest  County. 

Pioneer  election  district  according  to  the  act  of  April  16,  1838  : 
"SECTION  49.    That  the  township  of  Tionesta,   in  the  county  of 
Jefferson,  is  hereby  declared  a  separate  election  district,  and  the  election 
shall  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Noef,  in  said  township." 

WASHINGTON   TOWNSHIP. 
ANDREW  HUNTER'S  BIRTHDAV  ANNIVERSARY  AN  HISTORICAL  EVENT. 

Washington,  the  eleventh  township,  was  organized  in  1839,  and  was 
taken  from  Snyder  and  Pine  Creek.  The  township  was  named  for  the 
"  Father  of  our  Country. "  Taxables  in  1842,  112.  Population  by  census 
1840,  367. 

The  township  embraced  Prospect  Hill,  Prescottville,  Reynoldsville, 
and  West  Reynoldsville,  until  Winslow  township  was  formed,  hence  the 
early  settlers  on  the  old  State  Road  and  on  the  turnpike  were  originally 
in  Washington. 

The  pioneer  settlers  in  what  is  now  Washington  township  were  Henry 
Keys,  John  McGhee,  Thomas  Moore,  Alexander  Osborne,  and  John 
Mclntosh.  These  pioneers  located  in  1824.  In  1826,  Andrew  Smith, 
William  Cooper,  and  John  Wilson  settled.  In  1829,  James  Smith,  Esq., 
settled  also.  Other  early  settlers  were  as  follows:  John  Millen,  James 
Ross,  David  Dennison,  William  Shaw,  Robert  Morrison,  Robert  Smith, 
George  Senior,  William  Smith,  Thomas  Tedlie,  John  Magee,  William 
McConnell,  Alvin  H.  Head,  T.  B.  McLain,  William  B.  McCullough, 

474 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Alexander  Keys,  Robert  Patton,  Daniel  Groves,  James  Groves,  John 
Groves,  James  Welsh,  Frederick  R.  Brown,  James  Bond,  and  John 
McClelland. 

Joseph  McCurdy  came  to  Beechwoods  from  Indiana  County  in  the  year 
1835.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  mother,  two  brothers,  Robert  and 
James,  and  three  sisters,  Martha,  Margaret,  who  married  John  Millen, 
and  Betsy,  who  married  Andrew  Hunter.  They  settled  where  James 
McCurdy  now  lives.  As  a  man,  he  was  very  quiet  and  unassuming, 
without  show  or  pretence.  He  was  faithful  as  a  Christian,  firm  and  de- 
cided as  an  elder  in  maintaining  discipline  in  the  church,  and  mild  in 
enforcing  the  same  ;  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  as  being  the  truth  taught  by  the  word  of  God.  These  truths  he 
unflinchingly  maintained  and  defended  through  life.  He  did  much  for 
the  church,  and  after  his  death  his  mantle  fell  upon  his  brother  James. 

In  1830,  John  and  Andrew  Hunter  settled  on  farms.  Andrew  lived 
to  be  over  one  hundred  years  old,  and  as  the  celebration  of  his  centen- 
nial birthday  was  the  first  and  only  event  of  the  kind  in  this  county,  I 
reprint  my  report  of  that  interesting  occasion,  made  at  the  time  for  the 
Bro okville  Jeffersonian  Democrat, — viz. : 

"A   GREAT   BIRTHDAY. 
"CELEBRATION   OF   ANDREW   HUNTER'S    ONE   HUNDRED    YEARS   OF   LIFE. 

"Jefferson  County's  Centenarian. 

"  Born  in  Ireland,  October  i,  1790,  living  in  Jefferson  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, October  i,  1890.  Has  one  sister  living  aged  ninety-seven,  and 
a  brother  ninety-five.  Located  on  his  farm  in  Washington  township  in 
1830.  He  is  bright,  intelligent,  and  pleasant  to  converse  with.  Hand- 
some, short  in  stature,  rosy-cheeked,  with  a  fine  head  of  iron-gray  hair. 
A  widower  for  many  years,  and  will  probably  not  remarry.  Always  an 
early  riser  and  a  hard  worker.  Has  never  been  sick,  never  used  tobacco, 
but  drinks  tea  and  coffee,  and  believes  that  a  little  'gude  whuskey,'  un- 
less taken  to  excess,  'will  not  hurt  ony  man  at  all,  at  all.'  Occasion- 
ally goes  to  a  wedding,  but  attends  church  regularly.  A  strict  Presby- 
terian. Leads  the  family  devotions  night  and  morning.  Is  lively,  loves 
jokes,  laughs  heartily,  and  enjoys  life.  Is  opposed  to  all  modern  innova- 
tions in  the  church,  such  as  organs,  improved  psalmody,  etc. 

"  A  friend  remarked  to  him,  '  I  suppose,  Mr.  Hunter,  they  are  getting 
some  new-fangled  ideas  in  the  church  up  here  ?'  '  Aye,  feth,  that's  jest 
what  they're  doin'.  They  are  singin'  human  composition  in  the  church 
now.  I  fought  it  with  all  my  might,  but  they  overpowered  me,  and  I 
did  not  go  back  for  three  months.  I  thought  I  never  would  go  back  ; 
but  then  I  said  for  all  the  wee  time  I  had  to  stay,  I  might  just  as  weel 
go  back.  Our  preacher  came  over  to  make  us  a  visit,  and  I  just  took  the 

475 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

opportunity  to  give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind,  and  after  I  was  through  he 
had  not  one  word  in  reply  to  make,  for  he  had  not  a  particle  of  founda- 
tion to  stand  upon.' 


Andrew  Hunter,  one  hundred  years  old. 

"The  gathering  at  Mr.  Hunter's  home  yesterday  was  an  immense 
affair,  worthy  of  the  occasion, — the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  his  birth.  Relatives,  friends,  and  neighbors  were  present.  The 
old,  the  middle-aged,  and  the  infant  were  there. 

476 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"The  company  numbered  fully  a  thousand,  coming  from  various 
parts  of  the  county,  and  some  from  outside.  At  noon  refreshments  were 
served  for  all  present,  a  special  table  being  prepared  for  the  old  patri- 
arch, with  Judge  Jenks,  Rev.  Filson,  Dr.  McKnight,  James  McCurdy,  and 
other  friends  near  him.  The  old  gentleman  laughed,  joked,  and  ate 
a  hearty  meal.  He  hears  ordinary  talk  and  has  nearly  all  his  lower 
teeth. 

"At  one  P.M.  Rev.  Filson  preached  an  old-fashioned  sermon,  Rev. 
Hill  explaining  the  psalm.  The  clerks  in  charge  of  the  singing  were  A. 
McCullough  and  Elder  William  Smith,  one  lining  the  psalm  and  the 
other  leading  the  music.  Mr.  Hunter  joined  in  the  singing. 

"Addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  W.  P.  Jenks  and  Dr.  W.  J.  Mc- 
Knight ;  an  original  poem,  by  Willie  Wray,  was  read  by  Rev.  Hill.  Mr. 
Hunter's  neighbors  presented  him  with  a  gold-headed  cane  on  which  to 
lean  in  the  second  century  of  his  life.  A  photograph  of  the  company 
was  taken  by  E.  Clark  Hall,  of  Brookville.  This  was  the  greatest  event 
ever  witnessed  in  this  section  of  Jefferson  County. 

"The  following  old  people  were  present :  James  Welsh,  William  Mc- 
Connell,  W.  P.  Jenks,  W.  McCurdy  and  wife,  of  Indiana,  Dr.  McCurdy, 
of  Freeport,  John  Cooper,  S.  Patton,  D.  B.  McConnell,  J.  Shaw,  R.  Os- 
borne,  I.  Morrison,  J-  Sterrett  and  wife,  N.  Riggs,  J.  Snoddy,  Dr.  Niver 
and  wife,  J.  Clover,  W.  Smith,  R.  Smith,  J.  R.  Millen,  W.  Patton,  J. 
McCurdy,  M.  Smith,  T.  Moore,  J.  Crawford,  J.  Dixon,  R.  Sterrett, 
James  Cooper,  H.  Maginnis,  D.  Motherell,  Mrs.  Wray,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Hen- 
derson, Mrs.  McClure,  Mrs.  Cooper,  Mrs.  McCurdy,  Mrs.  Harker,  Mrs. 
Daily,  Mrs.  Patterson,  Mrs.  J.  Hunter,  Mrs.  M.  Smith,  Miss  A.  McCurdy, 
Mrs.  Mclntosh,  Mrs.  Stewart,  Mrs.  Maxwell,  Mrs  J.  J.  Stewart,  N.  B. 
Lane  and  wife. 

"  Following  is  the  address  delivered  by  Dr.  W.  J.  McKnight: 

"'LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN, — Ordinary  birthday  celebrations  are 
pleasant  to  neighbors  and  friends,  but  the  pleasure  to  celebrate  the  birth- 
day of  a  friend  and  neighbor  who  has  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred 
years  is  seldom  realized  or  enjoyed  by  any  community.  We  are  here 
to  day  to  celebrate  a  centennial  birthday.  Our  neighbor,  Andrew 
Hunter,  was  born  in  county  Tyrone,  Ireland,  October  i,  1790.  It  is 
now  October  i,  1890.  He  emigrated  to  America  in  1825,  and  located 
where  he  now  resides  in  1830,  having  lived  here  sixty  years.  He  is 
what  we  Americans  call  a  Scotch-Irishman.  As  Americans  we  are  proud 
of  this  blood.  In  our  struggle  for  independence  they  were  loyal.  A 
Tory  was  unheard  of  among  them.  Pennsylvania  and  the  nation  owe 
very  much  of  their  greatness  to  this  race.  Natural-born  leaders  and 
orators,  they  have  given  us  statesmen,  teachers,  professors,  ministers, 
physicians,  judges,  Congressmen,  and  generals,  even  to  our  Sheridan 
and  Grant.  They  have  furnished  the  nation  with  seven  Presidents  and 

477 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

our  State  with  seven  governors.     Brave,  intelligent,  warm  hearted,  and 
true,  their  influence  must  and  always  will  be  potent. 

"  '  But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  others  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Hunter  and 
his  virtues  as  a  man  and  a  citizen.  I  endorse  all  that  has  been  said.  To 
say  more  of  him  personally  would  be  unseemly.  Therefore  let  us 

"  '  Lift  the  twilight  curtains  of  the  past 

And,  turning  from  familiar  sight  and  sound, 

Sadly  and  full  of  reverence,  let  us  cast 

A  glance  upon  tradition's  shadowy  ground.' 

"  '  When  Andrew  Hunter  first  saw  the  light  of  day  George  Washing- 
ton was  President,  our  territory  small,  only  thirteen  States,  and  our  pop- 
ulation but  three  million.  He  has  lived  to  see  our  nation  grow  to  forty- 
four  States,  our  people  increase  to  sixty-five  million,  and  our  country  to 
rise  from  poverty  to  the  wealth  of  fifty-six  billion  dollars.  He  has  lived 
to  see  our  territory  become  as  large  as  Russia  in  Europe,  Norway,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  Holland,  Belgium,  Germany,  Austria- Hungary,  Switzerland, 
Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  France,  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland,  fronting  on 
two  great  oceans,  and  populated,  too,  with  a  people  only  twenty  per 
cent,  of  whom  are  unable  to  read  and  write. 

"  '  In  the  year  Andrew  Hunter  was  born  letter  postage  was  twelve  and 
a  half  cents  every  one  hundred  miles  ;  to-day  two  cents  will  send  a  letter 
three  thousand  miles.  Then  we  had  but  seventy-five  post-offices  ;  now  we 
have  sixty  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty.  In  those  days  the  mails 
were  carried  on  horseback  or  in  stage-coaches.  Communications  of  news, 
business,  or  affection  were  slow  and  uncertain,  but  to-day,  with  rapid 
railroad  transportation, 

"  '  Letters  are  but  affection's  touches, 
Lightnings  from  friendship's  lamp.' 

"'In  1790  railroads  were  unknown.  To-day  there  is  in  the  United 
States  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  miles  of  railroad.  Over  these 
roads  there  were  carried  last  year  five  hundred  million  people  and  six 
hundred  million  tons  of  freight.  Employed  upon  them  are  one  million 
men,  thirty  thousand  locomotives,  twenty-one  thousand  passenger-cars, 
seven  thousand  baggage- cars,  and  one  million  freight  cars.  The  total 
capital  invested  is  eight  billion  dollars.  The  disbursements  for  labor 
and  repairs  are  yearly  six  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars.  As  a  Penn- 
sylvanian  I  am  proud  to  say  our  own  Pennsylvania  road  is  the  greatest, 
the  best,  and  most  perfect  in  management  and  construction  of  any  road 
in  the  world.  We  have  smoking-cars,  with  bath  room,  barber-shop, 
writing-desks,  and  library.  We  have  dining  cars  in  which  are  served 
refreshments  that  a  Delmonico  cannot  surpass.  We  have  parlor- cars 

478 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

with  bay-windows  and  luxurious  furniture,  and  we  have  cars  with  beds 
for  sleeping  soft  as  the  "eider  down." 

"'In  the  year  Andrew  Hunter  was  born  training-day  was  a  great 
event.  All  men  were  required  by  law  to  participate  in  a  day  of  general 
military  drill.  No  uniforms  were  worn,  save  the  homespun  dress  of  each 
soldier.  Each  company  was  armed  with  sticks,  pikes,  muskets,  or  guns, 
and  were  preceded  in  their  marches  by  a  fife  or  drum.  An  odd  and 
comic  sight  it  must  have  been.  Royal  amusements  in  1 790  were  shoot- 
ing-matches, rollings,  huskings,  scutchings,  flax-breakings,  apple-parings, 
and  quiltings.  Dancing  was  not  entirely  overlooked.  Books  were  few 
and  but  little  schooling  to  be  had.  Woman's  extravagances  in  dress  was 
then  and  is  now  a  juicy  topic  for  grumblers. 

"  '  In  1790  no  steamboat  had  ever  navigated  the  water,  nothing  but 
old  sail-crafts  being  used.  A  trip  across  the  ocean  required  from  four 
weeks  to  three  months.  Father  Hunter  was  six  weeks  on  the  ocean. 
Now  we  skip  across  in  six  and  seven  days.  Then  it  took  weeks  and 
months  to  hear  the  news  from  Europe  or  Asia ;  now  we  hear  daily  from 
the  whole  world.  We  have  only  to  speak  across  the  ocean,  when  our 
brother  in  Europe  or  Asia  greets  us  and  replies. 

"  '  In  the  year  Andrew  Hunter  was  born  Pennsylvania  contained  a 
population  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seventy- three;  now  we  have  five  million  people.  In  1790  the  curse  of 
slavery  rested  on  Pennsylvania,  for  in  that  year  three  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  human  beings  were  considered  "property" 
within  her  borders  and  held  as  slaves.  Sixty-four  of  these  slaves  were 
still  in  our  State  in  1840. 

"'In  1790,  Jefferson  County  was  unknown.  No  white  man  lived 
within  her  borders.  Nature  reigned  supreme.  The  shade  of  the  forest 
was  heavy  the  whole  day  through.  Now  our  county  contains  a  popula- 
tion of  forty- three  thousand.  We  have  schools,  churches,  telegraphs, 
telephones,  and  court  all  the  time. 

"  '  The  great  coal  deposits  that  underlie  forty-two  of  our  counties  was 
known  to  exist  at  that  early  date,  but  its  use  was  not  understood.  Some 
hard  coal  was  mined  and  shipped  to  Philadelphia  for  a  market,  but  not 
knowing  what  to  do  with  it,  it  was  finally  used  to  repair  the  roads.  Our 
people  are  alive  now  to  its  use,  as  the  following  exhibit  will  show :  In 
1888  there  was  mined  in  Pennsylvania  of  hard  coal  forty-one  million  six 
hundred  and  thirty  eight  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  tons, 
giving  employment  to  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  and  forty- two 
people.  In  1888  there  was  mined  in  Pennsylvania  thirty-three  million 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-five 
tons  of  bituminous  coal,  giving  employment  to  sixty  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  people.  Total  output  of  hard  and  soft  coal  in  1888, 
seventy-five  million  four  hundred  and  ten  thousand  seven  hundred  and 

479 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

sixty  nine  tons.  Total  number  of  people  employed  in  mining,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighty-nine. 

"  '  In  the  year  1790  men  were  imprisoned  for  debt  and  kept  in  prison 
until  the  last  farthing  was  paid.  The  jails  of  that  day  were  but  little 
better  than  dungeons.  There  was  no  woman's  Christian  temperance 
union,  no  woman's  relief  corps,  no  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty 
to  animals  or  children. 

"'In  1790  domestic  comforts  were  few.  No  stove  had  been  in- 
vented. Large,  deep  fireplaces  with  cranes,  andirons,  and  bake- ovens 
were  the  only  modes  of  heating  and  cooking.  Friction-matches  were 
unknown.  If  the  fire  of  the  house  went  out,  you  had  to  rekindle  with  a 
flint  or  borrow  of  your  neighbor.  I  have  borrowed  fire.  House  furni- 
ture was  then  meagre  and  rough.  There  were  no  window-blinds  or  car- 
pets. Rich  people  whitewashed  their  ceilings  and  rooms,  and  covered 
their  parlor-floors  with  white  sand.  Hence  the  old  couplet : 

"  '  Oh,  dear  mother,  my  toes  are  sore 
A  dancing  over  your  sanded  floor.' 

."  '  Pine-knots,  tallow-dipped  candles  burned  in  iron  or  brass  candle- 
sticks, and  whale  oil  burned  in  iron  lamps  were  the  means  for  light  in 
stores,  dwellings,  etc.  Food  was  scarce,  coarse,  and  of  the  most  common 
kind,  with  no  canned  goods  or  evaporated  fruits.  In  addition  to  cooking 
in  the  open  fireplace,  women  had  to  spin,  knit,  dye,  and  weave  all  domes- 
tic cloths,  there  being  no  mills  run  by  machinery  to  make  woollen  or 
cotton  goods.  Mrs.  Winslow's  soothing  syrup  and  baby- carriages  were 
unknown.  The  bride  of  1790  took  her  wedding-trip  on  foot  or  on  horse- 
back behind  the  bridegroom  on  a  "  pillion." 

"  '  Men  wore  no  beards,  whiskers,  or  moustaches,  their  faces  being  as 
clean  shaven  and  as  smooth  as  a  girl's.  A  beard  was  looked  upon  as  an 
abomination,  and  fitted  only  for  Hessians,  heathen,  or  Turks.  In  1790 
not  a  single  cigar  had  ever  been  smoked  in  the  United  States.  I  wish  I 
could  say  that  of  to-day.  There  were  no  aniline  dyes,  no  electric  lights, 
no  anaesthetics  and  painless  surgery,  no  gun-cotton,  no  nitro  glycerin,  no 
dynamite,  giant  powder,  audiphones,  pneumatic  tubes,  or  type-writers. 
No  cotton-gin,  no  planting-machine,  no  mower  or  reaper,  no  hay-rake, 
no  hay-fork,  no  corn-sheller,  no  rotary  printing-press,  no  sewing-machine, 
no  knitting-machine,  no  envelopes  for  letters,  no  india-rubber  goods, 
coats,  shoes,  or  cloaks,  no  grain  elevator  except  man,  no  artificial  ice,  no 
steel  pens,  no  telegraph  or  telephone,  no  street-cars,  no  steam-mills,  no 
daguerreotypes  or  photographs,  no  steam-ploughs,  no  steam-thresher, 
only  the  old  hand-flail,  no  wind-mill,  and  no  millionaire  in  the  whole 
country.  General  Washington  was  the  richest  man,  and  he  was  only 
worth  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

"  '  In  1790  slavery  prevailed  in  all  Christendom.  It  was  everywhere 

480 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  manner  and  in  fact.  Men,  women,  and  children  were  bought  and 
sold  like  cattle.  Now  there  is  no  slavery  in  all  Christendom.  No  more 
human  auction-blocks,  no  more  masters,  no  more  driver's  lash.  Bless 
God! 

"  '  Our  fathers  established  the  first  Christian,  non- sectarian  govern- 
ment in  the  world,  and  declared  as  the  chief  corner-stone  of  that  govern- 
ment Christ's  teaching,  that  all  men  are  "born  free  and  equal;"  love 
your  neighbor  as  yourself.  Since  this  thought  has  been  carried  into 
effect  by  our  non-sectarian  government,  it  has  done  more  to  elevate  and 
civilize  mankind  in  the  last  one  hundred  years  than  had  ever  been  ac- 
complished in  all  time  before.  Under  the  humane  and  inspiring  influ- 
ence of  this  grand  idea  put  into  practice  the  wheels  of  progress,  science, 
religion,  and  civilization  have  made  gigantic  strides,  and  our  nation  espe- 
cially, from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  arctic  ice  to  tropic  sun,  is  filled  with 
smiling,  happy  homes,  rich  fields,  blooming  gardens,  and  bright  firesides, 
made  such  by  Christian  charity  carried  into  national  and  State  constitu- 
tional enactment.'  ' 

The  pioneer  voting-place  was  at  the  cabin  of  James  Wait. 

The  pioneer  birth  in  the  township  was  that  of  William  McGhee  in 
1825.  The  pioneer  marriage,  Henry  Keys  and  Catherine  Wilson  in  1826. 
The  pioneer  death,  Mary,  wife  of  John  Hunter,  in  1830.  The  pioneer 
graveyard,  on  Cooper's  Hill  in  1831.  Pioneer  merchant,  Thomas  B.  Mc- 
Lain,  near  Beechtree.  Other  early  merchants,  W.  B.  McCullough,  Alvin 
Head.  Pioneer  church,  Presbyterian,  organized  December  3,  1832,  with 
fourteen  members.  The  pioneer  cabin  was  constructed  by  three  men 
only, — viz.  :  Thomas  Moore,  Henry  Keys,  and  John  Mclntosh. 

The  pioneer  township  election  was  held  in  1839,  and  the  following 
persons  were  elected, — viz.  :  Constable,  John  McGhee  ;  Supervisors,  John 
Mclntosh  and  Tilton  Reynolds ;  Auditors,  Andrew  Smith,  Oliver  Mc- 
Clelland, William  Reynolds,  and  Joshua  Rhea  ;  School  Directors,  Oliver 
McClelland,  Andrew  Smith,  James  McConnell,  William  Reynolds,  John 
Fuller,  and  John  Horm  ;  Fence  Appraisers,  James  Smith  and  Oliver 
Welch ;  Poor  Overseers,  Henry  Keys  and  Tilton  Reynolds  ;  Town  Clerk, 
John  Wilson. 

In  1831,  John  Wilson  erected  an  up-and-down  saw-mill  near  Rock- 
dale. 

Archie  Campbell,  James  Wait,  Samuel,  James,  and  Robert  Kyle  were 
early  settlers,  too.  Archie  Campbell  and  James  Kyle  were  brothers-in- 
law.  They  were  odd,  eccentric,  and  stingy,  but  each  prided  himself  on 
being  very  generous.  The  Kyles  and  Campbell  had  the  reputation  of 
being  wealthy.  Early  in  the  forties  the  women  in  that  part  of  Washing- 
ton township  took  a  notion  to  fix  up  Prospect  Graveyard,  and  in  order  to 
reach  the  Kyles  and  Campbell  a  subscription  paper  was  put  in  the  hands 
of  Jimmie  Kyle.  Jimmie  was  an  old  bachelor.  The  first  thing  he  did 

481 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

after  getting  the  paper  was  to  call  on  Archie  Campbell,  when  the  follow- 
ing conversation,  in  a  dignified  manner,  took  place  : 

"  Gud-morning,  Muster  Cummell." 

"  Gud  morning,  Muster  Kyle." 

"Are  yez  all  well  this  morning,  Muster  Cummell?" 

"  Yes,  Muster  Kyle,  there's  only  me  and  Mary,  and  we're  all  well." 

"  Muster  Cummell,  I've  got  a  subscription  paper  here  to  fix  the  grave- 
yard beyand,  and  wud  you  be  after  putting  something  down?" 

"  Egad,  no,  Muster  Kyle,  not  a  cint  for  that  ould  cow-pasture.  As 
long  as  I  luv  I  won't  be  burried  there.  Egad,  I  won't." 

"  Wull,  Muster  Cummell,  we  duffer  in  opinion  on  that,  for  if  I  luv 
and  kape  me  health,  I  wull." 

Pioneer  school-master,  William  Reynolds,  in  1832.  Other  early 
instructors:  Alexander  Cochran,  1833;  William  Kennedy,  1834;  Betsy 
McCurdy  and  Thomas  Reynolds,  1835  ;  Oliver  and  Nancy  Jane  McClel- 
land, 1836;  Fanny  McConnell  and  Rev.  Dexter  Morris,  1838;  Peggy 
Mclntosh  and  Finley  McCormick,  1839;  Joseph  Sterrett  and  Nancy  Jane 
McClelland,  1840.  The  master  taught  three  month  terms  in  the  winter, 
the  women  two  in  the  summer. 

This  township  was  settled  by  Scotch-Irish,  mostly  from  the  counties 
Antrim  and  Tyrone,  Ireland.  They  were  as  a  unit  agricultural.  One 
noted  hunter  was  reared  there, — viz.  :  George  Smith.  Before  the  advent 
of  the  settlers  the  Indians  made  maple-sugar  here.  Trees  are  still  stand- 
ing that  were  notched  for  this  purpose  by  the  savage  tomahawk.  The 
early  Irish  settlers  took  up  this  business  and  made  tons  and  tons  and 
barrels  and  barrels  of  maple  molasses  and  sugar  every  spring.  As  a  result 
no  sugar  trust  or  Glaus  Spreckels  had  any  terrors  for  them. 

Money  was  scarce,  and  the  pioneers  and  early  settlers  of  this  township 
paid  their  debts  usually  "  with  sugar  in  the  spring  and  oats  after  harvest." 
I  lived  in  my  boyhood  four  years  with  Joseph  McCurdy,  in  this  township. 
I  desire  to  say  here  that  he  was  an  honest  man  and  a  true  Christian  gen- 
tleman. 

The  pioneer  history  of  this  section  of  the  county  has  been  graphically 
portrayed  by  Rev.  Boyd  McCullough,  who  settled  with  his  parents  in  the 
Beechwoods  in  1832.  in  his  "Sketches  of  Local  History"  and  the 
"Shamrock,"  published  by  him,  from  which  the  following  incidents  are 
taken  : 

"  In  1833  there  was  a  beautiful  fall.  Keys's  folks  sowed  wheat  in 
November.  The  next  spring  was  favorable,  and  it  was  a  bountiful  crop. 
This  was  a  great  loss  to  the  settlement,  for  the  people  were  encouraged  to 
sow  as  much  as  they  could  get  in  any  time  through  October,  and  the  rust 
generally  ruined  it,  until  they  learned  wit  by  dear  experience. 

"  The  winter  of  1831  was  a  very  cold  one,  and  in  the  severest  part  of 
it  the  house  of  John  Hunter  was  burned  down.  The  neighbors  soon 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

gathered  together  and  put  up  a  log  house  for  him,  but  he  lost  nearly 
everything  he  owned  by  the  fire. 

"  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1832  that  we  moved  into  the  woods.  There 
were  seventeen  families  in  the  woods  at  that  time.  We  stopped  at  An- 
drew Smith's.  I  was  seven  years  old.  The  next  morning  I  ran  in  with 
the  news  that  there  was  an  ass  with  very  slim  legs  and  a  small  nose  in  the 
yard.  I  was  told  it  was  a  deer.  They  had  petted  several  young  deer  at 
different  times. 

"  That  fall  the  first  school  was  started  in  the  place.  (Waites  )  The 
log  school-house  had  one  regular  window  with  six  lights.  The  other 
window  was  made  by  removing  a  log  and  placing  panes  of  glass  in  the 
cavity  joining  each  other.  A  writing-desk  was  made  by  driving  pins  in 
the  logs  below  this  window,  and  laying  rough  boards  upon  it.  The  fire- 
place was  made  by  building  a  stone  wall  against  the  logs  as  high  as  the 
loft ;  from  this  a  kind  of  a  flue  was  made  of  pine  sticks  and  clay.  Some- 
times the  smoke  found  its  way  up  the  chimney  and  sometimes  it  wandered 
through  the  house.  William  Reynolds  taught  this  first  school  for  ten 
dollars  a  month,  half  in  cash  and  half  in  grain  after  harvest.  People 
who  do  not  know  half  as  much  would  turn  up  their  noses  at  treble  that 
pay  now. 

"The  kindly  spring  came  gently  on,  and  we  then  commenced  to 
make  sugar.  Right  pleasant  it  is  to  see  the  luscious  juice  drop,  drop, 
dropping  from  trees  all  over  the  hill,  while  roaring  fire  makes  the  syrup 
go  foaming  and  dancing  in  the  kettle  till  it  is  time  to  take  it  out  and  put 
fresh  sap  in.  It  is  hard  work,  but  then  you  can  see  the  progress  you  are 
making,  and  you  get  your  pay  immediately. 

"  There  was  no  school  in  summer,  but  we  attended  Sabbath -school  in 
the  school-house.  This  school  was  organized  by  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs  in  1831, 
but  it  existed  before  that.  Robert  Mclntosh  and  Betty  Keys  had  started 
it  when  there  were  but  few  families  in  the  place.  It  went  from  house  to 
house  before  there  was  any  school  house. 

"  James  and  Andrew  Smith,  father  and  son,  Thomas  Ledlie,  and 
Alexander  Cochran  might  be  mentioned  as  men  whose  deep  thought  gave 
an  intellectual  tone  to  discussions.  Robert  Mclntosh,  Sr.,  was  the  first 
superintendent  He  was  not  a  man  of  extended  information,  but  his 
devoted  spirit  and  warm  cordial  impulse  gave  a  great  interest  to  his  devo- 
tional exercises,  and  made  him  universally  respected.  Well  do  I  remem- 
ber the  last  time  I  saw  him  in  the  Sabbath- school.  He  closed  by  singing 
the  sixth  psalm,  long  meter,  in  the  old  version, — '  Lord,  in  thy  wrath, 
rebuke  me  not.'  That  was  the  fall  of  1833,  and  he  died  in  the  fall  of 

1834. 

"  Betty  Keys  was  also  the  life  of  the  school,  as  long  as  her  health 
enabled  her  to  attend.  She  was  said  to  be  very  self-willed  and  opiniona- 
tive,  and  on  one  occasion  the  young  women,  returning  from  Sabbath- 

483 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

school,  were  walking  ahead,  and  the  men  in  a  company  behind,  all  except 
Oliver  McClelland,  who  was  walking  with  the  girls.  She  invited  him  to 
fall  back  in  the  company  of  men,  and  so  maintain  the  decorum  due  the 
day.  That  she  loved  to  rule  might  be  true,  but  certain  it  is  that  if  she 
ruled  it  was  by  the  gentle  power  of  love.  We  children,  no  matter  what 
class  we  belonged  to,  were  accustomed  to  look  up  to  her  as  to  one  su- 
perior to  the  rest,  and  as  one  who  could  scarcely  do  anything  wrong. 
We  carried  our  dinners  with  us,  as  there  was  Sabbath-school  in  the  morn- 
ing and  prayer-meeting  in  the  afternoon. 

"  When  we  came  to  the  Beechwoods  the  soil  was  rich  and  the  vegeta- 
tion luxurious,  but  the  subsoil  was  poor.  Thousands  of  years  ago  great 
currents  of  water  must  have  swept  westward,  carrying  the  soil  into  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  leaving  the  heavy  deposits  of  iron  and  rock.  When 
the  climate  became  drier  and  the  streams  shrank  to  their  present  size,  a 
growth  of  forest  followed.  The  decaying  leaves  of  two  or  three  thou- 
sand years  formed  this  rich  mould.  Scarcely  was  the  snow  of  winter  gone 
when  the  wild  leeks  peeped  up  like  corn.  At  first  they  had  not  much  of 
their  rampant  taste,  and  cattle  nipped  them  off  greedily.  Before  they  got 
strong,  the  curley  weed  showed  itself,  vellera  and  broad  leaf  followed. 
All  these  had  thick  juicy  roots,  which  lived  over  winter.  By  the  middle 
of  June  the  wild  peavine  gave  pasturage.  Besides  these,  which  the  cattle 
ate,  there  were  many  flowers  that  they  did  not  eat,  the  mandrake,  the 
sweet-william,  the  phlox,  the  honeysuckle,  and  the  violet. 

' '  Bees  found  homes  in  the  hollow  trees  as  conveniently  as  food  in  the 
flowers.  The  blossoms  of  the  trees  also  gave  them  their  choice  honey. 
The  crops  were  often  good.  In  1835  we  planted  a  bushel  and  a  half  of 
potatoes  in  one  patch  of  new  ground,  covering  them  with  leaves,  and 
scratching  enough  clay  over  them  to  keep  the  leaves  down.  It  was  a  wet 
season,  which  was  the  most  suitable  for  such  planting,  and  we  dug  thirty- 
six  bushels  of  potatoes.  The  same  year  the  Keyses  had  four  hundred 
bushels  to  the  acre.  Another  year  James  Smith  had  as  good  a  yield. 

"  One  year,  perhaps  in  1836,  William  Smith,  Sr.,  had  soft  corn,  owing 
to  the  season,  and  the  next  year  he  thought  he  would  plant  more.  His 
wife  planted  a  patch  by  the  house  and  took  every  care  of  it.  The  crop 
yielded  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  bushels  of  shelled  corn  to  the  acre.  In 
those  days  people  hardly  ever  sowed  timothy  seed  at  all.  A  little  seed 
in  the  wheat  got  into  the  ground,  and  taking  hold  in  fence  corners  and 
around  stumps,  was  ready  to  spread  when  a  field  was  thrown  out.  Two 
tons  of  hay  to  the  acre  was  thought  nothing  remarkable,  yet  all  this  was 
the  product  of  rich  mould  on  the  surface.  People  did  not  know  how 
poor  the  subsoil  was  or  they  would  have  kept  up  the  condition  of  their 
land. 

"  Rev.  Joseph  McGarrah  assisted  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs  to  hold  the  first  com- 
munion in  the  Beechwoods.  A  son  of  Mr.  McGarrah  told  me,  in  a  chat 

484 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

about  the  old  times,  that  in  1815  he  went  to  a  store  with  a  bag  of  wheat. 
He  went  on  horseback  twelve  miles,  and  got  seventy-five  cents  a  bushel 
for  his  wheat,  and  paid  fifty  cents  a  pound  for  coffee  and  twenty-five 
cents  a  piece  for  tin  cups  to  eat  mush  and  milk  out  of.  It  was  night  when 
he  got  back,  and  he  brought  two  pounds  of  coffee  and  two  tin  cups  for 
his  bag  of  wheat. 

"  It  was  not  so  bad  in  1836  as  in  1815,  but  still  we  had  the  difficulty 
of  cheap  produce  and  dear  store  goods.  It  was  five  pounds  of  coffee,  four 
yards  of  coarse  muslin,  or  six  yards  of  poor  calico  for  a  dollar,  when  a 
dollar  represented  two  days'  hard  work.  And  then  cash  could  not  be  had 
for  work,  and  many  articles  the  merchants  would  not  sell  without  money. 

"  If  the  young  people  want  to  know  how  we  got  along  in  those  days, 
I  will  tell  them  we  got  along  exactly  as  we  do  now.  When  tired  we 
grunted,  when  hurt  we  grinned,  when  pleased  we  laughed,  exactly  as  we 
do  now.  The  young  men  winked  at  the  girls,  and  the  girls  smiled  back 
as  often  and  pleasantly  as  you  do  now.  But  to  be  more  definite,  the  men 
shore  the  sheep,  the  women  scoured  the  wool,  and  the  girls  made  a 
frolic  to  pick  it.  It  was  sent  to  the  carding-machine,  and  then  spun  by 
hand.  The  yarn  was  carried  to  the  weaver.  The  cloth  was  soused  in 
soapsuds  and  thrown  on  the  kitchen  floor,  where  the  boys  kicked  it  until 
it  was  fulled  up  ;  then,  colored  with  butternut,  it  was  made  up  into  men's 
clothing.  The  women  were  a  little  more  tasty,  and  wore  barred  flannel 
colored  with  indigo,  madder,  etc.  If  people  did  not  look  quite  as  well 
in  homespun  as  in  broadcloth,  they  felt  as  happy. 

"In  1841,  Billy  Richards  set  up  a  fulling-mill  on  North  Fork.  This 
was  a  great  relief,  as  before  we  had  to  carry  our  cloth  to  Frederick  Holo- 
peter's,  somewhere  in  Clearfield  County.  Remember,  this  home  made 
cloth  cost  more,  counting  the  labor,  than  fine  cloth  does  now,  but  it  was 
the  best  we  had,  and  we  felt  proud  of  it. 

"  I  think  it  was  in  1830  that  Rev.  Gary  Bishop  came  from  Phillipsburg 
to  marry  James  Waite  and  Mattie  Mclntosh.  The  temperance  reform 
had  not  started  then.  Mr.  Bishop  carried  a  jug  of  whiskey  in  one  end  of 
his  saddle-bags  and  a  stone  in  the  other  to  cheer  the  wedding-guests.  It 
was  the  whiskey,  not  the  stone,  that  cheered  the  guests.  They  had  no 
fighting.  He  baptized  Susan  Mclntosh,  now  Mrs.  Stevenson,  at  the 
wedding.  The  reader  will  perceive  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  killing 
two  birds  with  one  stone  in  those  economical  days." 

The  pioneer  temperance  society  was  the  Washingtonians,  organized 
in  1842,  by  Hugh  Brady,  S.  B.  Bishop,  and  Samuel  Lucas,  of  Brookville, 
Pennsylvania.  Fifty  members  were  enrolled. 

In  1831,  Rev.  Riggs  made  a  missionary  tour  through  the  settlement. 
He  made  a  pastoral  visit  to  each  family,  and  preached  on  two  Sundays. 
The  only  capitalist  in  the  "  Woods"  was  Matthew  Keys,— he  had  a  five- 
dollar  bill.  Each  settler  agreed  to  give  Keys  twenty-five  cents  apiece  as 

485 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

soon  as  he  could  get  it  if  he  would  give  Mr.  Riggs  the  bill.     This  Keys 
did,  and  then  the  settlement  was  without  a  cent. 

Archie  Campbell  married  Mary  Ann  Kyle.  Archie  and  his  wife  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  Reynoldsville,  and  one  winter  day  they 
concluded  to  visit  the  Kyles.  They  hitched  up  their  horse  in  a  little 
jumper,  and  reached  their  destination,  some  four  miles  over  the  Ceres 
road,  and  remained  overnight  with  their  relations.  During  the  night 
there  was  a  heavy  snow-fall.  On  starting  home  in  the  morning  the 
Kyles  presented  Mary  Ann  with  a  small  crock  of  apple-butter.  The 
crock  was  stored  between  Mrs.  Campbell's  feet  when  she  took  her  seat  in 
the  jumper.  The  road-track  was  covered  with  fresh  snow,  and  Archie 
could  not,  of  course,  discern  it.  After  driving  some  distance  he  struck  a 
trot,  the  jumper  went  over  a  stump,  and  threw  Archie  and  Mary  Ann 
violently  into  the  snow.  Archie  scrambled  up  and  cried,  "  Mary  Ann, 
my  dear,  are  you  hurted?"  "  My  thigh  is  broken,  my  thigh  is  broken, 
Archie  !"  Archie  rushed  to  her  aid,  and  running  his  hand  up  her  limb  to 
ascertain  her  injury,  he  exclaimed,  "  It's  wurse  than  that,  it's  wurse  than 
that,  Mary  Ann;  your  bowels  are  busted,  your  bowels  are  busted!" 
And  it  was  only  apple-butter. 

PORTER   TOWNSHIP. 

Porter,  the  twelfth  township,  organized  in  1840,  was  taken  from  Perry 
township,  and  named  for  David  R.  Porter,  then  the  governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania. This  township  has  a  post-office  called  Porter,  situated  about 
twenty  miles  south  of  Brookville.  Taxables  in  1842,  192;  population 
by  census  in  1840,  977. 

"It  is  difficult  to  point  out  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the 
several  townships,  and  we  will  not  attempt  to  specify  the  advantages  or 
the  opposites  of  this  division.  It  is  similar  to  Perry  and  Ringgold,  and 
its  early  settlers  were  cast  in  the  same  rugged  mould.  Agriculture  ranks 
first  in  this  section,  and  the  farms  generally  are  in  excellent  condition." 
— Atlas. 

Pioneer  settlers:  in  1803,  James  McClelland;  in  1804,  Benjamin 
Ions;  in  1806,  David  Hamilton;  in  1815,  Elijah  Ekis,  Michael  Lantz, 
and  William  Smith.  The  first  person  born  in  the  township  was  Robert 
Hamilton.  The  pioneer  graveyard  was  in  1843.  Tne  pioneer  church 
society  organized  was  by  the  Methodists  in  1838.  The  pioneer  church 
was  built  in  1843.  The  pioneer  camp  meeting  was  held  in  this  township 
in  1836. 

The  pioneer  election  for  township  officers  was  in  1840,  and  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  chosen, — viz.  :  Justice  of  the  Peace,  John  Robinson  ; 
Constable,  John  Hice;  Supervisors,  Conrad  Nolf,  Geo.  Miller;  Auditors, 
John  McAninch,  John  Robinson,  William  McAninch,  William  Ferguson  ; 

486 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Judge  of  Election,  William  Foster ;    Inspectors,  Robert    E.  Kennedy, 
Daniel  McGregor. 

CLOVER   TOWNSHIP. 

This  was  the  thirteenth  township,  being  organized  in  1841.  It  was 
taken  from  Rose  township,  and  called  for  Levi  G.  Clover,  then  prothono- 
tary  of  the  county.  Troy  (post-office  Summerville)  is  the  place  where 
the  people  get  their  mails,  and  is  now  an  important  shipping-point  and 
trade  centre.  Taxables  in  1842,  145. 

The  pioneer  settler  in  what  is  now  Clover  township  was  Samuel 
Baldwin,  in  1812.  Early  settlers,  Solomon  Fuller,  John  Welch,  before 
1816;  Darius  Carrier,  1816;  in  181 8,  Thomas  and  John  Lucas ;  in  1819, 
Robert  Andrews  and  Walter  Templeton ;  in  1820,  Frederick  Heterick, 
Henry  Lot,  Alonzo  Baldwin,  and  the  Carrier  brothers;  and  in  1821, 
Moses  Knapp. 

The  pioneer  church  was  organized  in  1828,  by  the  Associate  Reformed 
Seceders.  In  1831  the  pioneer  church  building  was  erected  by  this  asso- 
ciation on  the  farm  of  Robert  Andrews,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Scroggs 
was  pastor.  The  pioneer  school- house  was  built  on  the  John  Lucas  farm 
in  1825.  The  pioneer  school-master  was  Robert  Knox.  Rev.  William 
Kennedy  preached  here  occasionally  at  that  time.  In  1827,  Joseph 
McGiffin  taught  a  six-months'  term  of  school,  at  fifty  cents  a  month  per 
scholar,  in  the  Lucas  school- house. 

In  1840,  Dr.  James  Dowling  organized  a  militia  company  called  the 
"  Independent  Greens," — a  rifle  company.  The  uniform  of  these  soldiers 
consisted  of  green  baize  cloth  trimmed  with  red  fringe.  The  coat  was 
made  in  the  form  of  a  shirt.  The  uniform  of  the  band  or  drum  corps 
was  a  bright  red,  and  the  members  were  the  "Lucas  Band."  Muster 
and  reviews  at  that  time  were  occasionally  held  on  the  farm  of  Robert 
Andrews. 

The  pioneer  physician  in  what  is  now  Clover  township  was  Dr.  R.  K. 
Scott,  in  1826;  Dr.  James  Dowling,  in  1837. 

The  people  of  that  day  seemed  to  be  as  anxious  for  "  salt  territory" 
as  we  are  now  for  "oil  territory."  Thomas  and  John  Lucas  settled  on 
the  flat  called  Puckerty.  They  bored  for  salt,  found  some  salt  water,  but 
never  made  a  success  of  their  well.  In  1840  Major  Johnston  sank  a 
well  with  pole  power,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  and  struck  what 
was  then  called  a  three  barrel  well.  This  was  below  Troy.  James  An- 
derson purchased  these  works  from  Johnston,  and  made  salt  at  the  "  salt- 
works below  Troy"  for  twenty-five  years.  Before  these  works  were 
started  our  people  had  to  go  to  Saltsburg,  Indiana  County,  Pennsylvania, 
for  salt,  and  bring  the  salt  on  horseback  on  pack-saddles.  Salt  sold  then 
for  five  and  six  dollars  a  barrel. 

Pioneer  saw-mills:  1814,  on  Hiram's  Run,  Mr.  Scott;  1820,  Trios. 

487 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Lucas,  at  Puckerty ;  1822,  Moses  Knapp,  at  Baxter;  1825,  Moses  Knapp, 
at  Knapp's  Bend.  In  1838,  Moses  Knapp  built  a  grist-mill  alongside  of 
this  mill  at  the  Bend.  In  1836,  Darius  Carrier  built  a  grist-mill  in  what 
is  now  called  Troy. 

The  pioneer  election  in  Clover  township  was  in  1842,  and  but  one 
officer  was  elected, — viz.  :  Wm.  Magill,  fence  viewer. 

In  1843  tne  following-named  persons  were  elected  to  fill  the  township 
offices, — viz.  :  Inspectors,  Samuel  Milliron,  Euphrastus  Carrier ;  Judge  of 
Election,  Solomon  Fuller ;  Supervisors,  James  Sowers,  Hazard  Jacox ; 
School  Directors,  Hiram  Carrier,  Matthew  Dickey,  John  Shields,  Henry 
Scott,  Samuel  Lucas,  and  Christopher  Fogle ;  Constable,  Charles  Jacox ; 
Assessor,  Euphrastus  Carrier ;  Auditors,  D.  Fairweather,  P.  I.  Lucas ; 
Poor  Overseer,  Elijah  Heath,  Robert  Andrews ;  Town  Clerk,  A.  Baldwin. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  no,  regulating  election  districts, 
approved  July  n,  1842,  established  the  polling-place  for  Clover  town- 
ship as  follows : 

"  SECTION  12.  That  the  qualified  voters  of  Clover  township,  Jefferson 
County,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  general  election  at  the  house  of  Darius 
Carrier,  in  the  village  of  Troy,  in  said  township." 

GASKILL   TOWNSHIP. 

Gaskill  was  the  fourteenth  township,  organized  in  1842,  taken  from 
Young  township,  and  named  after  Hon.  Charles  C.  Gaskill,  then  agent 
of  the  Holland  Land  Company,  of  Jefferson  and  adjoining  counties. 
Taxables  in  1842,  78. 

"  '  This  is  a  good  township,'  an  observing  farmer  from  Eastern  Penn- 
sylvania remarked,  and  well  he  said,  for  the  landscape  is  dotted  with 
real  farm-homes,  and  the  products  of  the  soil  are  of  many  kinds,  and  of 
a  quantity  and  quality  that  would  suit  the  fastidious  taste  of  an  Orange 
County  (New  York)  agriculturist.  This  is  the  home  of  Joseph  Winslow, 
the  pioneer.  The  primitive  tilling  of  the  past  has  been  followed  by  the 
advanced  (theoretical  as  well  as  practical)  culture  of  the  present,  and 
they  who  could  not  raise  wheat  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  are  known 
only  by  tradition.  The  times  have  changed,  "and  with  them  the  moon- 
consulting  and  sign-believing  wiseacres  of  fifty  years  ago.  We  can  only 
say,  Tempusfugit. ' '  — Atlas. 

The  pioneer  settler  was  Carpenter  Winslow,  in  1818.  He  came  from 
Maine.  Other  early  settlers  were  Francis  Leech,  Daniel  Coffman,  Reuben 
Clemson,  John  and  Philip  Bowers,  and  John  Van  Horn,  in  1820.  The 
pioneer  grist-  and  saw-mill  in  the  township  was  built  by  William  Neel  in 

1843- 

"  When  these  families  settled  in  the  neighborhood  game  was  very 
plenty,  and  it  is  said  that  they  were  frequently  obliged  to  go  out  at 
night  and  drive  whole  droves  of  deer  out  of  their  grain-fields.  Like  all 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  other  early  pioneers,  these  people  had  to  encounter  hardships,  priva- 
tions, and  dangers,  which  called  forth  all  their  powers  of  endurance,  and 
they  were  for  many  years  obliged  to  practise  the  closest  economy  •  but 
hope,  faith,  and  endurance  overcame  all  difficulties,  and  they  lived  to  see 
beautiful  farms  as  the  result  of  those  years  of  toil." 

The  pioneer  lumberman  was  Philip  Bowers,  in  1836. 

The  pioneer  graveyard  was  at  Bowers's,  in  1840. 

The  pioneer  election  was  held  in  the  township  in  1841,  and  the  fol- 
lowing township  officers  were  elected :  Constable,  Joseph  Winslow ; 
Supervisors,  John  Pifer,  Henry  Miller,  John  Kauffman ;  Auditors,  Henry 
Phillips,  Philip  Bowers,  Thomas  Thompson ;  School  Directors,  Henry 
Miller,  Jonathan  Strouse,  David  Harney,  Philip  Bowers ;  Judge  of  Elec- 
tion, John  D.  Phillips ;  Poor  Overseers,  Thomas  Thompson ;  Town 
Clerk,  Henry  Miller ;  Fence- Viewers,  Andrew  McCreight  and  John  Pifer. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  no,  regulating  election  districts,  ap- 
proved July  n,  1842,  established  the  polling-place  for  Gaskill  township 
as  follows : 

"SECTION  9.  That  the  qualified  voters  of  Gaskill  township,  Jefferson 
County,  shall  hereafter  hold  their  general  and  township  elections  at  the 
house  of  Henry  Miller,  in  said  township." 

FENCE-VIEWERS. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  each  of  these  pioneer  elections  that  one  or 
more  persons  were  annually  elected  as  fence-viewers.  This  office  was 
abolished  by  act  of  Legislature  in  1842,  and  in  order  that  the  readers  of 
this  volume  may  understand  the  duties  of  this  office  I  here  reproduce  the 
act  creating  this  office  : 

"AN   ACT   FOR   REGULATING   AND    MAINTAINING   LlNE-FENCES,  AND    FOR 

OTHER    PURPOSES. 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  in  addition  to  the  duties  now 
imposed  upon  the  township  auditors,  they  shall  hereafter  perform  the 
duties  hereinafter  prescribed  as  fence-viewers.  That  in  addition  to  the 
oath  now  prescribed  to  be  taken  by  the  auditors,  they  shall  annually  be 
sworn  or  affirmed  to  discharge  their  duties  as  such  viewers  faithfully  and 
impartially. 

"SECTION  2.  In  case  of  the  death,  removal,  or  resignation  ...  so 
elected,  the  judges  of  the  court  of  the  proper  county  shall  appoint  a  suit- 
able person.  .  .  . 

"  SECTION  3.  When  any  two  persons  shall  improve  lands  adjacent  to 
each  other  ...  so  that  any  part  of  the  first  person's  fence  becomes  the 
partition  fence  between  them,  in  both  these  cases  the  charge  of  such 
division  fence,  so  far  enclosed  on  both  sides,  shall  be  equally  borne 
and  maintained  by  both  parties. 

32  489 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"SECTION  4.  On  notice  given  the  said  viewers  shall  within  five  days 
thereafter  view  and  examine  any  line  fence  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  make 
a  certificate  in  writing,  setting  forth  whether,  in  their  opinion,  the  fence 
if  one  has  been  already  built  is  sufficient,  and  if  not,  what  proportion  of 
the  expense  of  building  a  new  or  repairing  the  old  fence  should  be  borne 
by  each  party,  and  in  each  case  they  shall  set  forth  the  sum  which  in 
their  judgment  each  party  ought  to  pay  to  the  other  in  case  he  shall  re- 
pair or  build  his  proportion  of  the  fence,  a  copy  of  which  certificate  shall 
be  delivered  to  each  of  the  parties  ;  and  the  said  viewers  shall  receive  the 
sum  of  one  dollar  for  every  day  necessarily  spent  by  them  in  the  discharge 
of  their  duties,  which  they  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  delin- 
quent party,  or  in  equal  sums  from  each  as  they  shall  decide  to  be  just. 

"SECTION  5.  If  the  party  who  shall  be  delinquent  in  making  or  re- 
pairing of  any  fence  shall  not,  within  ten  days  after  a  copy  of  the  certifi- 
cate of  the  viewers  shall  have  been  delivered  to  him,  proceed  to  repair  or 
build  the  said  fence,  and  complete  the  same  in  a  reasonable  time,  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  the  parties  aggrieved  to  repair  or  build  the  said  fence ;  and 
he  may  bring  suit  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  or  alderman  against  the 
delinquent  party,  and  recover,  as  in  other  actions,  for  work,  labor,  ser- 
vice done,  and  materials  found,  and  either  party  may  appeal  from  the 
decision  of  the  justice  or  aldermen  as  in  other  cases. 

"  SECTION  7.  If  any  viewer  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  perform  any 
duty  herein  enjoined  upon  him,  he  shall  pay  for  each  such  neglect  or  re- 
fusal the  sum  of  three  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  the  party  aggrieved  as 
debts  of  a  like  amount  are  recoverable. 

"Approved — the  eleventh  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-two. 

WARSAW   TOWNSHIP. 
PIONEER    HISTORY   OF    THE   LARGEST   TOWNSHIP   IN   JEFFERSON   COUNTY. 

Warsaw,  the  fifteenth  township,  organized  in  1842,  was  taken  from 
Pine  Creek  and  Snyder  townships,  and  named  by  the  people  after  a  city 
of  Poland,  and  lately  the  metropolis  of  that  country,  in  the  palatinate  of 
Masovia.  Taxables  in  1842,  77. 

Before  the  white  man  came  to  settle  in  this  county  a  part  of  Warsaw 
was  "  a  barren"  and  thickly  settled  with  Indians,  and  what  is  now  called 
Seneca  Hill,  on  the  M.  Hoffman  farm,  is  where  they  met  for  their  orgies. 
They  had  a  graveyard  on  the  Temple  place,  and  S.  W.  Temple  has  found 
a  number  of  curious  Indian  relics  from  time  to  time  since  he  lived 
there. 

The  pioneer  settlers  in  what  is  now  Warsaw  township  were  John, 
Jacob,  and  Peter  Vastbinder.  They  settled  on  farms  in  1802. 

"John  Dixon  settled  in  what  is  now  Warsaw  about  the  year  1803,  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  C.  H.  Shobert.  The  venerable  John  Dixon,  of 

490 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Polk  township,  a  son  of  the  above  pioneer,  relates  some  of  the  incidents 
of  those  early  days.  He  remembers  when  coffee  was  seventy-five  cents 
and  tea  four  dollars  a  pound,  and  salt  ten  dollars  a  barrel.  His  father 
on  one  occasion  walked  to  Indiana,  where  he  bought  a  bushel  of  salt,  for 
which  he  paid  four  dollars.  He  carried  it  home  on  his  back,  and  then 
found  that  he  had  been  cheated  in  the  measurement,  as  it  lacked  con- 
siderably of  a  bushel.  The  family  subsisted  chiefly  on  wild  game,  deer, 
bears,  and  wild  turkeys  being  abundant.  Their  corn  was  ground  on 
hand-mills,  or  else  taken  to  Blacklick,  in  Indiana  County,  until  Joseph 
Barnett  erected  his  little  mill  at  Port  Barnett." 

Mr.  Dixon  was  the  pioneer  school-teacher  in  Jefferson  County,  and 
was  an  exemplary  citizen.  He  died  in  1834,  aged  about  seventy-six 
years.  Mrs.  Dixon,  nee  Sarah  Ann  Armstrong,  died  in  1860,  aged  about 
ninety-two  years.  In  1825,  Joshua  Vandevort  located  at  the  place  where 
Mayville,  otherwise  Bootjack,  now  stands,  the  pioneer  settler  in  what 
is  now  Bootjack.  In  1834,  Thomas  McCormick,  Myron  Gibbs,  and 
Milton  Johnson,  Esq.,  settled  on  farms  about  two  miles  from  Vandevort's. 
In  1835,  Elihu  Clark,  Isaac  Temple,  and  Andrew  McCormick  moved  into 
that  neighborhood,  which  afterwards  became  Warsaw.  Mrs.  Chloe 
Johnson  died,  and  was  the  first  interment  in  the  burying-ground  near 
Isaac  Temple's  residence. 

The  pioneer  settlement  near  Richardsville  was  made  by  James  Moor- 
head,  who  built  a  house  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Jackson 
Moorhead  in  1835,  but  he  did  not  move  his  family  there  until  the  spring 
of  1836.  John  Wakefield  built  a  house  and  moved  his  family  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Joseph  McCracken  in  1836,  but  returned  to  Indiana 
to  spend  the  following  winter.  William  Humphrey  built  a  house  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  his  son,  Samuel  M.  Humphrey,  in  the  fall  of  1836, 
and  moved  his  family  there  in  April,  1837.  Michael  Long  built  a  cabin 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Matthew  Humphrey  in  1836,  and  occupied  it 
for  a  short  time.  Isaac  Walker  built  a  house  the  same  year  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Thomas  Brownlee,  to  which  he  moved  his  family  the  next 
spring.  Matthew  Humphrey  commenced  operations  on  the  farm  on 
which  he  still  resides  in  1837.  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  original  settlers 
of  West  Warsaw  remaining.  He  says  when  he  came  to  the  township 
there  were  no  roads,  only  a  trail  leading  through  the  woods  to  "Boot- 
jack." (Hazen.) 

William  Russell,  father  of  "Indian"  George  Russell,  the  hunter, 
settled  in  what  is  now  Warsaw  in  1834,  and  built  a  saw-mill  on  the 
North  Fork.  This  was  the  pioneer  saw-mill. 

In  1837,  William  R.  Richards  located  on  the  north  fork  of  Red  Bank 
Creek,  six  miles  from  Brookville,  built  a  saw-mill,  woollen-factory,  and 
grist-mill,  and  called  the  place  Richardsville.  He  had  cleared  a  farm  in 
Snyder  township  the  year  before,  which  he  left  in  care  of  Alex.  Hutch- 

491 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

inson.  Daniel  Gaup  and  Thomas  McCormick  settled  on  farms  this  year 
also.  In  1837,  David  McCormick,  Moses  B.  St.  John,  John  Wilson, 
and  William  Perrin  settled  on  farms.  In  1838,  John  Bell,  Peter  Ricord, 
and  Nelson  Riggs  also  located  there. 

The  pioneer  graveyard  was  in  the  pine  grove  at  Vastbinder's,  the 
second  at  Temple's.  Warsaw  is  now  the  largest  township  in  the  county. 
The  country  is  very  hilly  and  much  broken,  though  few  of  the  hills  rise 
more  than  four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  larger  streams.  Some 
bituminous  coal  of  good  quality  is  found  in  the  hills,  lying  in  veins  of 
three  feet  above  the  water-level ;  it  is  therefore  very  accessible  for 
mining.  Fire-clay  has  a  place  among  these  coal-measures,  and  ought  to 
be  utilized.  Various  kinds  of  iron-ores  are  abundant,  and  white  and 
blue  sandstones  suitable  for  building  purposes  may  readily  be  found  in 
many  places.  Limestone  in  very  large  deposits  is  found  in  many  localities. 
The  soil  is  moderately  fertile,  and  will  amply  reward  the  careful  culti- 
vator for  his  well-directed  efforts.  For  some  reason,  a  large  extent  of 
the  township  was  called  by  the  early  settlers  "  The  Barrens."  The  hills, 
as  well  as  the  vales  between  them,  were  formerly  covered  by  a  dense  and 
heavy  growth  of  timber-trees  of  various  kinds.  Pine  and  hemlock  pre- 
dominated. Chestnut  and  oak  grew  in  some  localities.  Birch,  sugar- 
maple,  ash,  and  hickory  occupied  a  wide  range.  Birch-  and  cherry-trees 
were  numerous,  and  linwood-,  cucumber-,  and  poplar-trees  grew  on  many 
of  the  hill-sides.  Butternut  and  sycamore,  black  ash  and  elms,  grew  on 
the  low  grounds. 

The  pioneer  grist-mill  was  built  on  Mill  Creek  by  E.  Holben.  The 
pioneer  hotel-keeper  was  Isaac  Temple.  The  pioneer  merchant  was 
Solomon  Wyant,  in  Dogtown,  or  at  what  is  now  John  Fox's  hotel. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  no,  regulating  election  districts, 
approved  July  n,  1842,  established  the  polling-place  for  Warsaw  town- 
ship as  follows : 

"SECTION  26.  That  the  township  of  Warsaw,  in  the  county  of  Jef- 
ferson, be  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into  a  separate  election  district, 
and  that  the  general  as  well  as  the  township  elections  shall  be  held  at 
the  house  of  William  Weeks  in  said  township." 

In  the  forties,  Peter  Ricord,  Sr.,  and  his  son  Peter  erected  on  their 
farm  in  what  was  then  called  "Jericho,"  and  now  Warsaw  Post-Office,  a 
frame  grist-mill  structure  thirty  by  thirty  feet.  This  mill  had  one  run  of 
stones,  and  the  motive  power  was  one  yoke  of  oxen.  I  cannot  describe  it. 
The  capacity  was  about  thirty  bushels  of  corn  or  grain  a  day.  Ephraim 
Bushly  was  the  millwright;  Peter  Ricord,  Jr.,  the  miller.  The  scheme 
not  proving  a  financial  success,  the  running  gear  was  removed  in  a  few 
years,  and  the  building  utilized  as  a  barn  by  the  Ricords,  and  afterwards 
by  John  A.  Fox. 

The  pioneer  election  held  in  Warsaw  township  for  local  offices  was 

492 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  1843,  and  the  following-named  persons  were  elected, — viz. :  Judge  of 
Election,  John  Moorhead  ;  Inspectors,  Thomas  McCormick,  Peter  Cham- 
berlin ;  Supervisors,  William  Weeks,  James  K.  Huffman ;  School  Directors, 
O.  P.  Mather,  Ira  Bronson,  G.  D.  Frederick,  Arad  Pearsall,  James  A. 
Wilkins,  Peter  Chamberlin  ;  Constable,  David  C.  Riggs ;  Assessors,  An- 
drew McCormick,  Jacob  Moore,  Eli  B.  Irvin ;  Auditors,  John  Pearsall, 
Thomas  McCormick,  Finley  McCormick ;  Poor  Overseers,  Jacob  Vast- 
binder,  William  Richards ;  Town  Clerk,  Ira  Bronson. 

PARADISE  TOWNSHIP— A   DEAD   TOWNSHIP. 

It  appears  on  the  records  of  the  county  that  prior  to  or  about  the 
year  1839  a  township  was  organized  and  known  from  1839  until  1842  as 
Paradise  township.  From  the  names  embraced  in  the  officers  elected  in 
this  township  the  territory  must  have  taken  all  of  what  is  now  Gaskill, 
Bell,  Henderson,  McCalmont,  and  part  of  Winslow.  The  township  dis- 
appears from  the  records  of  the  county  as  mysteriously  as  it  appears. 

Pioneer  election  in  Paradise  township  in  the  year  1839:  Assessor, 
David  Barnett ;  Judge  of  Election,  John  Pifer ;  Inspectors  of  Election. 
Peter  Deemer,  John  Rhoads. 

Second  election,  1840,  Paradise  township:  Judge  of  Election,  John 
Rhoads;  Inspectors  of  Election,  John  Deemer,  Henry  Philipi. 

Third  election,  1842:  Constable,  James  Dickey;  Supervisors,  John 
Pifer,  Henry  Miller ;  Auditors,  Henry  Philipi,  Thomas  Thompson, 
Philip  Bowers ;  Town  Clerk,  Henry  Miller ;  School  Directors,  Henry 
Miller,  Thomas  Kerr;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  Andrew  McCreight,  An- 
drew Bowers ;  Assessor,  David  Harvey ;  Judge  of  Election,  John  Pifer ; 
Inspectors  of  Election,  George  Pifer,  George  Smith. 

PIONEER  CENSUS,   1840. 

The  following  is  the  population  of  Jefferson  County  by  the  several 
censuses  taken  since  1810  :  in  1810,  161 ;  in  1820,  561  ;  in  1830,  2025  ; 
and  in  1840,  7253,  as  follows: 

Brookville 276 

Washington 367 

Ridgway 195 

Tionesta 27 

Jenks 20 

Porter 977 

Young U2 ' 

Rose , 1421 

Snyder 291 

Eldred 395 

Barnett 259 

Pine  Creek 628 

Perry .    .    1076 

Total ' 7253 

493 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


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494 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Since  1840,  Ridgway  and  part  of  Snyder  townships  were  taken  to 
Elk  County.  Clover  township  was  taken  from  Rose ;  Union  from  Rose 
and  Eldred ;  Heath  from  Barnett ;  Warsaw  from  Pine  Creek,  Washing- 
ton, and  Snyder;  Gaskill  from  Young;  Winslow  from  Gaskill,  Wash- 
ington, and  Pine  Creek.  Punxsutawney  is  erected  into  a  borough.  Its 
census  is  separate  from  Young  township.  Porter  is  divided. 

The  accompanying  tables  show  the  number  of  horses,  cattle,  etc. , 
amount  of  grain  raised,  value  of  home-made  woollens  and  linens  and 
lumber  produced,  and  the  number  of  grist-  and  saw-mills  in  the  several 
townships  of  Jefferson  County  at  this  period. 

Value  of  Home-made     Value  of  Lumber    /-,  .  .  A,.,,       e       m-n 
Woollens  and  Linens.          produced. 

Brookville ...  $3,450  i  i 

Rose $2283  I5>732  5  17 

Washington 497  410  i  i 

Snyder      1,550  i  3 

Ridgway ...  4.720  .  .  7 

Eldred 450  1,155 

Tionesta  ......  ...  500  .  .  i 

Barnett 104  6,310  .  .  9 

Jenks .    .    .     ,  85  . .  i 

Pine  Creek 653  4,140  i  8 

Porter 1281  3Joo  . .  2 

Perry 1771  826  2  4 

Young 1334  8,025  3  14 


Total $8363  $50,603  14  68 

In  1839  there  were  six  tanneries,  that  tanned  five  hundred  and  twenty 
sides  of  sole  leather  and  eight  hundred  and  five  of  upper  leather.  In 
these  six  tanneries  seven  hands  were  employed. 

In  the  produce  of  lumber  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  hands  were 
employed. 

In  1840,  Rose  township  took  the  lead  in  population,  and  in  every- 
thing else  except  swine  and  sugar. 

Perry  took  the  lead  in  swine. 

Washington  was  the  sweetest,  and  Snyder  next,  for  they  made  the 
most  sugar ;  but  we  have  only  to  remember  the  name,  for  both  townships 
were  called  after  good  and  great  men. 

The  total  value  of  skins  and  furs,  $1029  ;  number  of  stores  in  county, 
igt — viz.,  Brookville,  8  ;  Rose,  2  ;  Snyder,  i  ;  Ridgway,  i  ;  Porter,  i ; 
Perry,  2  ;  Young,  4. 

Bituminous  coal  used  :  Brookville,  2000  bushels,  Charles  Anderson, 
miner ;  Rose  township,  number  of  bushels  used,  500.  The  second  miner, 
and  in  Rose,  was  Isaac  Hallam ;  two  miners  in  the  county  and  2500 
bushels  of  coal  used. 

495 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

BROOKVILLE   BOROUGH. 

This  borough,  the  seat  of  justice  of  Jefferson  County,  commenced  its 
first  building  in  June  of  1830.  After  the  lots  were  sold,  it  being  then  in 
Rose  township,  its  citizens  voted  with  the  township  until  1848,  when  it 


was  set  apart  as  a  distinct  polling  place  by  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  285, 
regulating  election  districts,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  the  yth 
day  of  April,  A  D.  1848. 

Brookville  was  named  for,  or  on  account  of,  the  springs  or  brooks  on 
its  hill-sides, — springs  which  here  to  all  in  these  continuous  woods  did 

496 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

freely  flow  unbought.  Brook,  with  the  French  "  ville,"  or  Latin  "  villa," 
a  country-seat,  in  common  English,  a  town ;  these  put  together  formed 
the  name.  The  population  by  the  census  of  1840  was  276. 

Brookville  was  incorporated  as  a  borough  on  April  9,  1834  (see 
pamphlet  laws  of  that  year,  page  209).  The  pioneer  election  for  the  new 
borough,  for  borough  officials,  was  in  the  spring  of  1835.  Joseph 
Sharpe  was  elected  constable,  and  Alexander  McKnight,  my  father,  was 
elected  school  director. 

"AN  ACT  (OF  APRIL,  1834)  TO  ERECT  BROOKVILLE,  ARMAGH,  SHREWS- 
BURY, AND  GREENFIELD  INTO  BOROUGHS,  AND  TO  ALTER  THE  ACT 
INCORPORATING  THE  BOROUGH  OF  MfiADVILLE. 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  town  of  Brookville,  in  the 
county  of  Jefferson,  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into,  a 
borough,  which  shall  be  called  '  the  borough  of  Brookville,  in  the  county 
of  Jefferson,'  bounded  and  limited  as  follows, — viz. :  Beginning  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  lot  number  twenty-two  in  said  town,  near  or  adjoining 
Hunt's  Point ;  thence  due  north  along  the  marked  line  of  said  town  to  a 
post  on  the  north  side  of  Butler's  Alley ;  thence  along  the  north  side  of 
said  alley  to  its  extremity ;  thence  by  a  continued  east  line  to  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  mill  lot ;  thence  south  three  degrees,  east  eighty-four 
perches,  to  a  red  oak ;  thence  south  eighteen  perches  to  a  post ;  thence 
south  ten  degrees,  west  seventeen  perches,  to  a  white  pine  ;  thence  south 
twenty-four  degrees,  west  fifty-nine  perches,  to  a  post ;  thence  west  twenty 
perches  to  the  west  side  of  Sandy  Lick  Creek  at  high-water  mark  ;  thence 
up  said  creek,  following  the  several  courses  thereof,  to  a  point  east  of  and 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  south  end  of  Rose  Alley,  being  the  extremity 
of  the  outlots ;  thence  east  to  a  maple  opposite  the  south  end  of  Picker- 
ing Street ;  thence  north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Water  and  Pickering 
Streets  ;  thence  along  the  south  side  of  Water  Street  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  lot  number  twenty-two  aforesaid ;  thence  around  the  lines  of 
said  lot  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

"  SECTION  2.  It  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  all  persons  entitled  to 
vote  for  members  of  the  Legislature,  who  have  resided  in  said  borough 
twelve  months  immediately  previous  to  such  election,  to  meet  at  the 
court-house  in  said  borough  (or  at  such  other  place  as  may  hereafter  be 
appointed)  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  in  every  year,  and  then  and 
there  elect  by  ballot,  between  the  hours  of  twelve  and  six  o'clock  of  the 
same  day,  one  reputable  citizen  residing  in  said  borough,  who  shall  be 
styled  the  burgess  of  said  borough,  and  five  reputable  citizens  residing  in 
said  borough,  who  shall  be  a  town  council,  and  shall  also  elect  one  rep- 
utable citizen  as  town  constable ;  but  previous  to  such  election  the  in- 
habitants shall  elect  two  reputable  citizens  as  judges,  one  inspector,  and 
two  clerks  of  said  election,  which  shall  be  regulated  and  conducted  ac- 

497 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

cording  to  the  general  election  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  so  far  as  re- 
lates to  receiving  and  counting  votes,  and  who  shall  be  subject  to  the 
same  penalties  for  malpractices  as  by  the  said  laws  are  imposed.  And 
the  said  judges,  inspector,  and  clerks  respectively,  before  they  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  shall  take  an  oath  or  affirmation 
before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  said  county  to  perform  the  same  with 
fidelity ;  and  after  the  said  election  shall  be  closed  shall  declare  the  per- 
sons having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  to  be  duly  elected  ;  and  in  case 
any  two  or  more  candidates  shall  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  the 
preference  shall  be  determined  by  lot,  to  be  drawn  by  the  judges  and  in- 
spector ;  whereupon  duplicate  returns  thereof  shall  be  signed  by  the  said 
judges,  one  of  which  shall  be  transmitted  to  each  of  the  persons  elected, 
and  the  other  filed  among  the  records  of  the  corporation.  And  in  case 
of  death,  resignation,  removal,  or  refusal  to  accept,  or  neglect  or  refusal 
to  act  after  acceptance,  of  any  of  the  said  officers,  the  burgess,  or  in  case 
of  his  death,  absence,  or  inability  to  act,  or  when  he  neglects  or  refuses 
to  act,  the  first  named  of  the  town  council  shall  issue  his  precept,  directed 
to  the  high  constable,  or  when  there  is  no  high  constable,  or  when  he 
refuses  or  neglects  to  act,  then  any  of  the  members  of  the  town  council 
shall  advertise  and  hold  an  election  in  manner  aforesaid  to  supply  such 
vacancy,  giving  at  least  ten  days'  notice  thereof  by  advertisements  set  up 
at  four  of  the  most  public  places  in  the  said  borough. 

"  SECTION  3.  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act  the  burgess  and 
town  council,  duly  elected  as  aforesaid,  and  their  successors,  shall  be  one 
body  politic  and  corporate,  in  law,  by  the  name  and  style  of  '  The  Bur- 
gess and  Town  Council  of  the  Borough  of  Brookville,  in  the  County  of 
Jefferson,'  and  shall  have  perpetual  succession  ;  and  the  said  burgess  and 
town  council  aforesaid,  and  their  successors,  shall  be  capable  in  law  to 
receive,  hold,  and  possess  goods  and  chattels,  lands  and  tenements,  rents, 
liberties,  jurisdictions,  franchises,  and  hereditaments,  to  them  and  their 
successors,  in  fee-simple,  or  otherwise,  not  exceeding  the  yearly  value 
of  five  thousand  dollars,  and  also  to  give,  grant,  sell,  let,  and  assign  the 
same  lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  and  rents ;  and  by  the  name  and 
style  aforesaid  they  shall  be  capable  in  law  to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead 
and  be  impleaded,  in  any  of  the  courts  of  law  in  this  Commonwealth  or 
elsewhere,  in  all  manner  of  actions  whatsoever,  and  to  have  and  use  one 
common  seal,  and  the  same  from  time  to  time  at  their  will  to  change  and 
alter." 

The  first  complete  set  of  borough  officers  was  elected  under  this  law 
and  the  act  of  the  23d  of  February,  1835,  hereafter  referred  to.  This 
first  election  was  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and  those  elected  were  as  follows  : 
Burgess,  Thomas  Lucas ;  Council,  John  Dougherty,  James  Corbett,  John 
Pierce,  Samuel  Craig,  Wm.  A.  Sloan ;  Constable,  John  McLaughlin. 

498 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

This  man  McLaughlin  was  a  great  hunter*  and  could  neither  read  nor 
write ;  he  moved  to  Brockwayville,  and  from  there  went  West. 

By  an  act  of  Assembly  passed  April  2,  1830,  it  was  provided  that 
from  and  after  the  ist  day  of  October,  thereafter,  the  inhabitants  of  Jef- 
ferson County  should  "enjoy  all  and  singular  the  jurisdiction,  powers, 
rights,  liberties,  and  privileges  whatsoever  within  the  same  which  the 
inhabitants  of  other  counties  of  this  State  do,  may,  or  ought  to  enjoy, 
by  the  law  and  Constitution  of  this  Commonwealth. ' ' 

Our  first  president  judge,  Thomas  Burnside,  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  July  28,  1782,  and  resided  in  Bellefonte,  Centre  County. 
His  father,  William  Burnside,  with  his  family,  emigrated  to  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1792.  In  1800,  Thomas  commenced  to  read  law  with 
Hon.  Robert  Porter,  and  on  the  i3th  day  of  February,  1804,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  bar.  In  the  month  of  March  of  that  year 
Thomas  moved  to,  and  settled  in,  Bellefonte,  Centre  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  1811  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  In  1815  he  was 
sent  to  Congress.  In  1816  he  was  appointed  a  president  judge.  In  1823 
he  was  again  elected  a  State  Senator  and  was  made  Speaker.  In  1826 
he  was  again  appointed  a  president  judge.  In  1854  he  was  commissioned 
a  judge  for  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  stature,  Judge  Burnside  was  of  medium  height,  dark  complexioned, 
and  very  homely.  He  was  a  learned  lawyer,  an  able  jurist,  and  a  kind, 
blunt,  honest,  open-hearted  gentleman. 

Many  of  the  details  of  the  history  of  Brookville  are  given  in  frag- 
ments throughout  this  general  history.  The  place  was  laid  out  in  1830 
as  the  county  seat,  and  in  June  of  that  year  the  lots  were  sold,  the  price 
ranging  from  thirty  to  three  hundred  dollars.  In  1831  a  traveller  speaks 
of  it  as  a  "shanty  town,"  and  doubts  that  the  population  might  amount 
to  fifty.  In  1 840  the  inhabitants  numbered  two  hundred  and  seventy-six, 
and  there  were  sixty  dwellings  and  stores.  From  an  early  history,  in 
speaking  of  Jefferson  County,  and  especially  of  Brookville,  we  quote  the 
following :  "  The  scenery  around  this  town  would  be  fine  were  it  not 
that  all  the  hills,  except  on  the  north  side,  are  still  clothed  by  the  original 
forest  of  pines,  being  held  by  distant  proprietors,  who  neither  sell  nor 
improve.  Its  situation  is  on  the  Waterford  and  Susquehanna  Turnpike, 
forty-four  miles  east  of  Franklin,  and  immediately  at  the  head  of  Red 
Bank  Creek,  which  is  here  formed  by  the  confluence  of  two  branches. 
The  great  State  road,  called  the  Clean  road,  between  Kittanning  and 
Olean,  passes  through  the  county  about  seven  miles  west  of  Brookville. 
North  of  the  turnpike,  however,  the  road  has  been  suffered  to  be  closed 
by  obstructions,  and  is  not  now  used."  Another  writer  says  "that 
Meade's  trail  from  Port  Barnett  crossed  the  creek  five  times."  Still 
another  says,  "  This  hole  can  never  become  a  place  of  any  importance, 
the  county  seat  must  be  removed  to  Punxsutawney  or  Port  Barnett." 

499 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"A  few  straggling  Indians  occasionally  called  at  the  village,  reminding 
one  of  former  scenes."  "  Times  are  slow,"  says  another;  "  our  lumber 
at  the  creek  will  not  bring  more  than  three  or  four  dollars."  They  had 
hard  times  in  the  past,  and  times  that  made  the  county  seat  what  it  is, — 
a  commercial  centre,  a  centre  of  religion  and  morals,  a  place  for  culture 
in  literature  and  music,  which  for  its  age  will  compare  with  learned 
Boston.  The  population  to-day  is  about  three  thousand. 

PIONEERS   AND    PIONEER    EVENTS    IN    BROOKVILLE. 

"  The  deeds  of  our  fathers  in  times  that  are  gone, 
Their  virtues,  their  prowess,  the  toils  they  endured." 

The  pioneer  settler  to  locate  where  Brookville  is  was  Moses  Knapp. 
The  pioneer  to  locate  in  the  county  seat  was  John  Eason,  father  of  Rev. 
David  Eason.  He  bought  the  lot  on  the  corner  of  Main  Street  and 
Spring  Alley,  and  erected  the  pioneer  house  in  the  county  seat, — viz.,  in 
August,  1830,  and  opened  it  for  a  tavern.  Mr.  Eason  died  in  1835.  In 
1831,  William  Robinson  lived  in  a  little  log  house  on  the  corner  of  Mill 
and  Water  Streets.  This  log  house  and  log  stable  had  been  built  by 
Moses  Knapp  in  1806.  The  next  person  to  locate  was  perhaps  Thomas 
Hall.  Benjamin  McCreight  was  an  early  settler.  Mr.  McCreight  was  a 
tailor  and  carried  on  the  business.  He  was  an  honorable  and  useful 
man,  and  held  many  responsible  positions  during  his  life  here.  John 
Dougherty  attended  the  sale  of  lots,  bought  several,  and  in  1831  moved 
to  Brookville.  Thomas  M.  Barr  came  here  in  1830.  He  was  a  stone- 
mason and  bricklayer,  and  assisted  to  build  up  the  town  by  taking  con- 
tracts. The  pioneer  blacksmith  was  Jacob  Riddleberger,  in  1832-33. 
Wm.  Clark,  Sr.,  came  to  Brookville  in  1830,  and  erected  a  tavern  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Pickering  and  Jefferson  Streets.  In  the  fall  of  1830, 
Tared  B.  Evans  moved  his  store  from  Port  Barnett  to  Brookville,  and  was 
appointed  the  pioneer  postmaster  for  Brookville  post-office.  Brookville, 
by  post-road,  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  northwest  of  Harris- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles  northwest  of 
Washington,  D.  C.  Mr.  Evans's  was  the  pioneer  store.  The  second 
store  was  opened  three  days  later  by  Major  William  Rodgers.  Thomas 
Hastings  located  in  1831,  and  built  the  Jefferson  Tavern.  Robert  P. 
Barr  came  in  1830.  He  was  a  useful  and  public-spirited  man.  He  built 
the  saw-mill  and  flouring-mill  on  the  North  Fork.  Joseph  Sharpe  was 
the  first  shoemaker  and  the  first  constable.  He  lived  on  the  lot  now 
occupied  by  the  National  Bank  of  Brookville. 

William  Jack  came  to  Brookville  in  1831,  and  was  sent  to  Congress 
from  this  district.  Richard  Arthurs,  Esq.,  located  here  in  1831  or  there- 
abouts. Cyrus  Butler  in  1830-31.  James  Corbett  in  1830.  Alexander 
McKnight  located  in  Brookville  in  1832.  He  taught  the  first  term  of 

500 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

school  in  the  first  school  building,  was  the  first  school  director  elected 
for  the  new  borough,  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  militia,  had  served  a  year  as  private  in  the  regular  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  was  county  treasurer  when  he  died,  in  1837, 
aged  twenty-seven  years. 

Samuel  Craig  located  in  Brookville  in  1832,  Hugh  Brady,  Esq.,  in 

1832,  and  John  Ramsey,  the   pioneer  wagon-maker,  in  1834.      Hugh 
Brady  and   family  came   from    Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  in  a  Conestoga 
wagon  drawn  by  four  horses, — the  lead  horses  having  bells  on.     That 
was  the  wagon  of  that  period.     (See  illustration.)     There  was  no  bridge 
across  the  North  Fork.     They  came  via  Port  Barnett.     John  Showalter 
located   here   in   1843.     He  lived  in  Snyder's  Row,  was  a  gunsmith, 
and  had  a  confectionery.     James  R.  Fullerton  located  in  Brookville  in 

1833.  The  pioneer  gunsmith  was  Isaac  Mills.    He  located  where  Thomas 
L.   Templeton  now  resides.      The  pioneer  doctor  was  Alvah  Evans ; 
he  came  in  September,  1831.     He  was  a  young,  handsome,  portly  man. 
He  remained  four  or  five  months  and  left.      Where  he  came  from  or 
where  he  went  to  nobody  knows.     The  second  doctor  was  C.  G.  M. 
Prime.     He  came  in  the  spring  of  1832.     Dr.  Prime  amputated  the  arm 
of  Henry  (Hance)  Vastbinder.     During  his  residence  here  he  married 
a  Miss  Wagley.     He  was  a  hard  drinker.     He  left  here  April  3,  1835, 
for  Mississippi,   where  he  was  shot   and   killed  at  a  card-table.     He 
became  a  lawyer  while  here,  delivered  political  speeches  and  Fourth  of 
July  orations. 

The  pioneer  merchant  to  sell  drugs  and  medicines  in  Brookville  was 
Major  William  Rogers,  in  1831.  He  sold  Dover's  powder,  Hooper's 
pills,  mercurial  ointment,  wine,  brandy,  whiskey,  quinine,  etc. 

The  pioneer  fire-engine  was  bought  June  29,  1839.  Cost,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  It  was  a  hand-engine.  This  same  year  it  was 
resolved  by  the  council  that  "  the  timber  standing  or  lying  on  the  streets 
and  alleys  be  sold  for  the  use  of  said  borough."  The  first  volunteer  fire 
company  in  the  United  States  was  at  Philadelphia,  1 736. 

The  pioneer  saddle  and  harness  manufactory  in  Brookville  was  opened 
by  John  Brownlee,  on  May  8,  1834,  in  the  rear  of  his  lot  facing  Mill 
Street,  and  opposite  D.  E.  Breneman's  residence. 

McDonald  started  the  pioneer  cabinet  and  furniture  factory  in 

1831-32. 

The  pioneer  foundry  was  started  by  a  man  named  Coleman,  in  1841. 
It  was  located  where  the  Fetzer  building  now  is. 

The  pioneer  grist-mill  was  built  by  Moses  Knapp. 

The  pioneer  saw- mill  was  built  by  Moses  Knapp. 

The  pioneer  borough  election  was  in  1835. 

John  J.  Y.  Thompson  settled  in  Brookville  in  1831,  Andrew  Craig  in 
1838,  Robert  Darrah  in  1837,  Arad  Pearsall  in  1833,  Samuel  C.  Espy  in 

501 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,   PENNA. 

1842,  Hon.  Philip  Taylor  in  1841,  John  Gallagher  in  the  early  thirties, 
William  Farley  in  1843.     Isaac  Allen  was  an  early  settler. 

The  pioneer  silversmith  and  watch-  and  clock-maker  was  Andrew 
Straub,  in  1833-34.  Watches  were  then  assessed  as  property. 

The  pioneer  graveyard  was  on  lands  now  owned  by  W.  C.  Evans,  on 
Litch's  Hill.  The  second  one  is  now  called  the  "  old  graveyard." 

The  pioneer  dentists  were  Dr.  A.  M.  Hills  and  T.  M.  Van  Valzah. 
These  were  travelling  dentists,  and  came  here  periodically.  The  first 
dentist  to  locate  was  William  J.  Chandler. 

In  1832,  Peter  Sutton  built  and  kept  a  tavern  on  the  corner  of 
Taylor  Street,  across  the  North  Fork,  now  Litchtown.  In  1832  or  1833 
there  was  a  frame  tavern  adjoining  the  Franklin  Tavern.  It  was  kept 
for  a  number  of  years  by  a  man  named  Craig,  Mrs.  Wagley,  and 
others. 

The  pioneer  tannery  was  built  in  1831  by  David  Henry,  on  the  lot 
now  occupied  by  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  As  late  as  1843  a 
great  gully  crossed  Main  Street,  carrying  the  water  from  this  institution 
over  and  through  the  lot  now  occupied  by  that  model  institution  of  the 
town,  the  National  Bank  of  Brookville. 

Miss  Julia  Clark  opened  the  pioneer  millinery  and  mantua- making 
business  in  Brookville.  Prices:  bonnets,  leghorn,  $5;  silk,  $2.50; 
gimp,  $1.50;  straw,  $i.  In  her  advertisement  she  says,  "She  can  be 
seen  at  her  residence,  four  doors  east  of  E.  Heath's  store,  on  Main 
Street.  Persons,  so  wishing,  can  be  supplied  by  her  with  ladies'  leghorn 
hats,  flats  and  crown,  from  No.  32  to  42  ;  ladies'  Tuscan  and  French 
gimp ;  Italian  braid  hats ;  Leghorn  braid,  Tuscan  and  Italian  edge, 
Misses'  gimp  hats,  Tuscan ;  French  gimp  by  the  piece.  She  hopes,  by 
giving  her  undivided  attention  to  the  above  business,  to  merit  a  share  of 
public  patronage.  Brookville,  July  i3th,  1834." 

The  pioneer  tinner  was  Samuel  Truby.  He  came  from  Indiana, 
Pennsylvania,  arriving  here  on  January  i,  1834.  The  last  thirteen  miles 
of  the  journey  was  through  a  dense  forest,  without  house  or  clearing. 
They  stopped  at  John  Eason's  tavern,  and  as  soon  as  possible  he  com- 
menced to  cut  down  the  trees  on  and  clear  his  lot,  corner  of  Jefferson 
and  Pickering  Streets,  preparatory  to  building  a  house,  a  contract  for  the 
building  of  which  was  taken  by  the  late  R.  Arthurs,  he  agreeing  to  fur- 
nish all  the  material  and  finish  it  as  specified  by  April  i  for  the  sum  of 
forty  dollars,  which  was  paid  in  silver  quarters.  The  house  was  sixteen 
feet  square  and  one  and  a  half  stories  high. 

Hon.  Thomas  Hastings  came  in  May,  1831.  "  Nearly  all  of  what  is 
now  the  principal  part  of  the  town — Main  Street  and  Jefferson  Street — 
was  then  a  forest.  Only  three  houses  had  yet  been  built, — the  Red  Lion 
Hotel,  where  Gregg's  barber-shop  now  is,  the  hotel  now  occupied  by 
P.  J.  Allgeier,  and  another  hotel,  which  stood  where  J.  M.  White's 

502 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dwelling  now  stands.  Besides  these  houses  just  built,  a  little  log  house 
stood  down  by  the  North  Fork  Creek.  Such  was  Brookville  in  May, 
1831,  sixty-seven  years  ago.  There  was  not  a  street  opened,  and  the 
turnpike  ran  in  a  straight  line  from  Allgeier's  hotel  to  Dr.  Hunt's  resi- 
dence." 

There  is  one  person  (John  Butler)  still  living  in  Brookville  who  has 
seen  a  slave  that  was  owned  in  Brookville  whipped  with  a  blacksnake 
whip  on  Pickering  Street,  between  Joseph  Darr's  residence  and  where 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  now  stands. 

In  1835,  Brookville  contained  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
people.  The  village  had  six  merchants, — viz.,  Evans  &  Clover,  William 
Rodgers,  James  Corbett,  Jared  B.  Evans,  Jack  &  Wise,  and  Steadman  & 
Watson.  Each  storekeeper  had  a  large  dry  pine  block,  called  "upping 
block,"  in  front  of  his  store  room,  to  assist  men  and  women  to  mount  or 
alight  from  their  horses.  The  stores  were  lighted  with  candles  and 
warmed  with  wood-fires.  Wood-fires  in  stoves  and  chimneys  were  very 
dangerous,  on  account  of  the  accumulation  of  wood-soot  in  the  chimney ; 
for  when  this  soot  gathered  in  quantity  it  always  ignited,  burned  out,  and 
endangered  the  shingle  roof.  Towns  and  cities  then  had  men  and  boys 
called  professional  "chimney-sweeps."  These  "sweeps"  entered  the 
chimney  from  the  fireplace,  climbing  up  and  out  at  the  top  by  the  aid 
of  hooks,  announcing  their  exit  in  a  song  and  looking  as  black  as  an 
African  negro.  In  1835  some  of  the  legal  privileges  of  the  town  were: 
"  That  no  citizen  of  the  town  shall  be  permitted  to  keep  on  Main  Street, 
at  one  time,  more  than  ten  cords  of  wood,  not  more  than  enough  brick 
to  build  a  chimney,  or  before  his  door  more  lumber  than  will  build  a 
spring-house ;  not  more  than  two  wagons  and  a  half-sled  ;  a  few  barrels 
of  salt,  five  thousand  shingles,  or  twenty  head  of  horned  cattle."  Of 
course,  there  was  no  legal  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  "  chickens  in 
the  garden"  or  geese  and  hogs  on  the  street.  On  dark  nights  the  people 
then  carried  lanterns  made  of  tin,  holes  being  punched  in  them,  and  the 
light  produced  by  a  candle.  The  lantern  had  a  side  door  to  open,  to 
light,  blow  out,  and  replace  the  candle. 

"  MAIL   ARRIVALS   AND    DEPARTURES. 

"The  Mail  arrives  from  Philadelphia  by  way  of  Harrisburg,  Lewis- 
town,  and  Bellefonte  every  Monday  evening,  Wednesday  evening,  and 
Friday  evening  in  a  four  Horse  Coach. 

"From  Erie,  by  way  of  Meadville,  Franklin,  &c.,  every  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday  evenings,  and  returns  the  same  day,  in  a  four 
Horse  Stage. 

"From  Washington  City,  by  way  of  Chambersburgh,  Indiana,  &c., 
every  Friday  and  returns  same  day — carried  on  a  Horse. 

503 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


"  From  Pittsburg  by  way  of  Kittanning  every  Friday,  and  returns  on 
Tuesday — carried  on  a  Horse. 

"Arrive  at  this  place  every  Tuesday,  from  Smethport,  McKean 
county  by  way  of  Gillis  Post-office,  and  returns  on  Friday — carried  on  a 
Horse." — Republican,  Brookville,  January,  1835. 


fflft*2S£ 
$     * 

IJ 

• 


EARLY     SCHOOLS PIONEER     ACT     AUTHORIZING      BROOKVILLE     TO      ELECT 

SCHOOL    DIRECTORS — PIONEER    ELECTION   OF   DIRECTORS   AND    PIONEER 
MASTERS. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  No.  109,  approved  April  4,  1837,  author- 
ized the  election  of  school  directors.  Section  7  and  8  read  as  follows  : 

"  SECTION  7.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  citizens  of  the  bor- 
ough of  Brookville,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  be  and  are  hereby  author- 
ized to  meet  at  the  usual  place  of  holding  borough  elections,  on  the  first 
Monday  of  January,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven,  and  afterwards  annually,  at  the  time  of  holding  their  borough  elec- 
tions, and  elect  six  school  directors,  in  the  manner  provided  for  the 
election  of  school  directors  by  law. 

"  SECTION  8.  And  that  all  moneys  now  in  the  treasury  of  Rose  town- 
ship school  district,  assessed  on  the  citizens  of  the  borough  aforesaid,  shall 

504 


PIONEER    HISTORY    OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

be  paid  to  the  use  and  for  the*  support  of  schools  in  said  borough,  that 
now  are,  or  that  may  be  hereafter,  organized  under  the  provisions  of  the 
act  aforesaid. 

"Approved — the  fourth  day  of  April,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty  seven." 

The  following  notice  of  pioneer  election  for  directors  appeared  in  the 
Brookville  Republican,  Thursday,  September  7,  1837  : 

"  Saturday  next,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  is  the  time  agreed 
upon  by  the  citizens  of  Brookville  for  holding  an  election  to  elect  six 
school  directors  for  this  borough.  It  is  important  that  every  friend  of 
education,  and  we  hope  we  have  no  citizen  who  would  oppose  it,  should 
be  in  attendance  and  give  his  vote  for  delegates,  in  order  to  give  weight 
to  the  proceedings.  We  repeat  that  we  hope  there  will  be  a  unanimous 
attendance  of  the  citizens  at  said  election." 

On  September  9,  1837,  the  people  elected  the  following  school  direc- 
tors :  Levi  G.  Clover,  Samuel  Craig,  David  Henry,  C.  A.  Alexander, 
William  A.  Sloan,  James  Corbett. 

The  pioneer  school-house  in  the  town  was  built  in  1832.  It  was  a 
small  one-storied  brick  building,  Major  William  Rodgers  says,  about 
twenty  feet  square.  It  stood  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  present 
location  of  the  county  jail.  The  building  was  erected  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law  of  1809,  and  was  paid  for  by  voluntary  subscriptions. 
Alexander  McKnight  taught  the  pioneer  term  of  school  in  it  in  1832-33. 
Anticipating  the  want  of  a  stove  for  the  contemplated  building,  Major 
William  Rodgers,  then  one  of  the  business  men  of  the  new  town,  wrote 
the  following  "subscription-paper"  and  collected  the  money  on  it.  The 
money  was  invested  in  what  was  then  called  a  "  ten  -plate  stove,"  so 
called  because  it  was  formed  of  ten  pieces  or  "plates  of  metal."  The 
fuel  used  in  it  was  wood. 

"We,  the  undersigned  subscribers,  do  severally  promise  to  pay  the 
sums  set  to  our  names,  on  demand,  to  the  trustees  of  the  Brookville 
school,  to  be  applied  to  the  purchase  of  a  stove  for  the  use  of  the  school- 
house  in  Brookville.  Witness  our  hands,  the  i8th  day  of  February,  1832  : 

"  SUBSCRIBERS'  NAMES. 

William  Clark $0.50 

Joseph  Clements .50 

Elijah  Heath .   .,      l.oo 

Isaac  Mills ••        -5° 

Thomas  Robinson 5° 

Thomas  Barr -25 

Joseph  McCullough "      -5° 

James  Hall -25 

33  505 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

James  Corbett * 50 

Aaron  Fuller .25 

David  Henry .25 

Thomas  Hall .50 

Joseph  Sharp '        .25 

Andrew  Vastbinder 25 

Fr.  Heterick 50 

Thomas  Lucas 50 

Thomas  Hastings .50 

C.  J.  Dunham 50 

William  Kelso 25 

William  Rodgers 25 

W.  McCullough     .    .    .    ..-'.*  .    .    .    . '   .    . 25 

—  Sloan.    ........    t    ...' .         .25 

Total £9.00" 

As  happens  nowadays,  a  few  of  these  subscriptions  were  not  paid. 

In  the  memories  of  some  of  our  oldest  citizens  now  cluster  recollec- 
tions of  this  little  old  brick  school-house  and  the  ten-plate  stove  thus 
purchased  to  warm  it.  About  that  little  school-house  were  formed  many 
ties  which  bound  men  and  women  together  as  friends  in  long  succeeding 
years.  Around  that  little  temple  of  learning  I  have  seen 

"  The  hoop,  the  bow  and  afrow, 

The  soaring  of  the  kite  and  swing, 
The  humming  of  the  '  over-ball,' 

And  the  marbles  in  the  ring; 
The  sleds,  the  rope,  and  sliding-boards, 

The  races  down  the  yard, 
And  the  war  of  snow-ball  armies, 

The  victors  and  the  scarred." 

In  this  little  brick  house  the  Methodists  for  years  held  their  weekly 
prayer-meetings.  The  principal  members  were  Judge  Heath,  Arad  Pear- 
sail,  John  Dixon,  John  Heath,  David  and  Cyrus  Butler,  David  Henry 
and  wife,  and  Mary,  Jane,  and  Sarah  Gaston. 

The  pioneer  Sunday-school  teacher  in  Brookville  was  Cyrus  Butler. 
Professor  Blose  and  Miss  Kate  Scott  both  err  in  saying  that  Cyrus  Butler 
taught  the  first  or  pioneer  school  in  the  old  jail  in  Brookville  in  1830. 
The  old  jail  was  not  built  until  1831,  and  Cyrus  Butler  never  taught  any 
school  or  class  in  this  county  but  in  the  Sunday-school. 

School-masters  who  taught  in  Brookville  subscription  schools  under 
the  law  of  1809  : 

1832-33. — Alexander  McKnight,  pioneer. 

1834. — Miss  Charlotte  Clark,  Charles  E.  Tucker. 

1835. — John  Wilson. 

1836. — Hannibal  Craighead. 

506 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Masters  who  taught  under  the  common  school  law  of  1834 : 
*837- — Cyrus  Crouch,  pioneer,  had  sixty  scholars  in  a  house  where 
the  United  Presbyterian  church  now  stands. 

1838. — Rev.  Dexter  Morris,  a  Baptist  preacher. 
1839. — Jonn  Smith. 


Pioneer  academy. 

1840.—$.  M.  Bell,  Mrs.  M.  T.  H.  Roundy. 

1841.  —  D.  S.  Deering. 

All  or  nearly  all  of  the  above  masters  taught  in  the  little  brick  school- 
house  that  was  built  on  the  back  of  the  lot  where  the  jail  now  stands. 

1842.  —  R.  J.  Nicholson,  Miss  Elizabeth  Brady,  first  to  teach  in  the 
academy  building. 

.  —  R-  J-  Nicholson,  Miss  Nancy  Lucas. 


PIONEER    SCHOOL    DIRECTORS. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  pioneer  and  early  school  directors  for 
the  borough  of  Brookville,  Pennsylvania,  from  1834  to  1805  : 

Rose  Township. 

1834.  —  Colonel  Alexander  McKnight,  James  Green,  Robert  Andrews, 
Irwin  Robinson,  Darius  Carrier. 

1835.  —  Darius  Carrier,  Colonel  Alexander  McKnight. 

507 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Brookville  Borough. 

1837. — General  L.  S.  Clover,  C.  A.  Alexander,  David  Henry,  Samuel 
Craig,  William  A.  Sloan,  James  Corbett. 

1839. — Cyrus  Butler,  John  Dougherty,  Robert  P.  Barr. 

/<^a— John  M.  McCoy,  Robert  P.  Barr. 

1841. — John  Smith,  Esq.,  Samuel  B.  Bishop. 

1842. — D.  B.  Jenks,  Esq.,  J.  G.  Clark,  Esq.,  Hugh  Brady,  Esq. 

1843. — George  Irwin,  John  Dougherty. 

1844. — Samuel  B.  Bishop,  C.  A.  Alexander,  Thomas  Wilkins,  L.  B. 
Dunham. 

1843. — Dr.  James  Dowling,  David  S.  Deering,  Thomas  M.  Barr, 
Hon.  J.  B.  Evans. 

Fifty  years  ago  spelling  contests  in  schools  were  common,  regularly 
every  Saturday  afternoon,  and  sometimes  a  neighborhood  had  rival 
school  contests  at  night.  It  was  one  of  the  backwoods  amusements,  and 
a  useful  one,  too.  It  was  conducted  in  this  wise  :  Two  of  the  best  spell- 
ers were  chosen  captains,  these  would  alternately  select  other  spellers,  and 
form  their  followers  on  opposite  sides,  sitting  or  standing.  The  school- 
master would  give  out  the  words  from  a  book  agreed  upon,  or  sometimes 
at  his  option.  When  a  scholar  missed  a  word  he  vacated  his  place ;  this 
plan  was  pursued  until  but  one  scholar  remained  of  either  side.  Then  his 
side  was  declared  victorious  and  the  best  speller  was  a  hero.  A  spelling 
craze  passed  over  the  United  States  in  1875,  and  Brookville  caught  the 
fever  and  had  a  contest, — viz. : 

"SPELLING-BEE"  IN  BROOKVILLE. 

The  following  account  of  a  spelling-bee  in  Brookville  is  taken  from 
an  issue  of  the  Jeffersonian  published  in  the  fall  of  1875.  Its  perusal  will 
doubtless  call  up  in  the  minds  of  many  the  incidents  of  the  evening.  It 
will  be  remembered  how  "  Schuylkill"  seated  E.  Heath  Clark,  and 
"  inter-nos"  settled  Dr.  Sweeney: 

"The  first  spelling-match  in  Brookville  came  off  on  Thursday  even- 
ing last.  The  original  intention  was  to  hold  it  in  the  room  of  the  musi- 
cal society,  but  it  was  found  there  would  not  be  room  there  for  the  crowd, 
when  the  court-room  was  secured.  The  attendance  was  large,  and  the  in- 
terest taken  in  it  by  both  contestants  and  spectators  was  marked.  The  cap- 
tains were  William  Dickey  and  David  Eason,  Esqs.  Each  side  numbered 
twenty,  and  among  the  spellers  were  found  lawyers,  doctors,  school- 
teachers, etc.  The  difficult  task  of  pronouncing  was  assigned  to  Hon. 
George  A.  Jenks,  who  probably  discharged  his  duty  as  satisfactorily  to 
all  parties  as  any  one  could  have  done.  After  the  arrangements  neces- 
sary had  been  made,  the  spelling  commenced,  and  was  continued  for  one 
hour,  when  it  was  found  that  Captain  Eason's  side  had  missed  thirty-one 

508 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

words,  while  Captain  Dickey's  side  had  missed  thirty-two  words.  On 
Eason's  side  there  were  seven  who  had  not  missed  a  word,  and  on 
Dickey's  side  four.  Between  these  eleven  commenced  the  contest  for 
the  prize, — Macaulay's  'History  of  England,'  in  five  volumes.  In  a 
short  time  but  one  speller  was  up  on  Eason's  side,  and  he  our  old  friend, 
Dr.  McKnight,  while  Rev.  A.  B.  Fields  and  Mrs.  T.  L.  Templeton  on 
Dickey's  side  were  arrayed  against  him.  The  word  'soiree,'  however, 
was  too  much  for  the  doctor,  and  he  retired  as  gracefully  as  a  French 
dancing-master.  The  contest  now  was  between  Mrs.  Templeton  and 
Mr.  Fields,  both  of  Dickey's  side ;  but  '  apropos'  soon  left  Rev.  Fields 
master  of  the  field  and  the  possessor  of  the  prize.  We  were  surprised  to 
hear  so  few  words  missed,  and,  taken  altogether,  the  spelling  was  much 
above  the  average." 

NOTE. — I  should  have  been  declared  the  victor  in  this  match.  After 
it  became  a  personal  contest,  Mr.  Fields  went  down  on  the  word  "guar- 
anty, ' '  and  after  we  had  spelled  several  rounds  he  was  permitted  to  take 
his  place  again.  Great  sympathy  existed  in  this  community  for  Rev. 
Fields  on  account  of  his  domestic  troubles.  The  management  of  the 
class  acted  outrageously  in  their  determination  to  favor  the  reverend.  I 
spelled  the  word  "soiree"  in  this  way:  "s-o-i-r-e,"  and  before  pro- 
nouncing the  word  corrected  the  spelling  in  the  last  syllable  by  saying 
"double-ee,"  but  still  I  was  ruled  out,  because  they  wished  the  reverend 
to  have  the  prize.  I  made  no  objection. 

MINUTES   OF   THE    PIONEER   SESSION    OF    BROOKVILLE   TOWN   COUNCIL. 

"  On  the  i pth  day  of  July,  1834,  the  following  officers  having  been 
duly  elected,  chosen,  and  sworn  to  serve  the  borough  of  Brookville, 
in  Jefferson  County,  for  the  current  year, — viz  :  Thomas  Lucas,  Esq., 
Burgess ;  William  Jack,  James  Corbett,  John  Eason,  Robert  Larrimer, 
Thomas  Hastings,  Town  Council ;  Cyrus  G.  M.  Prime,  Constable,  met 
in  session,  when  the  following  proceedings  were  had  and  done, — viz. : 

"On  motion,  William  Jack  was  duly  chosen  president  of  the  board. 
Hugh  Brady  was  appointed  clerk.  Benjamin  McCreight  was  appointed 
treasurer,  with  directions  that  he  give  bond  to  the  borough  with  one  or 
more  sureties  in  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars,  and  that  his  compen- 
sation be  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  all  moneys  received  and  paid  over 
by  him.  Joseph  Sharpe  was  appointed  street  commissioner,  with  a  com- 
pensation of  one  dollar  per  diem,  and  that  the  compensation  of  the  clerk 
be  ten  dollars  per  annum. 

"  That  James  Corbett  and  Hugh  Brady  be  appointed  a  committee  to 
procure  a  seal  for  the  said  borough  on  the  most  reasonable  terms,  and  that 
the  device  of  said  seal  be  '  The  Seal  of  the  Borough  of  Brookville. ' 

"That  David  Henry  be  appointed  assessor  ;  that  the  rate  per  cent,  be 

509 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

one-third  percent,  of  the  dollar  for  this  year;  that  William  Jack  and 
James  Corbett  be  appointed  to  assist  the  assessor  in  making  a  valuation  ; 
and  that  the  assessor  be  directed  at  the  time  of  making  his  assessment  to 
show  his  duplicate  to  the  person  assessed  the  amount  of  his  or  their 
assessment.  On  motion,  council  adjourned." 

"  ORDINANCE  NO.    I. 

"AN  ORDINANCE  TO  REPAIR  MAIN  STREET  IN  THE  BOROUGH  OF 

BROOKVILLE. 

' '  Be  it  ordained  by  the  Town  Council  of  the  Borough  of  Brookville,  in 
the  County  of  Jefferson,  and  it  is  hereby  ordained  by  the  authority  of  the 
same,  That  all  the  moneys  about  to  be  raised  by  the  present  assessment 
in  said  borough  (except  what  may  be  needed  for  the  payment  of  officers, 
procuring  seal,  books,  and  stationery  for  the  use  of  the  corporation)  shall 
be  paid  over  to  the  street  commissioner,  by  orders  drawn  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  council  upon  the  treasurer,  which  said  orders  shall  be  coun- 
tersigned by  the  clerk,  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  and  amending  Main 
Street  from  the  east  side  of  Mill  Street  to  the  western  boundary  of  said 
borough ;  and  that  the  said  street  commissioner  is  hereby  authorized  to 
proceed  immediately,  upon  the  receipt  of  any  such  moneys,  to  making 
the  repairs  as  aforesaid,  under  the  direction  of  the  town  council. 

"  Ordained  in  council  the  2d  day  of  August,  1834. 

"Attest:  HUGH  BRADY, 

' '  Secretary. ' ' 

In  1835  the  burgess  was  Thomas  Lucas.  Council,  William  Jack, 
James  Corbett,  Jared  B.  Evans,  Samuel  Craig,  Alexander  McKnight. 

An  act  of  July  n,  A.D.  1842,  "  Regulating  Election  Districts  and  for 
other  Purposes"  : 

"  SECTION  14.  That  the  qualified  voters  of  the  borough  of  Brookville, 
in  the  county  of  Jefferson,  shall  annually  hereafter,  at  the  time  and  place 
of  electing  a  high  constable,  town  council,  and  other  borough  officers, 
elect  two  reputable  citizens  of  said  borough  as  constables,  and  return 
the  names  of  the  persons  so  elected  to  the  next  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions 
of  said  county,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  and  regulations  of  the  act  of 
Assembly  passed  the  third  day  of  February,  A.D.  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-five,  and  shall  also  on  the  same  day  and  place  afore- 
said elect  one  reputable  citizen  of  said  borough  as  an  assessor  of  all  tax- 
able property  in  said  borough,  and  that  all  county  rates,  and  levies,  and 
other  taxes  shall  be  levied  according  to  the  valuation  of  said  assessor, 
and  that  so  much  of  the  act  passed  the  fifteenth  day  of  April,  A.D.  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four,  entitled  '  An  Act  relating  to 
County  Rates  and  Levies,  and  Township  Rates  and  Levies,'  as  compels  the 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

assessors  of  said  township  with  the  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  real 
value  of  all  property  (made  taxable  by  law)  within  the  limits  of  said 
borough  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed." 

Under  this  act  of  1842  the  pioneer  and  separate  assessment  of  Brook - 
ville  as  a  borough  was  made  in  1844. 


BROOKVILLLE'S  HISTORIC  SPRING — INDIANS  AND  THEIR  WHITE  CAPTIVES — 
JIM  HUNT'S  CAVE — THE  OLD-TIME  EMIGRANT. 

As  early  as  1755  there  is  authentic  record  that  the  Delaware  Indians 
carried  white  captives  over  a  trail  through  what  is  now  Punxsutawney  and 
Brookville  to  the  Allegheny  River  and  Lake  Erie  region.  These  Indians 
stopped  overnight  occasionally  where  Sandy  Lick  and  the  North  Fork 
unite,  eating  their  corn-meal  and  drinking  from  the  spring.  It  was  here 
that  the  fugitive  Indian,  Jim  Hunt,  had  a  hiding-place  in  an  artificial 
cave.  Jim  was  a  fugitive  from  his  tribe  for  murder,  and  when  apprised 
by  the  whoops  of  his  friends  always  hid  in  this  cave.  The  water  was 
too  cool  for  Jim's  stomach,  hence  he  spent  most  of  his  time  about  Bar- 
nett's,  where  he  could  get  "  fire-water."  The  old  State  Road  lay  on  the 
left  of  the  pike  coming  from  Port  Barnett,  and  came  down  what  is  now 
Litch  Hill,  close  by  and  near  to  this  spring ;  and  for  eighteen  years  the 
old-time  emigrant,  with  his  flint-lock  gun,  his  dog,  wagon,  and  family, 
always  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  in  a  sly  little  nook  of  laurel  blossoms, 
to  quench  his  thirst  with  old  rye  and  pearly,  pure  potations  of  water 
from  this  bubbling  white-sand  spring. 

In  my  early  days  Sunday-school  picnics  and  occasionally  a  Fourth  of 
July  was  celebrated  here.  To  the  people  of  Brookville  it  was  a  great 
resort  during  the  hot  days  of  summer.  As  a  rule,  everybody  went  over 
on  Sabbath  with  a  tin  cup  to  refresh  themselves.  I  clip  the  following 
from  the  pen  of  Bion  H.  Butler : 

"It  is  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  just  below  Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co.'s 
mill,  and  it  has  poured  refreshing  drinks  down  many  times  more  throats 
than  did  ever  Clover's  or  Tommy  Wesley's  still,  which  stood  on  the  pike 
not  far  away. 

"The  sand  spring  is  a  great  pool  in  the  white  rock,  where  water 
enough  gushes  out  to  run  a  prohibition  campaign  and  give  every  man  a 
drink  as  often  as  he  wants  one.  When  I  first  knew  the  spring  it  was 
doing  business  single-handed  and  alone,  although  the  distillery  close  by 
and  the  brewery  across  the  creek  were  rivals  for  public  favor,  to  say 
nothing  of  Heber's  tavern  on  the  corner.  But  the  spring  is  there  yet, 
while  the  distillery  is  gone ;  and  the  path  that  leads  down  to  the  spring 
has  borne  the  footprint,  often,  too,  of  nearly  every  man,  woman,  or 
child  who  has  travelled  this  forest  or  lived  in  Brookville  in  the  last  one 
hundred  years." 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

BROOKVILLE'S  EARLY  PUGILISTS. 

I  clip  the  following  from  the  pen  of  Bion  H.  Butler:  "  Harry  Clover 
was  a  strong  man,  and  as  supple  as  he  was  strong.  He  could  lift  with 
his  teeth  a  chair  on  which  was  a  man  weighing  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds.  He  could  take  up  a  barrel  of  whiskey  easy  and  drink  from 
the  bung-hole. 

"  Clover  was  a  blacksmith.  He  weighed  two  hundred  pounds,  but 
he  was  as  agile  as  any  man  you  ever  saw.  One  day,  when  he  had  gone 
with  some  lumber  to  Pittsburg  in  rafting  season,  he  went  into  a  store  to 
buy  a  hat.  The  price  did  not  suit  him,  so  in  the  course  of  the  banter 
he  told  the  merchant  to  hang  it  on  a  hook  that  was  screwed  in  the 
ceiling  and  let,  him  kick  at  it.  If  he  kicked  it  down  it  was  to  be  his. 
If  not,  he  would  pay  double  for  it.  The  first  kick  Clover  brought  the 
hat  down,  kicking  a  hole  in  the  ceiling  which  was  a  sight  for  raftsmen 
for  years. 

"  Harry  had  no  scientific  pugilistic  training,  and  never  sought  a  row. 
On  the  contrary,  he  was  cowardly,  and  often  would  not  fight  when  bullies 
set  on  him.  But  when  his  anger  was  aroused  his  great  strength  and  his 
activity  made  him  a  terrible  enemy.  When  he  worked  in  the  old  black- 
smith-shop by  the  bridge  I  have  seen  him  shoe  unruly  horses,  and  he  just 
held  them  by  main  force.  His  reputation  had  extended  all  along  the 
creek ;  and  in  the  spring,  when  we  went  to  Pittsburg  with  lumber,  the 
first  question  asked  was  as  to  whether  Harry  Clover  had  come  down. 

"  More  or  less  rivalry  always  existed  between  the  raftmen  and  the 
furnace-men  along  the  river.  One  time  the  Red  Bank  furnace  hands 
concluded  they  would  clean  out  the  raftmen,  and  a  fellow  by  the  name 
of  Tom  Fagan,  who  had  heard  of  Clover,  came  down  from  Catfish  Fur- 
nace to  do  him  up.  Clover  never  wanted  to  quarrel  when  sober,  and  he 
hid  behind  a  door  when  Fagan  came  to  look  for  him.  After  much  per- 
suasion he  was  brought  forth.  When  he  stepped  up  before  Fagan  he 
closed  an  eye  with  each  fist  before  Fagan  could  get  a  successful  blow  on 
Clover  anywhere. ' ' 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

MY    FIRST   RECOLLECTIONS    OF    BROOKVILLE. 

I  WAS  born  in  Brookville  when  wolves  howled  almost  nightly  on  what 
is  now  known  as  our  "  Fair  Ground ;"  when  the  pine  in  its  lofty  pride 
leaned  gloomily  over  every  hill-side ;  when  the  shades  of  the  forest  were 
heavy  the  whole  day  through ;  when  the  woods  around  our  shanty  town 
was  the  home  of  many  wild  animals,  such  as  panthers,  bears,  wild-cats, 
foxes,  deer,  wolves,  catamounts,  coons,  ground-hogs,  porcupines,  par- 

512 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tridges,  elks,  rabbits,  turkeys,  and  pheasants ;  when  the  clear  sparkling 
waters  of  the  North  Fork,  Sandy  Lick,  and  Red  Bank  Creeks  contained 
choice  pike,  many  bass,  sunfish,  horned  chubs,  trout,  and  other  fish; 
when  the  wild  "bee  trees"  were  quite  numerous  and  full  of  luscious 
sweets  for  the  woodsman's  axe.  As  you  will  see,  choice  meals  for  hunters 
and  Nimrods  could  easily  be  obtained  from  the  abundance  of  this  game. 


Pioneer  court-house  and  jail,  1831, — 

"  Where  gross  misconduct  met  the  lash, 
And  there  see  the  rock-built  prison's  dreadful  face." 

The  conditions  and  circumstances  of  the  county  made  every  man  a 
hunter,  and  each  and  every  one  had  his  gun,  bullet-moulds,  shot-pouch, 
and  powder-horn  for  any  and  every  emergency.  It  was  frequently  found 
necessary  before  going  to  church  on  Sunday  to  shoot  a  wild  turkey  or  a 
deer  to  "  keep  them  off  the  grass."  The  "  mighty  hunters,"  though,  were 
"Mike,"  "Dan,"  John,  and  "Bill"  Long.  Dan  was  murdered  on  the 
Clarion  River,  near  Raught's  mill.  John  was  the  father  of  Hon.  James 
E.  Long.  In  winter  these  hunters  wore  a  white  garment,  called  a  "  hunt- 
ing-shirt," buckskin  breeches,  and  moccasin  shoes.  In  their  shirt  belts 
each  carried  a  flint-knocker,  spunk,  hunting-knives,  and  a  tomahawk. 

5*3 


•  PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Animals  were  ruthlessly  killed  for  their  skins.  Deer  were  thus  slaughtered, 
only  the  "saddles"  or  hind  quarters  being  saved  for  food.  If  a  history 
of  these  Longs  could  be  truthfully  written, — a  full  narration  of  their  ad- 
ventures, perils,  coolness,  and  daring  while  on  the  trail  of  bears,  wolves, 
and  panthers, — it  would,  perhaps,  make  a  book  equally  as  interesting  as 
the  "  Life  of  Daniel  Boone  and  Simon  Girty." 

In  the  way  of  a  preface  to  these  imperfect  reminiscences  of  Brookville 
and  our  dear  fathers  I  simply  ask  of  you  this : 

"  Let  not  ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 

These  homely  joys  and  destinies  obscure, 
Nor  grandeur  hear  with  a  disdainful  smile 
These  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

My  first  clear  and  distinct  recollections  of  our  town  and  the  people 
in  it  are  in  the  years  1840  to  1843.  Th£  ground  where  the  Democrat  is 
now  printed  was  then  covered  with  pines.  Then  Brookville  was  a  town 
of  forty  or  fifty  "shanties"  and  eight  or  ten  business  places,  including 
the  "old  brick  court-house"  and  the  "old  stone  jail."  The  number  of 
people  in  the  town  was  three  hundred  and  twenty-two.  These  "  shanties" 
were  principally  on  Main  Street,  and  extended  from  where  the  Baptist 
church  now  is  in  the  east  to  where  Judge  Clark  now  lives  in  the  west. 
There  were  a  few  scattered  shanties  on  Jefferson  Street.  A  great  deep 
gully  crossed  Main  Street  about  where  the  Brookville  National  Bank  now 
stands. 

A  common  sign  in  those  days  was,  ' '  Cakes  &  Beer  For  Sale  Here, ' ' 
— a  bottle  of  foaming  beer  in  a  glass  in  the  corner.  The  first  of  these 
signs  which  I  remember  was  one  on  John  Brownlee's  house,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Mill  Streets,  and  one  on  John  Showalter's  house 
(the  late  gunsmith),  now  the  property  of  John  S.  Moore.  The  cakes 
were  made  of  New  Orleans  molasses,  and  were  delicious,  more  so  than 
any  you  can  make  or  buy  now.  They  were  sold  for  a  cent  apiece.  The 
beer  was  home-made,  and  called  "small  beer,"  and  sold  for  three  cents 
a  glass.  It  was  made  of  hops,  ginger,  spruce,  sassafras-roots,  wheat  bran, 
molasses,  yeast,  and  water.  About  every  family  made  their  own  beer. 
Mrs.  Showalter  and  other  old  ladies  living  in  the  town  now,  I  venture  to 
say,  have  made  "barrels"  of  it. 

The  hotels  in  the  town  then  were  four  in  number.  First,  the  "  Red 
Lion,"  located  then  where  Frank  P.  Rankin  now  has  his  hardware  store. 
This  hotel  was  kept  by  John  Smith,  the  step-father  of  David  Eason.  The 
second  was  the  "Jefferson  House,"  then  kept  by  Thomas  Hastings,  now 
occupied  and  kept  by  Phil.  J.  Allgeier.  In  this  hotel  the  "light  fantas- 
tic toe"  was  tripped  to  the  airs  of  "Money  Musk,"  "Virginia  Reel," 
"French  Four,"  and  "Pine  Creek  Lady."  The  orchestra  for  these 
occasions  was  George  Hayes,  a  colored  fiddler  of  the  town,  who  could 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

play  the  violin  behind  his  back  as  well  as  before  his  face,  with  his  left  or 
right  hand,  and  asleep  or  awake.  I  could  name  quite  a  number  of  ladies 
in  the  town  now  whom  I  used  to  see  enjoying  themselves  in  this  way. 
The  third  was  the  "  Franklin  House,"  built  by  John  Gelvin,  and  then 
kept  by  John  Pierce.  The  Central  Hotel,  owned  by  S.  B.  Arthurs,  has 
been  erected  on  the  ground  occupied  by  the  Franklin.  The  fourth  was 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Barnett  Streets,  erected  by  John  Dougherty. 
It  swung  the  sign, — 

"  Peace  and  Poverty,  by  John  Dougherty." 

In  1840  it  was  occupied  and  kept  by  John  Gallagher.  Each  of  these 
hotels  had  license,  and  sold  whiskey  at  three  cents  a  drink,  mostly  on 
credit.  You  could  have  your  whiskey  straight,  or  have  brown  sugar  or 
' '  tansy  bitters' '  in  it.  The  bars  had  to  be  opened  regularly  on  Sunday 
for  "  morning  bitters."  Single  meals  were  given  for  twenty-five  cents,  a 
"  check"  or  cold  meal  for  a  "  'leven-penny  bit,"  and  a  bed  for  ten  cents. 
You  could  stop  overnight,  have  supper,  bed,  morning  bitters,  and  break- 
fast, all  for  fifty  cents. 

The  Susquehanna  and  Waterford  turnpike  was  completed  in  1822-23. 
It  was  a  good  road,  and  was  kept  in  fair  repair.  In  1840  it  passed 
from  under  State  control,  and  the  magnitude  of  the  travel  over  it  was 
great.  The  stage  line  was  started  in  1825.  Morrow  started  his  team 
in  1835,  and  cattle  and  other  droving  commenced  in  1835.  All  this  I 
am  told ;  but  I  know  the  stage  was  a  big  factor  in  1840.  Morrow  was 
on  time,  and  droving  was  immense.  I  have  seen  passing  through  Brook - 
ville  on  their  way  east  from  four  to  six  droves  of  cattle  in  a  day.  The 
droves  were  generally  divided  into  three  sections.  At  the  head  of  the 
first  would  be  a  man  leading  a  big  ox,  his  extra  clothing  strapped  on  the 
ox's  head,  and  the  man  would  be  crying  out  ever  and  anon,  "  K-o, 
b-o-s-s;"  "Come,  boss."  I  have  seen  two  and  three  droves  of  sheep 
pass  in  a  day,  with  occasionally  a  drove  of  hogs  sandwiched  between 
them.  Horse  droves  were  numerous,  too.  I  have  seen  a  few  droves  of 
colts,  and  a  few  droves  of  turkeys.  I  could  not  give  an  estimate  of  the 
number  of  these  droves  I  have  seen  passing  our  home  in  a  day.  The 
business  of  droving  began  in  June  of  each  year,  and  ended  in  November. 
There  was  no  other  way  to  take  this  merchandise  east  than  to  drive  it. 

But  you  must  not  think  everybody  was  going  east.  A  big  lot  of 
people  were  going  west,  including  their  cousins  and  their  aunts.  This 
turnpike  was  the  shortest  line  west.  We  lived  where  T.  L.  Templeton 
now  lives,  and  every  few  days  all  through  the  summer  months  I  would 
see,  nearly  opposite  the  Baptist  church,  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  two 
men  and  a  dog,  and  one  of  the  men  usually  carrying  a  gun.  They  were 
the  advance-guard  for  an  "  emigrant  train."  In  a  few  minutes  from  one 
to  six  wagons  would  come  in  sight  and  stop,— all  stopping  here  for  a 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

short  rest.  "  Where  are  you  going ?"  was  the  usual  inquiry.  "Going 
West;  going  to  Ohio."  The  wagons  were  heavy,  wide-tracked,  covered 
with  hoops  and  a  white  canvas,  and  had  a  stiff  tongue  and  iron  pole- 
chains.  The  horses  wore  heavy  harness  with  iron  trace-chains.  An 
occasional  emigrant  would  locate  in  our  county,  but  the  great  majority 
generally  struggled  on  for  the  far  West, — Ohio. 

The  usual  mode  of  travel  for  the  people  was  on  foot  or  on  horseback  ; 
but  the  most  interesting  mode  was  the  daily  stage,  which  "  brought"  and 
"  took"  the  mail  and  carried  the  passengers  who  were  going  east  or  west. 
This  was  the  "  limited  mail,"  and  the  "day  and  night  express"  of  these 
days, — a  through  train,  only  stopping  thirty  minutes  for  meals.  Of 
course  this  "limited  mail,"  this  "day  and  night  express,"  over  this 
"  short  route,"  eclipsed  and  overshadowed  every  other  line  and  mode  of 
travel.  It  was  "grand,  startling,  and  stupendous."  There  were  no 
through  tickets  sold,  to  be 

"  Punched,  punched  with  care, 
Punched  in  the  presence  of  the  passengaire." 

The  fare  was  six  cents  a  mile  in  advance,  and  to  be  paid  in  "bimetal- 
lism." When  the  officials  made  their  usual  tour  of  inspection  over  this 
"  road,"  they  had  extended  to  them  the  genuine  hospitality  of  everybody, 
including  that  of  the  landlords,  and  free  whiskey.  President  Roberts, 
of  the  great  Pennsylvania  line,  is  a  small  potato  to-day  in  contrast  with 
the  chief  manager  of  our  line  in  that  day,  for  our  line  was  then  the  van- 
guard of  every  improvement  a  passenger  might  desire  or  a  traveller  wish 
for. 

The  coaches  were  made  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  and  were  called 
"rockaway  coaches."  Each  coach  had  heavy  leather  belt-springs,  and 
was  a  handsome  vehicle,  painted  red,  with  gold  stripes  and  letters,  and 
was  drawn  by  four  horses.  The  coach  was  made  to  carry  nine  passengers, 
but  I  have  often  seen  it  with  a  dozen  inside,  two  on  the  seat  with  the 
driver,  and  some  on  top.  Trunks  were  carried  on  the  top  and  in  the 
"boot."  Every  driver  carried  a  horn,  and  always  took  a  "horn." 
When  nearing  a  "relay"  or  a  post-office,  the  valleys  and  hills  were  made 
to  echo  and  re-echo  to  the  "er-r-ah,  er-r-a-h,  tat,  tat,  t-a-h,  tat  t-a-h" 
of  the  driver's  horn,  which  was  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  landlord 
or  postmaster  by  night  or  by  day.  Sometimes  the  coaches  were  the 
most  ordinary  hacks,  and  the  horses  could  be  "seen  through,"  whether 
sick  or  well,  without  the  aid  of  any  X-rays. 

The  roads  in  spring,  summer,  and  fall  were  a  succession  of  mud-holes, 
with  an  occasional  corduroy.  Don't  mention  bad  roads  now.  The  male 
passengers  usually  walked  up  the  hills. 

I  take  from  an  old  paper  the  experience  of  one  who  rode  in  these 
stages  : 

516 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"Jolted,  thumped,  distracted, 

Rocked,  and  quite  forlorn. 
Oh !  wise  one,  what  duties 

Now  are  laid  on  corn  ? 
Mad,  disgusted,  angry, 

In  a  swearing  rage, 
'Tis  the  very  d — 1 

Riding  in  this  stage." 

The  prominent  stage-drivers  in  1840  were  Gabriel  Vastbinder,  Bill 
Adams,  Joe  Stratton,  and  others.  Each  driver  carried  a  whip  made  as 
follows :  a  hickory  stock,  and  a  buckskin  lash  ten  or  twelve  feet  long, 
with  a  silk  cracker  on  the  end.  These  whips  were  handled  with  marvel- 
lous dexterity  by  drivers,  and  were  made  to  crack  over  the  horses'  heads 
like  pistols.  The  great  pride  of  a  driver  then  was  to  turn  a  "coach- 
and-four"  with  the  horses  on  a  "  complete  run."  Bill  Adams  was  good 
at  this.  A  laughable  incident  occurred  in  one  of  these  turns  on  Main 
Street.  The  driver  was  showing  off  in  his  usual  style,  and  in  making  the 
turn  with  the  horses  on  a  complete  run  the  coach  struck  a  stone,  which 
upset  it.  The  weight  of  all  the  passengers  coming  against  the  coach - 
door  burst  it  open,  and  the  passengers,  one  and  all,  were  thrown  out  and 
literally  dumped  into  the  hotel  bar-room.  This  was  a  perfection  in  stage 
driving  not  easily  attained. 

In  1840  the  Brookville  merchant  kept  his  own  books, — or,  as  he 
would  have  said,  his  own  accounts, — wrote  all  his  letters  with  a  quill, 
and  when  they  were  written  let  the  ink  dry  or  sprinkled  it  with  sand. 
There  were  then  no  envelopes,  no  postage  stamps,  no  letter-boxes  in  the 
streets,  no  collection  of  the  mail.  The  letter  written,  the  paper  was 
carefully  folded,  sealed  with  wax  or  a  wafer,  addressed,  and  carried  to 
the  post-office,  where  postage  was  prepaid  at  rates  which  would  now  seem 
extortionate. 

In  1840,  Brookville  merchants  purchased  their  goods  in  Philadelphia. 
These  purchases  were  made  in  the  spring  and  fall.  It  took  about  two 
and  a  half  days  continuous  travelling  in  the  "limited  mail"  day  and 
night  stage-coach  to  reach  Lewistown,  Pennsylvania,  and  required  about 
one  day  and  a  half  travelling  over  the  canal  and  railroad  to  reach  Phila- 
delphia from  that  point.  From  Brookville  to  Philadelphia  it  required 
some  four  or  five  days'  constant  travelling.  Our  merchants  carried  their 
money  on  these  trips  as  well  as  they  could,  mostly  secreted  in  some  way 
about  their  persons.  After  purchasing  their  goods  in  Philadelphia, 
they  were  ordered  to  be  shipped  to  Brookville  as  "  heavy  freight,"  over 
the  great  corporation  freight  line  of  "  Joe  Morrow."  Joe  was  a  "  bloated 
corporationist, "  a  transportation  monopolist  of  that  day.  He  was  a 
whole  "  trust"  in  himself.  He  owned  and  managed  the  whole  line,  and 
had  no  opposition,  on  this  end  at  least.  His  line  consisted  of  two  Con- 
Si? 


PIONEER  HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

estoga  wagons,  the  bed  on  each  at  least  four  feet  high  and  sixteen  feet 
long.  Each  wagon  was  painted  blue,  and  each  was  covered  with  a  white 
canvas,  this  covering  supported  by  hoops.  The  wagon  was  always  loaded 
and  unloaded  from  the  rear  end.  The  tires  on  the  wheels  were  six  inches 
wide.  Each  wagon  would  carry  over  three  tons  of  freight,  and  was 
drawn  over  good  roads  by  six  magnificent  horses,  and  over  bad  roads  by 


eight  ot  such  horses.  This  was  the  "  fast"  and  heavy  freight  line  from 
Philadelphia  to  Brookville  until  the  canal  was  built  to  Lewistown,  Penn- 
sylvania, when  Morrow  changed  his  head-quarters  from  Philadelphia  to 
Lewistown,  and  continued  to  run  his  semi  annual  "freight  train"  from 
Lewistown  to  Brookville.  Morrow's  advent  into  town  was  always  a  great 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

event.  He  always  stopped  his  "  train"  in  front  of  the  Red  Lion  Hotel, 
then  kept  by  John  Smith.  The  horses  were  never  stabled,  but  stood  day 
and  night  in  the  street,  three  on  each  side  of  the  stiff  tongue  of  the 
wagon,  and  were  fed  in  a  box  he  carried  with  him,  called  his  "  feed- 
trough."  The  harness  was  broad  and  heavy,  and  nearly  covered  the 
horses;  and  they  were  "hitched  up"  to  the  wagon  with  iron  "pole" 
and  "trace-chains."  The  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  the 
Switchmen's  Union,  the  "American  Railway  Union,"  and  all  the 
Sovereigns  and  Debses  put  together,  had  no  terrors  for  Joe,  for  he  had  but 
one  employee,  a  "brakeman,"  for  his  second  wagon.  Joe  was  the  em- 
ployed and  the  employer.  Like  a  "  transportation  king,"  like  a  "  robber 
baron,"  he  sat  astride  a  wagon  saddle  on  the  hind  near  horse,  driving 
the  others  with  a  single  line  and  a  blacksnake  whip,  to  the  words, 
"Gee,"  "Jep,"  and  "Haw."  Morrow  always  remained  in  Brookville 
four  or  five  days,  to  buy  our  products  and  load  his  train  for  the  home 
trip.  He  bought  and  loaded  clover,  timothy,  and  flaxseed,  feathers, 
old  rags,  tar,  beeswax,  wheat,  rye,  chestnuts,  furs,  and  dried  elder- 
berries. The  western  terminus  of  his  line  was  Shippenville,  Clarion 
County,  Pennsylvania,  and  on  his  return  from  there  he  bought  up  these 
products. 

Morrow's  last  trip  to  Brookville  with  his  train  was  about  the  year 
1850.  He  was  an  Irishman,  slim,  wiry,  industrious,  and  of  business 
habits.  He  was  killed  by  the  kick  of  a  horse,  at  Cross's  tavern,  Centre 
County,  Pennsylvania, — kicked  on  the  nth  day  of  September,  1855, 
and  died  on  the  i2th.  I  remember  that  he  usually  wore  a  spotted 
fawn-skin  vest,  made  from  the  skin  with  the  hair  on.  The  merchants  in 
Brookville  of  that  day  who  are  still  living,  and  for  whom  Morrow  hauled 
goods,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  are  Uriah  Matson,  Harry  Matson,  Judge 
Henderson,  Samuel  Truby,  Wm.  Rodgers,  and  W.  W.  Corbett,  who  now 
reside  in  or  near  the  town,  Captain  John  Hastings,  of  Punxsutawney, 
W.  F.  Clark,  of  Maquoketa,  Iowa,  and  S.  M.  Moore,  of  Minneapolis, 
Minnesota. 

The  town  was  laid  out  in  1830.  My  father  moved  here  in  1832. 
He  taught  the  first  term  of  the  school  in  the  town,  in  the  winter  of 
1832.  He  was  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  militia,  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  was  county  treasurer  when  he  died,  in  1837,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-seven  years,  leaving  my  mother  in  this  wilderness,  a  widow  with 
three  small  children  to  support  and  rear.  In  1840  my  mother  taught  a 
summer  term  of  school  in  what  was  then  and  is  now  called  the  Butler 
school-house.  This  school  house  is  on  the  Ridgway  road,  in  Pine  Creek 
township,  three  miles  from  town.  I  was  small,  and  had  to  go  and  come 
to  and  from  this  school  with  mother.  We  came  home  every  Saturday  to 
remain  over  Sunday,  and  to  attend  Presbyterian  church,  service  being 
then  held  in  the  old  brick  court-house.  The  Presbyterians  then  called 

519 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

their  church  "  Bethel."  In  1842  it  was  changed  to  Brookville.  We  had 
no  choir  in  the  church  then,  but  had  a  "  clerk,"  who  would  stand  in  front 
of  the  pulpit,  read  out  two  lines,  and  then  sing  them,  then  read  two 
more  and  sing  them,  and  so  on  until  the  hymn  or  psalm  was  sung,  the 
congregation  joining  in  as  best  they  could.  Of  these  clerks,  the  only 
ones  I  can  now  recollect  were  Thomas  Lucas,  Samuel  McQuiston,  and 
John  S.  Lucas.  I  have  no  recollection  of  David's  psalms  being  used 
other  than  is  found  in  Watts's  version,  in  combination  with  the  hymns. 
I  recollect  two  of  the  favorite  hymns  at  that  time  with  this  church.  The 
first  verse  of  each  hymn  was  as  follows : 

"  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 

To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
I'll  bid  farewell  to  every  fear, 
And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes." 

The  first  verse  of  the  second  hymn  was  : 

"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight, 
Where  saints  immortal  reign ; 
Infinite  day  excludes  the  night, 
And  pleasures  banish  pain." 

One  by  one,  these  early  pioneer  Christians  have  left  for  this  "land 
of  pure  delight!"  to  occupy  these  "mansions  in  the  skies."  I  hope 
and  pray  that  each  one  is  now — 

"  In  seas  of  heavenly  rest." 

After  returning  home  from  the  Butler  school-house  one  Saturday,  I 
remember  I  asked  my  mother  for  a  "  piece."  She  went  to  the  cupboard, 
and  when  she  got  there  the  cupboard  was  not  bare,  for,  lo  !  and  behold,  a 
great  big  snake  was  therein,  coiled  and  ready  for  fight.  My  mother,  in 
horror,  ran  to  the  door  and  called  Mr.  Lewis  Dunham,  a  lawyer,  who  lived 
in  the  house  now  occupied  by  R.  M.  Matson,  Esq.  Mr.  Dunham  came 
on  a  run,  and  tried  to  catch  or  kill  the  snake  with  our  "  tongs,"  but  it 
made  good  its  escape  through  a  big  hole  in  the  corner  of  the  cupboard. 
Reptiles,  such  as  black-,  rattle-,  house-,  and  other  snakes  were  very 
plenty  then  in  and  around  Brookville,  and  dangerous,  too.  These  snakes 
fed  and  lived  on  birds,  mice,  etc.,  and  were  very  fond  of  milk,  which  they 
drink  after  the  manner  of  a  horse. 

In  a  former  chapter  I  called  Brookville  a  town  of  shanties.  And  so  it 
was ;  but  there  was  one  exception,  there  was  one  solid  building,  a  dwell- 
ing occupied  by  a  man  named  Bliss,  on  Water  Street,  on  or  near  the  lot 
at  present  owned  and  occupied  by  Billy  Barr.  It  was  built  of  logs.  The 
other  shanties  were  solid  enough,  for  they  were  built  in  a  different  man- 

520 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ner  from  shanties  now,  being  put  together  with  "frame  timbers,"  mor- 
tised and  tenoned,  and  fastened  with  oak  pins,  as  iron  and  nails  were 
scarce,  people  being  poor  and  having  little  or  no  money.  Every  build- 
ing had  to  have  a  "raising,"  and  the  neighbors  had  to  be  invited  to 
help  "  raise."  Cyrus  Butler,  a  bluff,  gruff  Yankee,  was  the  captain  at  all 
raisings.  He  would  stand  off  by  himself,  crying  out  at  the  proper  time, 
"All  together,  men,  he-o  he  !  he-o-he  !" 


My  mother. 

"  Who  ran  to  help  me  when  I  fell, 
And  would  some  pretty  story  tell, 
And  kiss  the  place  to  make  it  well? 
My  mother !" 

No  dwelling  in  the  town  was  then  complete  without  having  in  the 
back-yard  an  "out-oven,"  an  "ash-hopper,"  a  "dye-kettle,"  and  a 
rough  box  fastened  to  the  second  story  of  the  necessary,  in  which  to 
raise  early  cabbage-plants.  At  the  rear  of  each  kitchen  was  a  hop-vine 
with  its  pole,  and  each  family  raised  its  own  catnip,  peppermint,  sage, 

and  tansy. 

"  The  hand  of  the  reaper 

Takes  the  leaves  that  are  hoary, 
But  the  voice  of  the  weeper 
Wails  manhood  in  glory." 
.34  521 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1840  there  was  a  law  requiring  the  enrollment  of  all  able-bodied 
men  between  twenty-one  and  forty-five  years  of  age  in  the  militia.  These 
were  formed  into  companies  and  battalions,  and  organized  into  brigades, 
each  brigade  to  meet  once  a  year  in  "encampment,"  for  a  period  of 
three  days,  two  days  for  "  muster  and  drill"  and  one  day  for  "  review." 
The  encampments  were  held  in  May  or  June,  and  for  some  reason  or 
other  these  soldiers  were  called  the  "  cornstalk  militia,"  because  some  of 
the  soldiers  carried  cornstalks  for  guns.  No  uniforms  were  worn  in  most 
cases.  The  soldier  wore  his  homespun  or  store-clothes,  and  each  one  re- 
ported with  his  own  pike,  wooden  gun,  rifle,  or  musket,  and,  under  the 
inspiring  influence  of  his  accoutrements,  discipline,  and  drill, — 

"  Each  bosom  felt  the  high  alarms, 
And  all  their  burning  pulses  beat  to  arms." 

For  non-attendance  by  a  soldier  at  these  encampments  a  fine  of  fifty 
cents  was  imposed  for  every  day's  absence.  This  fine  had  to  be  paid  in 
cash,  and  was  quite  a  severe  penalty  in  those  days  of  no  money,  county 
orders,  and  store  barter. 

The  first  encampment  I  remember  was  held  on  what  is  now  called 
Granger  (Jack)  Heber's  farm.  Brigadier  General  Mercer  was  the  com- 
mander then.  He  rode  a  sorrel  horse,  with  a  silver  mane  and  tail,  and  a 
curled  moustache.  His  bridle  was  ornamented  with  fine  leather  straps, 
balls,  and  tassels,  and  the  blue  saddle-cloth  was  covered  with  stars  and 
spangles,  giving  the  horse  the  appearance  of  a  "fiery  dragon."  The 
general  would  occasionally  dismount,  to  make  some  inspection  on  foot, 
when  the  army  was  drawn  up  in  line,  and  then  a  great  race,  and  fre- 
quently a  fight,  would  occur  among  the  small  boys  for  the  possession  of 
the  horse.  The  reward  for  holding  him  at  this  time  was  a  "  fippenny- 
bit."  The  camp  grounds  were  alive  with  whiskey-sellers,  ginger-bread 
and  small  beer  dealers.  Whiskey  was  to  be  had  from  barrels  or  jugs,  in 
large  or  small  quantities.  When  the  army  was  in  line  it  was  dealt  out  to 
the  soldiers  from  a  bucket  with  a  dipper.  Anybody  could  sell  whiskey 
and  anybody  could  drink  it.  It  was  worth  from  twelve  to  twenty  cents 
a  gallon.  The  more  brawls  and  fist-fights,  the  livelier,  better,  and  greater 
was  considered  the  muster.  The  bad  blood  between  neighbors  was  al- 
ways settled  here.  Each  party  always  resolved  to  meet  the  other  on  re- 
view-day to  fight  it  out,  and  after  the  fight  to  meet,  drink  together,  and 
make  up  their  difference.  Pugilism  was  practised  in  that  day,  not  on 
scientific  principles,  but  by  main  strength.  The  terror  of  all  public 
gatherings  was  a  man  called  "Devil  John  Thompson."  He  lived  in 
Indiana  County,  and  came  here  always  on  reviews.  Each  military  com- 
pany had  a  fifer  or  drummer,  seldom  a  complete  band.  I  have  seen  the 
late  Judge  Taylor  blowing  his  fife,  the  only  musician  of  and  for  one  of 
these  companies.  This  occurred  on  Main  Street,  in  front  of  our  house ; 

522 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

and  when  I  look  back  on  this  soldier  scene,  it  seems  to  me  these  soldiers, 
from  their  appearance,  must  have  been  composed  of  the  rag  tag  and  bob- 
tail of  creation.  An  odd  and  comic  sight  it  really  was.  To  be  an  officer 
or  captain  in  one  of  these  companies  was  considered  a  great  honor,  and 
something  which  the  recipient  was  in  duty  bound  to  thank  God  for  in 
his  morning  and  evening  prayers.  I  cannot  do  this  subject  justice. 
Such  was  the  Pennsylvania  militia  as  I  saw  it,  and  all  that  remains  for 
me  to  say  is,  "  Great  the  State  and  great  her  sons." 

In  1840  we  had  two  big  men  in  the  town, — Judge  William  Jack,  who 
was  sent  to  Congress,  and  who  built  and  lived  in  the  house  on  Pickering 
Street  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Joseph  Darr,  Esq.,  and  General 
Levi  G.  Clover,  who  lived  on  Main  Street,  in  a  house  that  was  burned 
down,  which  stood  on  the  lot  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Clarissa  Clements, 
and  is  the  place  of  business  of  Misses  McLain  and  Fetzer.  Clover  was  a 
big  man  physically,  a  big  man  in  the  militia,  a  big  man  in  politics,  and 
a  big  man  in  business.  Like  most  big  men  in  those  days,  he  owned  and 
ran  a  whiskey-still.  This  distillery  was  located  on  or  near  the  property 
of  Fred.  Starr,  in  what  is  now  Litchtown.  I  used  to  loaf  occasionally  in 
this  distillery,  and  I  have  seen  some  of  our  old  citizens  take  a  pint  tin 
cup  and  dip  it  full  of  whiskey  from  out  of  Clover's  copper  kettles,  and 
then  drink  this  whole  pint  of  whiskey  down  apparently  at  one  gulp.  I 
might  pause  to  say  right  here,  that  in  drinking  whiskey,  racing,  square 
pulling,  swearing,  and  fighting  the  old  settler  was  ''right  in  it."  The 
wrestling-  and  fighting-ground  then  for  the  men  and  boys  was  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  the  Jenks  machine-shop,  and  the  highway  to  and  from 
these  grounds  was  down  the  alley  between  Ed.  Snyder's  blacksmith-shop 
and  C.  A.  Carrier's  store.  I  have  had  business  on  that  ground  with  some 
boys  myself. 

In  the  woods  in  and  around  Brookville  in  1840  there  were  many  sweet- 
singing  birds  and  beautiful  wild-flowers.  I  remember  the  laurel.  We 
used  to  adorn  our  mantels  and  parlor  fireplaces  with  these  every  spring. 
I  remember  the  honeysuckle,  the  wild  rose,  the  crab-apple  tree,  the  thorn, 
and  others.  The  aroma  from  many  of  these  flowers  was  delightful. 
House-plants  were  unknown.  The  garden  flowers  of  that  day  were  the 
pink  ("  a  flower  most  rare"),  the  lilac,  the  hollyhock,  the  sunflower,  and 
the  rose.  Each  garden  had  a  little  bed  of  ' '  sweet-williams' '  and  ' '  johnny- 
jump  ups."  The  garden  rose  was  a  beautiful,  sweet  flower  then,  and  it  is 
a  beautiful,  sweet  flower  to-day,  and  it  ever  will  be  sweet  and  beautiful. 
My  mother  used  to  sing  to  me  this  hymn  of  Isaac  Watts's  as  a  lullaby  : 

"  How  fair  is  the  rose,  what  a  beautiful  flower! 

In  summer  so  fragrant  and  gay ; 
But  its  leaves  are  beginning  to  fade  in  an  hour; 
And  they  wither  ami  die  in  a  day. 

523 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Yet  the  rose  has  one  powerful  virtue  to  boast 

Above  all  the  flowers  of  the  field  : 
\Vhen  its  leaves  are  all  dead  and  its  fine  colors  lost, 
Still  how  sweet  a  perfume  it  will  yield. 

"  So  frail  are  the  youth  and  the  beauty  of  men, 

Though  they  look  gay  and  bloom  like  the  roie, 
Yet  all  our  fond  care  to  preserve  them  is  vain, 
Time  kills  them  as  fast  as  he  goes. 

"  Then  I'll  not  be  proud  of  my  youth  or  my  beauty, 

Since  both  will  soon  wither  and  fade, 
But  gain  a  good  name  by  performing  my  duty ; 
This  will  scent  like  the  rose  when  I'm  dead." 

In  1840  there  was  no  church  bailding  in  the  town.  Our  Presby- 
terian preacher  in  the  town  was  the  Rev.  David  Polk,  a  cousin  to  Presi- 
dent Polk.  The  token  was  then  given  out  on  Saturday  to  all  those  who 
were  adjudged  worthy  to  sit  at  the  Lord's  table.  These  tokens  were 
taken  up  on  the  following  Sunday  while  seated  at  the  table.  Friday  was 
"fast"  or  preparation  day.  We  were  not  allowed  to  eat  anything,  or 
very  little,  until  the  sun  went  down.  I  can  only  remember  that  I  used 
to  get  hungry  and  long  for  night  to  come.  Rev.  Polk  preached  half 
of  his  time  in  Corsica,  the  other  half  in  Brookville.  His  salary  was 
four  hundred  dollars  per  year, — two  hundred  dollars  from  Brookville 
and  two  hundred  dollars  from  Corsica.  He  lived  on  the  pike  in  the 
hollow  beyond  and  west  of  Roseville.  He  preached  in  the  court- 
house until  the  Presbyterians  completed  the  first  church  building  in 
the  town,  in  1843.  ^  stood  where  the  church  now  stands,  and  was 
then  outside  of  the  borough  limits.  The  building  was  erected  through 
the  efforts  of  a  lawyer  then  residing  in  Brookville,  named  C.  A.  Alex- 
ander. The  ruling  elders  of  the  church  then  were  Thomas  Lucas,  John 
Matson,  Sr.,  Elijah  Clark,  John  Lattimer,  Joseph  McCullough,  and  John 
Wilson. 

Other  preachers  came  to  town  occasionally  in  1840,  and  held  their 
services  in  the  court-house.  One  jolly,  aged  Welshman  was  called  Father 
Thomas.  He  was  a  Baptist,  a  dear  old  man,  and  a  great  singer.  I  al- 
ways went  to  his  church  to  hear  him  sing.  I  can  sing  some  of  his  songs 
yet.  I  will  repeat  a  stanza  from  one  of  his  favorites  : 

"Oh,  then  I  shall  be  ever  free, 

Happy  in  eternity, 
Eternity,  eternity, 
Happy  in  eternity." 

Dear  old  soul,  he  is  in  eternity,  and  I  have  no  doubt  is  happy  singing 
his  favorite  song  there. 

524 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

A  Methodist  preacher  named  Elijah  Coleman  came  here  occasionally. 
Methodist  head-quarters  were  at  David  Henry's  and  at  Cyrus  Butler's. 
The  first  Methodist  prayer-meeting  held  in  town  was  at  Cyrus  Butler's. 
It  was  held  in  the  little  yellow  house  occupied  for  years  by  Mrs.  Rachel 
Dixon,  and  torn  down  by  C.  C.  Benscoter,  Esq.,  in  1887,  in  order  to 
erect  his  present  dwelling.  In  1840  men  and  women  were  not  permitted 
to  sit  on  the  same  seat  in  church,  or  on  the  same  side  of  the  house. 

The  physicians  in  the  town  in  1840  were  Dr.  George  Darling,  father 
of  the  late  Paul  Darling,  and  Dr.  Gara  Bishop,  father  of  Mrs.  Edmund 
English.  Dr.  Bishop  was  also  a  Presbyterian  preacher. 

In  1840,  Jefferson  County  contained  a  population  of  seven  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty-three  people,  and  embraced  nearly  all  of  Forest 
and  Elk  Counties.  Ridgway  was  then  in  the  northeast  corner  of  our 
county,  and  Punxsutawney  was  a  village  of  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
dwellings. 

The  politics  of  the  county  was  divided  into  Whig  and  Democrat. 
The  leading  Whigs  in  Brookville,  as  I  recollect  them,  were  Thomas 
Lucas,  Esq.,  James  Corbett,  father  of  Colonel  Corbett,  Benjamin  Mc- 
Creight,  father  of  Mrs.  Dr.  Hunt,  Thomas  M.  Barr,  and  Samuel  H. 
Lucas.  The  leading  Democrats  were  Hon.  William  Jack,  General  L.  G. 
Clover,  Judge  Joseph  Henderson,  John  Smith,  Daniel  Smith,  Je?se  G. 
Clark,  father  of  Judge  Clark,  D.  B.  Jenks,  John  Dougherty,  Richard 
Arthurs,  and  Thomas  Hastings.  Politics  ran  so  high  that  year  that  each 
party  had  its  own  Fourth  of  July  celebration.  The  Whigs  celebrated  at 
Port  Barnett.  Nicholas  McQuiston,  the  miller  who  died  at  Langville  a 
few  years  ago,  had  one  of  his  legs  broken  at  this  celebration  by  the  ex- 
plosion of  a  log  which  he  had  filled  with  powder.  The  Democrats  cele- 
brated in  Brookville,  in  front  of  the  Franklin  Hotel,  now  the  Central. 
I  was  big  enough  to  have  a  full  run  and  clear  view  of  this  table  and  cele- 
bration. The  table  was  covered  with  small  roasted  pigs,  roasted  turkeys, 
venison,  pies,  gingerbread,  "pound-cake,"  etc.  I  was  not  allowed  to 
participate  in  the  feast,  although  my  father  in  his  lifetime  had  been  a 
Democrat.  Boys  and  girls  were  then  taught  modesty,  patience,  and  man- 
ners by  parents.  Children  were  taught  and  compelled  to  respect  age  and 
to  defer  to  the  wishes  of  father  and  mother.  Now  the  father  and  mother 
must  defer  to  the  wishes  of  children.  There  was  more  home  and  less 
public  training  of  children,  and,  as  a  result,  children  had  more  modesty 
and  patience  and  less  impudence.  In  1840  children  slept  in  "trundle- 
beds,"  and  were  required  by  their  mothers  to  repeat  every  night  before 
going  to  sleep  this  little  prayer  : 

"  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  keep ; 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  take." 
525 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

This  home  training  was  a  constant  building  up  of  individual  charac- 
ter, and  I  believe  a  much  more  effectual  way  for  good  than  the  present 
public  way  of  building  character  collectively. 

In  1840  our  Congressman  was  Judge  Jack,  of  Brookville,  and  our 
member  of  the  Legislature  was  Hon.  James  L.  Gillis,  of  Ridgway  town- 
ship. The  county  officers  were  :  Prothonotary,  General  Levi  G.  Clover ; 
Sheriff,  John  Smith ;  Treasurer,  Jesse  G.  Clark ;  Commissioners,  Daniel 
Coder,  Irwin  Robinson,  and  Benjamin  McCreight.  The  county  was 
Democratic  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  majority. 

The  postmaster  in  Brookville  was  John  Dougherty,  and  Joseph  Hen- 
derson was  deputy  United  States  marshal  for  Jefferson  County.  He  took 
the  census  of  1840  for  our  county. 

Of  the  above-named  politicians  and  officials,  Judge  Henderson  is  the 
only  one  now  living  (1895).  Every  day  yet  the  judge  can  be  found  at 
his  place  of  business,  pleasant,  cheerful,  and  intelligent, — a  fine  old  gen- 
tleman. In  his  many  political  contests  I  always  admired,  defended,  and 
supported  him.  One  thing  I  begin  to  notice,  "he  is  not  as  young  as  he 

used  to  be." 

"  Oh,  tell  me  the  tales  I  delighted  to  hear, 

Long,  long  ago,  long,  long  ago ; 
Oh,  sing  me  the  old  songs  so  full  of  cheer, 
Long,  long  ago,  long,  long  ago." 

In  1840  we  boys  amused  ourselves  in  the  winter  months  by  catching 
rabbits  in  box-traps, — the  woods  were  full  of  them, — skating  on  Geer's 
pond,  a  small  lake  then  located  where  Allgeier's  brewery  now  stands  (this 
lake  was  destroyed  by  the  building  of  Mabon's  mill-race),  skating  on 
Barr's  (now  Litch's)  dam,  and  coasting  down  the  town  or  graveyard  hill. 
In  the  summer  and  fall  months  the  amusements  were  alley- ball  behind  the 
court-house,  town-ball,  over-ball,  sock-ball,  fishing  in  the  streams  and  in 
Geer's  pond,  riding  floats  of  slabs  on  the  creek,  swimming  in  the  "  deep 
hole,"  and  gathering  blackberries,  crab-apples,  wild  plums,  and  black 
and  yellow  haws.  But  the  amusement  of  all  amusements,  the  one  that 
was  enjoyed  every  day  in  the  year  by  the  boys,  was  the  cutting  of  fire- 
wood. The  wood  for  heating  and  cooking  was  generally  hauled  in 
"drags"  to  the  front  door  of  each  house  on  Main  Street,  and  there  cut 
on  the  "  pile"  by  the  boys  of  each  house.  The  gathering  of  hazel-nuts, 
butternuts,  hickory-nuts,  and  chestnuts  was  an  agreeable  and  profitable 
recreation.  My  boy  associates  of  those  days — where  are  they?  I  can 
only  recall  the  following,  who  are  now  living  in  Brookville  :  David  Eason, 
W.  C.  Evans,  Dr.  C.  M.  Matson,  Thomas  E.  Espy,  Thomas  P.  McCrea, 
Daniel  Burns,  Clover  Smith,  W.  C.  Smith,  and  W.  R.  Ramsey.  I  under- 
stand John  Craig,  Frederick  and  Lewis  Dunham,  Elijah  and  Lorenzo 
Lowell,  and  Alexander  Barr  live  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  Richard  Espy  in 
Kentucky,  and  John  L.  and  Anson  Warren  in  Wisconsin. 

526 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1840  every  housewife  in  Brookville  cooked  over  a  fireplace,  in 
which  a  crane  was  fastened  so  as  to  swing  in,  out,  off,  on,  and  over  the 
fire.  Every  fireplace  had  a  wooden  poker,  a  pair  of  tongs  to  handle 
burning  wood,  and  a  shovel  to  remove  the  ashes.  The  fuel  used  was 
wood. — pine,  maple,  oak,  birch,  and  hickory.  To  every  fire  there  had  to 
be  a  "back- log,"  and  the  smaller  or  front  pieces  were  supported  on 
"andirons"  or  common  stones.  Matches  were  not  in  use,  hence  fires 
were  covered  at  night  so  as  to  preserve  some  live  coals  for  the  morning 
fire.  Rich  people  had  a  little  pair  of  bellows  to  blow  these  live  coals 
into  a  blaze,  but  poor  people  had  to  do  the  best  they  could  with  their 


Kitchen  and  fireplace  in  1840. 

mouths.  After  having  nearly  smoked  my  eyes  out  trying  to  blow  coals 
into  life,  I  have  had  to  give  it  up  and  go  to  a  neighbor  to  borrow  a  shovel 
of  fire.  Some  old  settlers  used  "spunk,"  a  flint,  and  a  barlow  knife  to 
start  a  fire  in  an  emergency  like  this.  Spunk — punk  or  touchwood— was 
obtained  from  the  inside  of  a  hollow  white  maple-tree.  When  matches 
were  first  brought  around  great  fear  was  entertained  that  they  might  burn 
everybody  out  of  house  and  home.  My  mother  secured  a  tin  box  with  a 
safe  lid  in  which  to  keep  hers.  For  some  reason  they  were  called  loco- 
foco  matches. 

The  crane  in  the  fireplace  had  a  set  of  rods  with  hooks  on  each  end, 
and  they  were  graduated  in  length  so  as  to  hang  the  kettle  at  the  proper 

527 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

height  from  the  fire.  In  addition  to  the  kettles  we  had  the  long-handled 
frying-pan,  the  handle  of  which  had  to  be  supported  by  some  one's  hand, 
or  else  on  a  box  or  a  chair.  Then  there  was  the  three-legged,  short- 
handled  spider.  It  could  support  itself.  And  I  must  not  forget  the 
griddle  for  buckwheat  cakes.  It  had  to  be  suspended  by  a  rod  on  the 
crane.  Then  there  was  the  old  bake-kettle,  or  oven,  with  legs  and  a 
closely-fitted  cover.  In  this  was  baked  the  "  pone"  for  the  family.  I  can 
say  truthfully  that  pone  was  not  used  more  than  thirty  days  in  the  month. 

This  was  a  hard  way  to  cook.  Women  would  nearly  break  their 
backs  lifting  these  heavy  kettles  on  and  off,  burn  their  faces,  smoke  their 
eyes,  singe  their  hair,  blister  their  hands,  and  f'  scorch"  their  clothes. 

Our  spoons  were  pewter  and  iron  ;  knives  and  forks  were  iron  with 
bone  handles.  The  chinaware  was  about  as  it  is  now. 

The  every-day  bonnet  of  women  then  was  the  "sun-bonnet"  for  sum- 
mer, and  a  quilted  "  hood"  for  winter.  The  dress  bonnet  was  made  of 
paper  or  leghorn,  and  was  in  shape  something  like  our  coal-scuttles. 

In  1840  nearly  every  wife  in  Brookville  milked  a  cow  and  churned 
butter.  The  cows  were  milked  at  the  front  door  on  Main  Street.  These 
cows  were  ornery,  ill-looking,  ill-fed,  straw- stealing,  and  blue-milk  giving 
creatures.  The  water  with  which  to  wash  clothes  and  do  the  scrubbing 
was  caught  in  barrels  or  tubs  from  the  house-roof.  Scrubbing  the  floors  of 
a  house  had  to  be  attended  to  regularly  once  a  week.  This  scrubbing  had 
to  be  done  with  powdered  sand  and  a  home  made  "split  broom."  Every 
wife  had  to  make  her  own  soap,  bake  her  own  bread,  sew  and  dye  all  the 
clothes  for  the  family,  spin  the  wool  for  and  knit  the  mittens  and  socks, 
make  the  coverlets,  quilt  the  quilts,  see  that  the  children's  shoes  for  Sun- 
day were  greased  with  tallow  every  Saturday  night,  nurse  the  sick,  give 
"sheep  saffron"  for  the  measles,  and  do  all  the  cooking.  About  every 
family  had  a  cow,  dog,  cat,  pig,  geese,  and  chickens.  The  town  gave 
these  domestic  animals  the  right  to  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  hap-, 
piness."  Of  course,  under  these  sanitary  conditions,  the  town  was  alive 
with  fleas,  and  every  house  was  full  of  bedbugs.  Bats  were  numerous, 
and  the  "  public  opinion"  then  was  that  the  bats  brought  the  bedbugs. 
This  may  be  given  as  an  illustration  of  the  correctness  of  public  opinion. 
However,  we  were  contented  and  happy,  and  used  to  sing, — 

"  Home,  home,  sweet,  sweet  home, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home." 

In  1840  there  were  doubtless  many  fine  horses  in  Jefferson  County, 
yet  it  seemed  to  me  nearly  every  horse  had  stringhalt,  ring-bone,  spavin, 
high-step,  or  poll-evil.  Horses  with  poll-evil  were  numerous  then,  but 
the  disease  has  apparently  disappeared.  It  was  an  abscess  on  the  horse's 
head,  behind  the  ears,  and  was  doubtless  caused  by  cruelty  to  the  animal. 
If  a  horse  did  not  please  his  master  in  his  work  it  was  a  common  thing 

528 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

for  his  master  to  knock  him  down  with  a  handspike,  a  rail,  or  the  butt  end 
of  a  blacksnake  whip.  Poor  food  and  these  blows  undoubtedly  caused 
this  horrible  disease.  Sick  horses  were  treated  in  a  barbarous  manner. 
When  sick  they  were  not  allowed  to  lie  down  ;  hence  they  were  whipped, 
run,  and  held  upon  their  feet.  I  have  seen  horses  held  up  with  hand- 
spikes, rails,  etc.  The  usual  remedies  were  bleeding  and  drenching  with 
filthy  compounds.  "  Bots"  was  the  almost  unfailing  disease. 

The  cattle  were  home  stock,  big-horned,  heavy-bellied,  and  long- 
legged.  They  could  jump  over  almost  anything,  and  could  outrun  the 
"devil  and  his  imps."  They  were  poorly  fed,  received  little  care,  and 
had  little  or  no  stabling.  In  the  spring  it  was  common  for  cows  to  be  on 
the  "  lift."  The  common  trouble  with  cattle  was  "  hollow  horn,"  "  wolf 
in  the  tail,"  and  loss  of  "  cud."  These  were  little  else  than  the  results 
of  starvation.  I  have  witnessed  consultations  over  a  sick  cow,  when  one 
man  would  declare  positively  she  had  hollow  horn,  and  another  declare 
just  as  positively  it  was  wolf  in  the  tail.  After  a  spirited  dispute  they 
would  compromise  by  agreeing  to  bore  her  horn  and  split  her  tail.  If 
they  had  called  it  hollow  belly  and  wolf  in  the  stomach  they  would  have 
been  nearer  the  truth.  A  better  remedy  would  have  been  a  bucket  of 
warm  slop,  a  good  stable,  and  plenty  of  hay.  The  remedy  for  "  hollow 
horn"  was  to  bore  a  gimlet  hole  in  the  horn  near  the  head  and  then  sat- 
urate a  cloth  with  spirits  of  turpentine  and  wrap  it  around  the  horn.  The 
cure  for  wolf  in  the  tail  was  to  split  the  tail  near  the  end  with  a  knife,  and 
fill  the  cut  with  salt  and  pepper.  The  cure  for  "lifts"  was  to  call  the 
neighbors,  lift  the  cow  to  her  feet  and  prop  her  up  so  she  could  not  lie 
down  again.  The  cures  for  loss  of  "  cud"  were  numerous  and  filthy.  A 
"sure  cure,"  and  common,  too,  was  to  roll  human  excrement  in  dough 
and  force  it  down  the  animal's  throat.  The  same  remedy  was  used  for 
"  founder."  If  the  critter  recovered,  the  remedy  was  the  right  one ;  if  it 
died,  the  reason  was  the  remedy  had  been  used  too  late.  Of  course,  these 
conditions  were  all  imaginary.  They  were  only  diseases  resulting  from 
exposure  and  want  of  nourishing  food.  A  wild  onion  called  "ramp," 
and  a  shrub  called  "  tripwood,"  grew  in  the  woods  and  were  early  in 
their  appearance  each  spring.  These,  of  which  the  cattle  ate  freely,  were 
often  their  only  dependence  for  food. 

The  hog  of  that  time  was  a  racer,  and  could  outrun  the  average 
horse.  His  snort  when  startled  was  something  terrible.  He  was  of  the 
"  razor-back"  variety,  long-bodied,  long-legged,  and  long-snouted.  By 
means  of  his  snout  he  could  plough  through  everything.  Of  course  he  was 
starved  in  the  winter,  like  all  the  other  animals,  and  his  condition  re- 
sulting from  his  starvation  was  considered  a  disease  and  called  "  black 
teeth."  The  remedy  for  this  disease  was  to  knock  out  the  teeth  with  a 
hammer  and  a  spike. 

Ignorance  was  the  cause  of  this  cruelty  to  animals.  To  the  readers 

529 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  this  volume  the  things  mentioned  are  astonishing.  But  I  have  only 
hinted  at  the  barbarities  then  inflicted  on  these  domestic  animals,  which 
had  no  rights  which  man  was  bound  to  respect.  Not  until  1866  was  any 
effort  made  in  this  country  to  protect  dumb  animals  from  the  cruelty  of 
man.  In  that  year  Henry  Berg  organized  the  American  society  in  New 
York,  and  to-day  the  movement  is  felt  throughout  a  great  portion  of  the 
world.  In  1890  there  were  five  hundred  and  forty-seven  societies  in  ex- 
istence for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  of  them  in  the  United  States.  The  work  of  humane  organizations 
is  not  a  matter  of  mere  sentiment.  "The  economic  necessity  for  the 
existence  of  societies  having  for  their  object  the  better  care  and  protec- 
tion of  animals  becomes  manifest  when  it  is  considered  that  our  indus- 
tries, our  commerce,  and  the  supply  of  our  necessities  and  comforts  de- 
pend upon  the  animal  world.  In  the  United  States  alone  it  is  estimated 
that  there  are  14,000,000  horses,  valued  at  $979,000,000.  There  are  also 
2,330,000  mules,  16,000,000  milk  cows,  36,800,000  oxen  and  other  cattle, 
44,000,000  sheep,  and  50,000,000  swine.  The  total  domestic  animals 
in  1890  were  estimated  at  165,000,000,  valued  at  over  $2,400,000,000." 
To-day  every  good  citizen  gives  these  humane  societies  or  their  agents  his 
support,  and  almost  every  one  is  against  the  man  or  men  who  in  any  way 
abuse  dumb  beasts. 

Along  about  1840  the  winters  were  very  severe  and  long,  much  more 
so  than  now.  Regularly  every  fall,  commencing  in  November, — 

"  Soft  as  the  eider  down, 
Light  as  the  spider  gown, 
Came  the  beautiful  snow,  till 
Over  the  meadow  lots, 
Over  our  garden  plots, 
Over  the  ponds  and  the  lakes, 
Lay  only  beautiful  flakes. 
Then  with  this  snowing, 
Puffing  and  blowing, 
Old  Boreas  came  bellowing  by, 
Till  over  the  by-ways, 
And  over  the  highways, 
The  snow-drifts  were  ever  so  high." 

The  snow  was  several  feet  deep  every  winter.  It  came  early  and 
remained  till  late. 

I  have  made  frequent  reference  in  these  chapters  to  the  old  court-house. 
As  I  find  there  is  some  confusion  in  regard  to  its  size,  and  as  I  find  our 
county  history  contains  this  error:  "The  court-house,  a  one-story  brick 
building,  was  finished  in  1832,"  I  deem  it  of  sufficient  importance  to 
correct  these  errors,  and  to  state  that  the  court-house  was  a  two -story 
building,  with  a  one  story  wing  on  the  west  extending  along  Main  Street. 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

This  wing  was  divided  into  two  rooms,  the  first  for  the  prothonotary's 
office  and  the  other  for  the  commissioners'  office.  The  main  building 
was  two-storied,  with  an  attic  and  belfry.  The  second  story  was  divided 
into  four  good-sized  rooms,  called  jury-rooms.  The  southwest  room  was 
used  by  the  Methodists  for  a  long  time  for  their  Thursday  evening  prayer- 
meeting.  Alexander  Fullerton  was  their  janitor.  The  Union  Sunday- 
school  was  held  here  for  years  also.  The  northwest  room  was  used  as  an 
armory  by  the  Brookville  Rifles, — a  volunteer  company.  The  other  two 
were  used  as  jury-rooms.  I  have  played  in  every  room  of  the  old  build- 
ing, and  know  every  foot  of  it.  The  building  cost  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  contractors  were  John  Lucas  and  Robert  P.  Barr.  It  was  torn 
down  in  1866  to  make  room  for  the  present  fine  structure.  Our  alley- 
ball  games  were  all  played  for  years  behind  the  old  court-house. 

Our  first  jail  was  a  stone  structure,  built  of  common  stone,  in  1831. 
It  was  two  stories  high,  was  situated  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  public 
lot,  near  Joseph  Darr's  residence,  and  fronting  on  Pickering  Street. 
Daniel  Elgin  .was  the  contractor.  The  building  was  divided  into  eight 
rooms,  two  down  stairs  and  two  up-stairs  for  the  jail  proper,  and  two 
down-stairs  and  two  up-stairs  for  the  sheriff's  residence  and  office.  The 
sheriff  occupied  the  north  part.  The  early  church  services  in  this  building 
were  held  in  the  jail  part,  up  stairs.  This  old  jail  has  a  history,  not  the 
most  pleasant  to  contemplate  or  write  about.  It  was  used  to  imprison  run- 
away slaves,  and  to  lodge  them  overnight,  by  slave  captors.  Imprisoning 
men  for  no  other  crime  than  desiring  to  enjoy  life,  liberty,  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness  !  There  was  a  branch  of  the  underground  railroad  for 
the  escape  of  slaves  running  through  Brookville  at  that  time.  As  many 
as  twenty-five  of  those  unfortunate  creatures  have  passed  through  Brook- 
ville in  one  day.  Judge  Heath,  then  living  in  our  town, — a  great  Meth- 
odist and  an  abolitionist, — had  to  pay  a  fine  of  two  thousand  dollars  for 
aiding  two  slaves  to  escape  from  this  old  stone  jail ;  a  big  sum  of  money 
to  pay  for  performing  a  Christian,  humane  act.  Was  it  not  ?  In  this 
stone  jail  men  were  imprisoned  for  debt,  and  kept  in  it  until  the  last 
penny  was  paid.  I  have  seen  some  of  the  best  men  of  that  day  in  our 
county  imprisoned  in  this  old  jail  for  debt  or  bail  money.  I  have  seen 
Thomas  Hall,  than  whom  I  knew  no  better  man,  no  better  Christian,  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  incarcerated  in  the  old  stone  jail  for 
bail  money.  He  had  bailed  a  relative  for  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  and 
his  relative  let  him  suffer.  Honest,  big-hearted,  generous,  Christian 
Thomas  Hall !  Thank  God  that  the  day  for  such  inhumanities  as  those 
stated  above  are  gone  forever.  This  old  jail  was  rented  after  the  new 
one  was  erected,  and  used  as  a  butcher-shop  until  it  was  torn  down  to 
make  room  for  the  present  court-house. 

In  these  days  of  fine  carriages  and  Brookville  wagons  it  might  be 
well  to  describe  the  wagon  of  1840.  It  was  called  the  Pennsylvania 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

wagon,  was  wide-tracked,  and  had  wooden  axles  with  iron  skeins  on  the 
spindles.  The  tongue  was  stiff,  and  reached  about  three  feet  ahead  of 
the  horses.  The  horses  were  hitched  to  these  wagons  by  iron  trace-  and 
long  tongue-chains.  In  rough  roads  I  used  to  think  every  time  the 
tongue  would  strike  a  horse  on  the  leg  it  would  break  it.  Old  team 
horses  understood  this  and  would  spread  out  to  avoid  these  leg-blows. 
The  wheels  were  kept  in  place  by  means  of  an  iron  strap  and  linch-pin. 
Every  wagon  carried  its  own  tar  on  the  coupling-pole  under  the  hind 
axle.  The  carriage  of  that  day  was  called  a  dearborn  wagon.  I  am 
unable  to  describe  these,  although  I  used  to  see  them.  The  making  of 
tar  was  one  of  the  industries  then.  It  retailed  at  twenty  and  twenty-five 
cents  a  gallon,  and  brought  from  three  to  four  dollars  a  barrel  at  Pitts- 
burg.  These  old  wagons  would  screech  fearfully  if  they  were  not  kept 
properly  lubricated  with  this  tar. 

Big  political  conventions  were  held  in  those  days,  and  a  great  custom 
was  to  have  a  young  lady  dressed  in  white  to  represent  each  of  the  dif- 
ferent States,  and  have  all  these  ladies  in  one  wagon,  which  would  be 
drawn  by  four  or  six  horses. 

In  the  hotels  of  that  day  the  "  bar"  was  constructed  for  the  safety  of 
the  bartender.  It  was  a  solid  structure  with  a  counter  in  front,  from 
which  a  sliding  door  on  iron  rods  could  be  shoved  up  and  locked,  or 
shut  down  and  locked;  hence  the  hotel  man  could  "bar"  himself  in 
and  the  drunken  men  out.  This  was  for  safety  in  dispensing  whiskey, 
and  is  the  origin  of  the  word  "bar"  in  connection  with  hotels.  In  1840 
all  our  hotel  bars  were  so  made. 

Lumbering  in  1840  was  one  of  our  principal  industries.  We  had  no 
eastern  outlet,  and  everything  had  to  be  rafted  to  Pittsburg.  The  saw- 
mills were  nearly  all  "up  and  down"  mills.  The  "thunder-gust"  mills 
were  those  on  small  streams.  All  were  driven  by  flutter-wheels  and 
water.  It  required  usually  but  one  man  to  run  one  of  these  mills.  He 
could  do  all  the  work  and  saw  from  one  to  two  thousand  feet  of  boards 
in  twelve  hours.  Pine  boards  sold  in  the  Pittsburg  market  then  at  three 
and  four  dollars  per  thousand  ;  clear  pine  at  ten  dollars  per  thousand. 
Of  course  these  sales  were  on  credit.  The  boards  were  rafted  in  the 
creek  in  "seven-platform"  pieces,  by  means  of  grubs.  The  oars  were 
hung  on  what  were  called  .thole-pins.  The  front  of  each  raft  had  a 
bumper  and  splash  board  as  a  protection  in  going  over  dams.  The  creeks 
then  were  full  of  short  bends,  rocks,  and  drift.  Cables  were  unknown 
here,  and  a  halyard  made  from  hickory  withes  or  water-beech  was  used 
as  a  cable  to  tie  up  with.  "  Grousers"  were  used  to  assist  in  tying  up. 
A  pilot  then  received  four  dollars  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek ;  forehands, 
two  dollars  and  expenses.  The  logging  in  the  woods  was  all  done  with 
oxen.  The  camp  and  mill  boarding  consisted  of  bread,  flitch,  beans, 
potatoes,  Orleans  molasses,  sometimes  a  little  butter,  and  coffee  or 

532 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tea  without  cream.     Woodsmen  were  paid  sixteen  dollars  a  month  and 
boarded,  and  generally  paid  in  store-orders  or  trade. 

We  usually  had  three  floods  on  which  to  run  this  lumber,— spring, 
June,  and  fall.  At  these  times  rafts  were  plenty  and  people  were  scarce, 
and,  as  time  and  tide  wait  for  no  man,  whenever  a  flood  came  every- 
body had  to  turn  out  and  assist  to  run  the  rafts.  The  boy  had  to  leave 
his  school,  the  minister  his  pulpit,  the  doctor  abandon  his  patients,  the 
lawyer  his  briefs,  the  merchant  his  yard- stick,  the  farmer  his  crops  or 
seeding.  And  there  was  one  great  compensation  in  this, — nearly  every- 
body got  to  see  Pittsburg. 

"Running  down  the  creek  and  gigging  back"  was  the  business  lan- 
guage of  everybody.  "  How  many  trips  have  you  made  ?"  etc.  It  took 
about  twelve  hours  to  run  a  raft  from  the  neighborhood  of  Brookville  to 
the  mouth,  or  the  Allegheny  River,  and  ordinarily  it  required  hard 
walking  to  reach  home  the  next  day.  Some  ambitious,  industrious  pilots 
would  "run  down  in  the  daytime  and  walk  back  the  same  night." 
James  T.  Carroll  has  made  four  of  these  trips  in  succession,  Joseph  Sho- 
bert  five,  and  William  Green  four  or  five.  Of  course,  these  pilots  re- 
mained down  the  last  night.  This  extraordinary  labor  was  accomplished 
without  ever  going  to  bed.  Although  some  may  be  incredulous,  these  are 
facts,  as  the  parties  interested  are  still  alive  (1895).  Pilots  sometimes  ran 
all  night.  Joseph  Shobert  has  started  from  Brookville  at  five  o'clock  P.M. 
and  reached  the  mouth  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Other  pilots 
have  done  this  also. 

Pine  square  timber  was  taken  out  and  marketed  in  Pittsburg.  No 
other  timber  was  marketable,  and  then  only  the  best  part  of  the  pine 
could  be  hewed  and  rafted.  Often  but  one  stick  would  be  used  from  a 
tree.  In  Pittsburg  this  timber  brought  from  four  to  eight  cents  a  foot, 
running  measure. 

The  square  timber  business  was  then  the  business.  Every  lumberman 
followed  it,  and  every  farmer  ran  one  timber  raft  at  least.  The  "taking 
out  of  square  timber"  had  to  be  done  in  the  fall,  before  snow  came. 
The  trees  were  felled,  "cut  in  sticks,"  "scored  in,"  and  hewn  smooth 
and  square.  Each  "lumber  tract"  had  its  log  cabin  and  barn.  The 
"  sticks"  were  hauled  to  the  creek  on  a  "bob"  sled  in  the  snow  by  oxen 
or  horses,  and  banked  until  time  to  "raft  in"  and  get  ready  for  the 
" spring  flood."  It  was  the  timber  trade  that  made  the  pioneer  prosper- 
ous and  intelligent. 

The  lumbermen  could  contract  with  hewers  for  the  cutting,  scoring, 
and  hewing  of  pine  timber,  complete,  ready  to  be  hauled,  for  from  three- 
quarters  to  one  and  a  quarter  cents  per  foot.  All  timber  was  generally 
well  faced  on  one  side,  and  was  rafted  with  lash-poles  of  iron-wood  or 
white  oak,  and  securely  fastened  in  position  by  means  of  white-oak  bows 
and  ash  pins.  Bows  and  pins  were  an  article  of  merchandise  then.  Bows 

533 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

sold  at  seventy-five  cents  a  hundred,  and  ash  pins  brought  fifty  cents  a 
hundred.  Grubs  for  board  rafts  sold  at  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a 
hundred.  Oar  stems  were  then  made  from  small  sapling  dead  pines, 


shaved  down.     Pine  timber  or  wild  lands  could  then  be  bought  at  from 
one  dollar  to  two  dollars  per  acre. 

Along  the  lower  end  of  our  creeks  and  on  the  Allegheny  River  there 
lived  a  class  of  people  who  caught  and  appropriated  all  the  loose  logs, 
shingles,  boards,  and  timber  they  could  find  floating  down  the  streams. 

534 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

These  men  were  called  by  the  early  lumbermen  Algerines,  or  pirates. 
The  name  Algerine  originated  thus:  In  the  war  of  1812  "the  dey  of 
Algiers  took  the  opportunity  of  capturing  an  American  vessel  and  con- 


demning her  crew  to  slavery.  Then  a  powerful  squadron,  under  Porter 
and  Perry,  early  in  1815,  appeared  in  the  Mediterranean,  captured  the 
largest  frigate  in  the  Algerine  navy,  and  with  other  naval  successes  so 
terrified  the  dey  that  he  immediately  consented  to  a  treaty  of  amicable 
relations,  surrendered  all  his  prisoners,  made  certain  pecuniary  in- 

535 


.       PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

demnities,  and  renounced  all  future  claim  to  any  American  tribute  or 
payments." 

As  there  has  been  considerable  agitation  over  my  paragraph  on  poll- 
evil  in  horses,  I  reprint  here  a  slip  that  has  been  sent  me : 

"AN    OLD  TIME   CURE    FOR    POLL- EVIL. 

"  ED.  SPIRIT, — I  am  moved  by  your  quotation  from  Dr.  McKnight's 
article  in  the  Brookville  Democrat  on  the  old-time  nonsense  in  relation 
to  poll-evil  in  horses  to  say  that  the  doctor's  explanation  of  the  cause 
of  that  severe  affliction  on  the  poor  brute's  head  is  in  part  correct ;  but 
it  was  mainly  owing  to  the  low  door- ways  and  the  low  mow-timbers  just 
above  the  horse's  head  as  he  stood  in  the  stall  of  the  old-time  log  stables. 
The  horse  often  struck  his  head  on  the  lintel  of  the  low  door-way  as  he 
passed  in  and  out ;  and  as  he  stood  in  the  stall,  when  roughly  treated  by 
his  master,  in  throwing  up  his  head  it  came  in  violent  contact  with  the 
timbers,  and  continued  bruising  resulted  ultimately  in  the  fearful,  painful 
abscesses  referred  to.  There  were  those  in  that  day  who  had  reputations 
for  skill  in  the  cure  of  poll  evil,  and  their  method  was  this :  The  afflicted 
animal  must  be  brought  to  the  doctor  before  the  break  of  day.  An  axe 
was  newly  ground.  The  doctor  must  not  speak  a  word  to  any  person  on 
any  subject  after  the  horse  was  given  into  his  hand  until  the  feat  was  per- 
formed. Before  sunrise  the  doctor  took  the  axe  and  the  horse  and  pro- 
ceeded out  of  sight  of  any  human  habitation,  going  towards  the  east. 
When  such  a  spot  was  reached  he  turned  towards  the  animal,  bent  down 
its  head  firmly  and  gently,  drew  the  sharpened  blade  of  the  axe  first 
lengthwise,  then  crosswise  of  the  abscess  sufficiently  to  cause  the  blood 
to  flow,  muttering  meanwhile  some  mystic  words ;  then,  just  below  where 
the  head  of  the  horse  was,  he  struck  the  bloody  axe  in  the  ground,  left  it 
there,  turned  immediately  around,  walked  rapidly  away,  leading  the 
animal,  and  not  at  all  looking  back  until  he  had  delivered  it  into  the 
hand  of  the  owner,  who  was  waiting  at  a  distance  to  receive  it,  and  who 
took  it  home  at  once.  The  next  morning  at  sunrise  the  axe  was  re- 
moved, and  in  due  time  the  cure  was  effected. 

"AN  OLD-TIMER. 
"  SMICKSBURG,  PA.,  September  7,  1894." 

The  first  known  person  to  live  within  the  confines  of  the  present 
borough  was  Jim  Hunt,  an  Indian  of  the  Muncy  tribe.  He  was  here  as 
early  as  1797,  and  was  in  banishment  for  killing  a  warrior  of  his  own 
tribe.  By  an  Indian  law  he  was  not  allowed  to  live  in  his  tribe  until 
the  place  of  the  warrior  he  had  slain  was  filled  by  the  capture  of  another 
male  from  white  people  or  from  other  Indians.  In  1808,  Jim's  friends 
stole  a  white  boy  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  him 
accepted  into  the  tribe  in  place  of  the  warrior  Jim  had  killed.  Jim 
Hunt's  residence  or  cave  was  near  the  deep  hole,  or  near  the  sand 

536 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

spring,  on  Sandy  Lick,  and  was  discovered  in  1843  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Graham.  After  1812  Jim  Hunt  never  returned.  He  was  a  great  bear- 
hunter,  having  killed  seventy-eight  in  one  winter.  He  loved  "fire- 
water," and  all  his  earnings  went  for  this  beverage;  yet  he  never  dared 
to  get  so  drunk  he  could  not  run  to  his  cave  when  he  heard  a  peculiar 
Indian  whoop  on  Mill  Creek  hills.  His  Indian  enemies  pursued  him, 
and  his  Indian  friends  looked  after  him  and  warned  him  to  flee  to  his 
hiding-place  by  a  peculiar  whoop.  Little  Snow,  a  Seneca  chief,  lived  at 
the  sand  spring  in  1800,  and  it  was  then  called  "  Wolf  Spring." 

The  first  white  person  to  settle  in  what  is  now  Brookville  was  Moses 
Knapp.  He  built  a  log  house  about  1801  at  the  mouth  of  North  Fork 
Creek,  on  ground  now  owned  by  Thomas  L.  Templeton,  near  Christ's 
brewery.  The  first  white  child  born  within  the  limits  of  what  is  now 
Brookville  was  Joshua  Knapp,  on  Mr.  Templeton's  lot,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  North  Fork,  in  the  month  of  March,  1810.  He  is  still  living  (1895) 
in  Pine  Creek  township,  about  two  miles  from  the  town.  About  1806  or 
1807,  Knapp  built  a  log  grist-mill  where  the  waters  of  the  North  Fork  then 
entered  the  Red  Bank.  It  was  a  rude  mill,  and  had  but  one  run  of  rock- 
stones.  In  1818  he  sold  this  mill  to  Thomas  Barnett.  James  Parks,  Bar- 
nett's  brother-in-law,  came  to  run  this  mill  about  1824  (Barnett  having 
died),  and  lived  here  until  about  1830.  Parks  came  from  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  and  brought  with  him  and  held  in  legal  slavery 
here  a  negro  man  named  "Sam,"  who  was  the  first  colored  person  to 
live  in  what  is  now  called  Brookville. 

Joseph  B.  Graham,  Esq.,  of  Eldred  township,  informs  me  that  he 
carried  a  grist  on  horseback  to  this  mill  of  one  half-bushel  of  shelled 
corn  for  this  Sam  to  grind.  Mr.  Graham  says  his  father  put  the  corn 
in  one  end  of  the  bag  and  a  big  stone  in  the  other  end  to  balance  the 
corn.  That  was  the  custom,  but  the  'squire  says  they  did  not  know  any 
better.  Joshua  Knapp,  Uriah  Matson,  and  John  Dixon  all  took  grists 
of  corn  and  buckwheat  to  this  mill  for  "  Sam,"  the  miller,  to  grind. 

"  Happy  the  miller  who  lives  by  the  mill, 
For  by  the  turning  of  his  hand  he  can  do  what  he  will." 

But  this  was  not  so  with  "Sam."  At  his  master's  nod  he  could 
grind  his  own  "peck  of  meal,"  for  his  body,  his  work,  his  life,  and  his 
will  belonged  to  Parks.  Many  settlers  in  early  days  carried  corn  to  the 
grist-mill  on  their  own  shoulders,  or  on  the  neck-yoke  of  a  pair  of  oxen. 
I  have  seen  both  of  these  methods  used  by  persons  living  ten  and  fifteen 
miles  from  a  mill. 

The  census  of  1830  gives  Jefferson  County  a  population  of  2003 
whites,  21  free  colored  persons,  and  i  colored  slave.  This  slave,  we 
suppose,  was  "Sam." 

Brookville  was  laid  out  as  the  county  seat  in  1830,  but  it  was  not 
35  537 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

incorporated  as  a  borough  until  April  9,  1834.  (See  pamphlet  laws  of 
1834,  page  209.)  The  first  house  was  erected  in  August,  1830.  The 
first  election  held  in  the  new  borough  for  officials  was  in  the  spring 
of  1835.  Joseph  Sharpe  was  elected  constable.  Darius  Carrier  and 
Alexander  McKnight  were  elected  school  directors.  The  first  complete 
set  of  borough  officers  were  elected  in  1835,  and  were  as  follows : 

Burgess,  Thomas  Lucas ;  Council,  John  Dougherty,  James  Corbett, 
John  Pierce,  Samuel  Craig,  Wm.  A.  Sloan ;  Constable,  John  McLaughlin 
(this  man  McLaughlin  was  a  great  hunter,  and  could  neither  read  nor 
write ;  he  moved  to  Brockwayville,  and  from  there  went  West)  ;  School 
Directors,  Levi  G.  Clover,  Samuel  Craig,  David  Henry,  C.  A.  Alexander, 
Wm.  A.  Sloan,  James  Corbett. 

In  1840  the  borough  officers  were  : 

Burgess,  William  Jack ;  Council,  Elijah  Heath,  John  Gallagher,  Cyrus 
Butler,  Levi  G.  Clover,  John  Dougherty,  William  Rodgers;  Constable, 
John  Dougherty. 

Of  these  early  fathers  the  only  one  now  living  (1895)  is  Major  William 
Rodgers.  He  resides  about  a  mile  from  town,  on  the  Corsica  road. 

In  1840  the  "itch"  was  in  Brookville,  and  popular  all  the  year  round. 
As  bath-tubs  were  unknown  and  family  bathing  rare,  this  itch  was  the 
seven-year  kind.  Head-lice  among  the  people  and  in  the  schools  were 
also  common.  Had  I  been  familiar  with  Burns  in  my  boyhood,  many  a 
time,  while  seeing  a  louse  crawl  on  and  over  a  boy  or  girl  in  our  schools, 
I  could  have  exclaimed, — 

"  O,  Jenny,  dinna  toss  your  head 
An'  set  your  beauties  a'  abraed  ; 
Ye  little  ken  what  cussed  speed 
The  beast's  a  makin'." 

The  only  cure  for  lice  was  to  "rid"  out  the  hair  every  few  days  with  a 
big,  coarse  comb,  crack  the  nits  between  the  thumb-nails,  and  then  satu- 
rate the  hair  with  "red  precipity,"  using  a  fine-tooth  comb.  The  itch 
was  cured  by  the  use  of  an  ointment  made  of  brimstone  and  lard. 
During  school-terms  many  children  wore  little  sacks  of  powdered  brim- 
stone about  their  necks.  This  was  supposed  to  be  a  preventive. 

In  1840  the  only  music-books  we  had  were  "  The  Beauties  of  Har- 
mony" and  "The  Missouri  Harmony."  Each  of  these  contained  the 
old  "buckwheat"  notes  of  me,  fa,  sol,  la.  Every  one  could  not  afford 
one  of  these  books.  Music- teachers  travelled  through  the  county  and 
taught  classes.  A  class  was  twenty-six  scholars,  a  term  thirteen  nights, 
and  the  tuition-fee  fifty  cents  for  each  scholar.  Teachers  used  "tuning- 
forks,"  and  some  played  a  violin  in  connection  with  the  class-singing. 
The  teacher  opened  the  singing  by  exhorting  the  class  to  "sound  your 
pitches, — sol,  fa,  la." 

538 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1840,  Billy  Boo,  an  eccentric,  intelligent  hermit,  lived  in  a  hut  on 
the  farm  in  Rose  township  now  occupied  by  William  Hughey.  Although 
he  lived  in  this  hut,  he  spent  most  of  his  wakeful  hours  in  Brookville.  He 
was  a  man  of  good  habits,  and  all  that  he  would  tell,  or  any  one  could 
learn  of  him  or  his  nativity,  was  that  he  came  from  England.  He  was 
about  five  feet  five  or  six  inches  high,  heavy  set,  and  stoop  shouldered. 
He  usually  dressed  in  white  flannel  clothes.  Sometimes  his  clothing, 
from  being  darned  so  much,  looked  as  if  it  had  been  quilted.  He  lived 
upon  the  charity  of  the  people,  and  by  picking  up  a  few  pennies  for 
some  light  gardening  jobs.  He  died  as  a  charge  on  Brookville  borough 
in  1863. 

Indian  relics  were  found  frequently  on  our  hills  and  in  our  valleys  in 
1840.  They  consisted  of  stone  tomahawks,  darts,  arrows,  and  flints. 

Prior  to  and  during  1840  a  form  of  legalized  slavery  was  practised  in 
this  State  and  county  in  regard  to  minor  children.  Poor  or  destitute 
children  were  "bound  out"  or  indentured  by  the  poor  overseers  to 
masters  or  mistresses,  boys  until  they  were  twenty  one  years  of  age  and 
girls  until  they  were  eighteen.  Parents  exercised  this  privilege  also.  All 
apprentices  were  then  bound  to  mechanics  to  learn  trades.  The  period 
of  this  indenture  was  three  years.  The  law  was  severe  on  the  children, 
and  in  favor  of  the  master  or  mistress.  Under  these  conditions  cruelties 
were  practised,  and  children  and  apprentices  tried  to  escape  them.  Of 
course,  there  were  bad  children  who  ran  away  from  kind  masters  and 
mistresses.  The  master  or  mistress  usually  advertised  these  runaways. 
I  have  seen  many  of  these  in  our  papers.  I  reprint  one  of  these  ad- 
vertisements, taken  from  the  Gazette' and  Columbian,  published  by  J. 
Croll  &  Co.,  at  Kittanning,  Armstrong  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  August 
8,1832: 

"$5  REWARD. 

"  Run  away  from  the  subscriber,  living  in  the  borough  of  Kittanning, 
on  the  22d  inst.,  an  indentured  apprentice  to  the  Tailoring  business,  named 
Henry  P.  Huffman,  between  18  or  19  years  of  age,  stout  made  and  black 
hair,  had  on  when  he  went  away  a  light  cotton  roundabout,  and  panta- 
loons of  the  same,  and  a  new  fur  hat.  Whoever  apprehends  the  said 
runaway  and  delivers  him  to  the  subscriber  in  Kittanning  shall  receive 

the  above  reward. 

"JOHN  WILLIAMS. 
"  KITTANNING,  July  25,  1832." 

In  the  forties  the  election  for  State  officers  was  held  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  October  of  each  year,  and  in  the  absence  of  telegraphs,  rail- 
roads, etc.,  it  took  about  four  weeks  to  hear  any  definite  result  from  an 
election,  and  then  the  result  was  published  with  a  tail  to  it,—"  Pike, 
Potter,  McKean,  and  Jefferson  to  hear  from."  It  is  amusing  to  recall 

539 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  reason  usually  given  for  a  defeat  at  these  elections  by  the  unsuccess- 
ful party.  It  was  this :  "  The  day  was  fine  and  clear,  a  good  day  for 
threshing  buckwheat;  therefore  our  voters  failed  to  turn  out."  The 
editor  of  the  defeated  party  always  published  this  poetic  stanza  for  the 
consolation  of  his  friends : 

"  Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again, 

The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers, 

While  error,  wounded,  writhes  in  pain, 

And  dies  amidst  her  worshippers." 

In  a  Presidential  contest  we  never  knew  the  result  with  any  certainty 
until  the  4th  of  March,  or  inauguration-day. 

In  1840,  according  to  the  census,  the  United  States  contained  a  pop- 
ulation of  17,062,666  people,  of  which,  2,487,113  were  slaves.  The  em- 
ployments of  the  people  were  thus  divided:  Agriculture,  3,717,756; 
commerce,  117,575;  manufactures  and  trades,  791,545;  navigating  the 
ocean,  56,025;  navigating  rivers,  canals,  etc.,  33,067;  mining,  15,203; 
learned  professions,  65,236. 

The  Union  then  consisted  of  26  States,  and  we  had  223  Congress- 
men. The  ratio  of  population  for  a  Congressman  was  70,680.  In  this 
computation  five  slaves  would  count  as  three  white  men,  although  the 
slaves  were  not  allowed  to  vote.  Our  Territories  were  populated  thus : 
District  of  Columbia,  43,712;  Florida,  54,477;  Wisconsin,  30,945; 
Iowa,  43,112.  The  chief  cities  and  towns  were  thus  populated  : 

New  York _ 312,710 

Philadelphia 228,691 

Baltimore 102,313 

New  Orleans 102,193 

Boston      .........   .   .    ....... 93.393 

Cincinnati 46,338 

Brooklyn 35,234 

Albany 33>72i 

Charleston 29,261 

Washington 23,364 

Providence 23,171 

Louisville 21,210 

Pittsburg 21,115 

Lowell 20,796 

Rochester 20,191 

Richmond 20,133 

Buffalo 18,210 

Newark 17,293 

St.  Louis 16,469 

Portland £;< 15,218 

Salem 16,083 

Brookville 276 

540 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Household  or  family  goods  were  produced  in  1840  to  the  amount  of 
$29,230,380. 

Total  amount  of  capital  employed  in  manufactures,  $267,726,579. 

The  whole  expenses  of  the  Revolutionary  War  were  estimated,  in 
specie,  at  $135,193,703. 

In  1840  it  was  the  custom  for  newspapers  to  publish  in  one  of  their 
issues,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  a  complete  list  by  title  of 
all  the  enactments  of  that  session. 

In  the  forties  fruit  was  scarce  and  inferior  in  these  woods,  and  as 
"  boys  were  boys  then"  all  kinds  of  means,  both  fair  and  foul,  were  re- 
sorted to  by  the  boys  to  get  a  fill  of  apples.  Johnny  Lucas,  Johnny  Jones, 
Yankee  Smith,  and  Mrs.  Fuller  used  to  bring  apples  and  peaches  into  the 
village  and  retail  them  out  on  the  street.  I  have  seen  this  trick  played 
frequently  on  these  venders  by  two  boys, — viz. :  a  boy  would  go  up 
to  the  wagon,  holding  his  cap  with  both  hands  and  ask  for  a  sixpence 
worth  of  apples  or  peaches.  The  vender  would  then  count  the  apples 
and  drop  them  in  the  cap.  The  boy  would  then  let  go  of  the  cap  with 
one  hand  as  if  to  pay,  when  boy  No.  2  would  snatch  the  cap  and 
apples  out  of  his  hand  and  run  for  dear  life  down  the  street  and  into 
the  first  alley.  The  owner  of  the  cap,  in  apparent  anger,  would  imme- 
diately take  after  this  thief,  forget  to  pay,  and  in  the  alley  help  eat  the 
apples. 

In  1840  "  shingle  weavers"  brought  their  shingles  to  Brookville  to 
barter.  A  shingle  weaver  was  a  man  who  did  not  steal  timber.  He  only 
went  into  the  pine-woods  and  there  cut  the  clearest  and  best  tree 
he  could  find,  and  hauled  it  home  to  his  shanty  in  blocks,  and  there 
split  and  shaved  the  blocks  into  shingles.  He  bartered  his  shingles 
in  this  way  :  he  would  first  have  his  gallon  or  two  gallon  jug  filled  with 
whiskey,  then  take  several  pounds  of  Baltimore  plug-tobacco,  and  then 
have  the  balance  coming  to  him  apportioned  in  New  Orleans  molasses, 
flitch,  and  flour.  Many  a  barter  of  this  kind  have  I  billed  when  acting 
as  clerk. 

Timothy  Pickering  &  Co.,  Leroy  &  Linklain,  Welhelm  Willink, 
Jeremiah  Parker,  Holland  Land  Company,  Robert  Morris,  Robert  Gil- 
more,  William  Bingham,  John  Nicholson,  Dr.  William  Cathcart,  Dr. 
James  Hutchinson,  and  a  few  others  owned  about  all  the  land  in  Jef- 
ferson County.  This  goes  a  great  length  to  disprove  the  demagogy 
you  hear  so  much  nowadays  about  the  few  owning  and  gobbling  up 
all  the  land.  How  many  people  own  a  piece  of  Jefferson  County 

to-day  ? 

In  1840  the  only  newspaper  published  in  Jefferson  County  was  the 
Backwoodsman,  published  in  Brookville  by  Thomas  Hastings  &  Son. 
Captain  John  Hastings,  who  is  still  living  in  Punxsutawney,  was  the  son. 
The  terms  of  this  paper  were  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  in  advance, 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

two  dollars  if  paid  within  the  year,  and  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  if  not 
paid  within  the  year.  Hastings  &  Son  sold  the  paper  to  William  Jack. 
Jack  rented  the  paper  to  a  practical  printer  by  the  name  of  George  F. 
Humes,  who  continued  the  publication  until  after  the  October  election 
in  1843,  when  he  announced  in  an  editorial  that  his  patrons  might  go  to 
h — 11  and  he  would  go  to  Texas.  Barton  T.  Hastings  then  bought  and 
assumed  control  of  the  paper,  and  published  it  until  1846  as  the  Brookville 
Jeffersonian.  Mr.  Hastings  is  still  living  in  Brookville. 

I  reprint  here  a  large  portion  of  the  proceedings  of  an  old-time  cele- 
bration of  the  Fourth  of  July  in  1843  'n  Brookville.  We  copy  from  the 
Backwoodsman,  dated  August  i,  1843,  then  edited  by  George  F.  Humes. 
The  editorial  article  in  the  Backwoodsman  is  copied  entire.  The  oration 
of  D.  S.  Deering,  all  the  regular  toasts,  and  part  of  the  volunteer  toasts 
are  omitted  because  of  their  length.  Editor  Humes's  article  was  headed 

"FOURTH   OF  JULY   CELEBRATION. 

"  The  citizens  of  Brookville  and  vicinity  celebrated  the  sixty-seventh 
anniversary  of  American  independence  in  a  spirited  and  becoming  man- 
ner. The  glorious  day  was  ushered  in  by  the  firing  of  cannon  and  ring- 
ing of  bells.  At  an  early  hour  the  'Independent  Greens/  commanded 
by  Captain  Hugh  Brady,  formed  into  parade  order,  making  a  fine  ap- 
pearance, and  marched  through  the  principal  streets,  cheering  and  en- 
livening the  large  body  of  spectators,  whose  attention  appeared  to  be 
solely  drawn  to  their  skilful  rehearsals  of  military  tactics ;  and,  after 
spending  some  time  in  a  course  of  drilling,  joined  the  large  assembly, 
without  distinction  of  party  or  feeling,  under  the  organization  and  direc- 
tion of  John  McCrea,  Esq.,  president  of  the  day,  and  Samuel  B.  Bishop 
and  Colonel  Thomas  Wilkins,  marshals ;  when  they  proceeded  to  the 
court-house,  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  in  a  clear 
and  impressive  tone  by  L.  B.  Dunham,  Esq.,  after  which  David  S.  Deer- 
ing,  Esq.,  delivered  an  address  very  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  touch- 
ing with  point  and  pathos  upon  the  inducements  which  impelled  our 
fathers  to  raise  the  flag  of  war  against  the  mother- country.  The  com- 
pany then  formed  into  line,  and  proceeded  to  the  hotel  of  Mr.  George 
McLaughlin,  at  the  head  of  Main  Street,  where  they  sat  down  to  a  well- 
served,  delicious,  and  plentiful  repast,  the  ladies  forming  a  smiling  and 
interesting  '  platoon'  on  one  side  of  the  table,  which  added  much  to 
the  hilarity  of  the  celebration.  After  the  cloth  was  removed,  and  the 
president  and  committees  had  taken  their  seats,  a  number  of  toasts 
applicable  to  the  times,  and  as  varied  in  sentiment  as  the  ages  of  the  mul- 
titude, were  offered  and  read,  accompanied  by  repeated  cheering  and  a 
variety  of  airs  from  the  brass  band,  thus  passing  the  day  in  that  union 
and  harmony  so  characteristic  of  Americans.  It  was  indeed  a  '  Union 
celebration. ' 

542 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"VOLUNTEER  TOASTS. 

"  By  John  McCrea.  Our  Brookville  celebration  :  a  union  of  parties,  a 
union  of  feeling,  the  union  established  by  our  Revolutionary  fathers  of  '76. 
May  union  continue  to  mark  our  course  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

"  By  W.  W.  Corbett.  Liberty,  regulated  by  law,  and  law  by  the 
virtues  of  American  legislators. 

"By  William  B.  Wilkins.  Henry  Clay:  a  man  of  tried  principles, 
of  admitted  competency,  and  unsullied  integrity,  may  he  be  the  choice  of 
the  people  for  the  next  Presidency  in  1844. 

"  By  Evans  R.  Brady.  The  Democrats  of  the  Erie  district :  a.  form, 
locked  up  in  the  chase  of  disorganization  ;  well  squabbled  at  one  side  by 
the  awkward  formation  of  the  district.  If  not  locked  tight  by  the  side- 
sticks  of  regular  nominations,  well  driven  by  the  quoins  of  unity,  and 
knocked  in  by  the  sheep' 's  foot  of  pure  principles,  it  will  be  battered^  the 
points  of  whiggery,  bit  by  the  frisket  of  self  interest ;  and  when  the  fore- 
man comes  to  lift  it  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October,  will  stand  a  fair 
chance  to  be  knocked  into  pi 

"By  Michael  Woods.  Richard  M.  Johnston,  of  Kentucky :  a  states- 
man who  has  been  long  and  thoroughly  tried  and  never  found  wanting. 
His  nomination  for  the  next  Presidency  will  still  the  angry  waves  of  politi- 
cal strife,  and  the  great  questions  which  now  agitate  the  nation  will  be 
settled  upon  democratic  principles. 

"  By  Hugh  Brady.  The  citizens  of  Jefferson  County :  they  have 
learned  their  political  rights  by  experience ;  let  them  practise  the  lesson 
with  prudence. 

"By  B.  T.  Hastings.  The  Hon.  James  Buchanan:  the  Jefferson  of 
Pennsylvania  and  choice  for  the  Presidency  in  1844.  His  able  and 
manly  course  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  all  intricate  and  important 
subjects  entitles  him  to  the  entire  confidence  and  support  of  the  whole 
Democracy. 

"By  Andrew  Craig.  Henry  Clay:  a  worthy  and  honest  statesman, 
who  has  the  good  of  his  country  at  heart,  and  is  well  qualified  to  fill  the 
Presidential  chair. 

"  By  A.  Hutcheson.  American  independence  :  a  virtuous  old  maid, 
sixty-eight  years  old  to-day.  God  bless  her. 

"By  David  S.  Deering.  The  Declaration  of  Independence:  a  rich 
legacy,  bequeathed  us  by  our  ancestors.  May  it  be  transmitted  from 
one  generation  to  another  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

"  By  the  company.  The  orator  of  the  day,  David  S.  Deering  :  may 
his  course  through  life  be  as  promising  as  his  commencement. 

"  By  D.  S.  Deering.  The  mechanics  of  Brookville  :  their  structures 
are  enduring  monuments  of  skill,  industry,  and  perseverance. 

"  By  George  F.  Humes.  The  American  Union :  a  well  adjusted 

543 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

form  of  twenty-six  pages,  fairly  locked  up  in  the  chase  of  precision  by  the 
quoins  of  good  workmen.  May  their  proof-sheets  be  well  pointed  and 
their  regular  impressions  a  perfect  specimen  for  the  world  to  look  upon. 

"By  John  Hastings.  James  Buchanan:  the  able  defender  of  the 
rights  of  the  people  and  the  high  wages  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in 
1844.  His  elevation  to  that  post  is  now  without  a  doubt." 

In  1840  the  mails  were  carried  on  horseback  or  in  stage-coaches. 
Communications  of  news,  business,  or  affection  were  slow  and  uncertain. 
There  were  no  envelopes  for  letters.  Each  letter  had  to  be  folded  so  as 
to  leave  the  outside  blank  and  one  side  smooth,  and  the  address  was 
written  on  this  smooth  side.  Letters  were  sealed  with  red  wafers,  and 
the  postage  was  six  and  a  quarter  cents  for  every  hundred  miles,  or  frac- 
tion thereof,  over  which  it  was  carried  in  the  mails.  The  postage  on  a 
letter  to  Philadelphia  was  eighteen  and  three-quarter  cents,  or  three  "fip- 
penny  bits."  You  could  mail  your  letter  without  prepaying  the  postage 
(a  great  advantage  to  economical  people),  or  you  could  prepay  it  at  your 
option.  Postage-stamps  were  unknown.  When  you  paid  the  postage  the 
postmaster  stamped  on  the  letter  "  Paid."  When  the  postage  was  to  be 
paid  by  the  person  addressed,  the  postmaster  marked  on  it  the  amount 
due,  thus:  "Due,  6^(  cents." 

In  1840  nearly  half  of  our  American  people  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  and  less  than  half  of  them  had  the  opportunity  or  inclination  to 
do  so.  Newspapers  were  small  affairs,  and  the  owners  of  them  were  poor 
and  their  business  unprofitable. 

The  candles  used  in  our  houses  were  either  "dips"  or  "moulds." 
The  "dips"  were  made  by  twisting  and  doubling  a  number  of  cotton 
wicks  upon  a  round,  smooth  stick  at  a  distance  from  each  other  of  about 
the  desired  thickness  of  the  candle.  Then  they  were  dipped  into  a  kettle 
of  melted  tallow,  when  the  ends  of  the  sticks  were  hung  on  the  backs  of 
chairs  to  cool.  The  dipping  and  cooling  process  was  thus  repeated  till 
the  "dips"  attained  the  proper  thickness.  This  work  was  done  after  the 
fall  butchering.  "  Moulds"  were  made  in  tin  or  pewter  tubes,  two,  four, 
six,  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  in  a  frame,  joined  together,  the  upper  part  of 
the  frame  forming  a  trough,  into  which  the  moulds  opened,  and  from 
which  they  received  the  melted  tallow.  To  make  the  candles,  as  many 
wicks  as  there  were  tubes  were  doubled  over  a  small  round  stick  placed 
across  the  top  of  the  frame,  and  these  wicks  were  passed  down  through 
the  tubes  and  fastened  at  the  lower  end.  Melted  tallow  was  poured  into 
the  trough  at  the  top  till  all  the  tubes  were  filled.  The  moulds  were 
usually  allowed  to  stand  overnight  before  the  candles  were  "drawn." 
The  possession  of  a  set  of  candle-moulds  by  a  family  was  an  evidence  of 
some  wealth.  These  candles  were  burned  in  "candlesticks,"  made  of 
tin,  iron,  or  brass,  and  each  one  had  a  broad,  flat  base,  turned  up  around 
the  rim  to  catch  the  grease.  Sometimes,  when  the  candle  was  exposed 

544 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

to  a  current  of  air,  it  would  "gutter"  all  away.  A  pair  of  "snuffers," 
made  of  iron  or  brass,  was  a  necessary  article  in  every  house,  and  had  to 
be  used  frequently  to  cut  away  the  charred  or  burned  wick.  Candles 
sold  in  the  stores  at  twelve  to  fifteen  cents  per  pound.  One  candle  was 
the  number  usually  employed  to  read  or  write  by,  and  two  were  generally 
deemed  sufficient  to  light  a  store, — one  to  carry  around  to  do  the  selling 
by,  and  the  other  to  stand  on  the  desk  to  do  the  charging  by. 

Watches  were  rare,  and  clocks  were  not  numerous  in  1840.  The 
watches  I  remember  seeing  in  those  days  were  "  English  levers"  and 
"cylinder  escapements,"  with  some  old  "bull's-eyes."  The  clocks  in 
use  were  of  the  eight-day  sort,  with  works  of  wood,  run  by  weights 
instead  of  springs.  Along  in  the  forties  clocks  with  brass  works,  called 
the  "brass  clock,"  came  into  use.  A  large  majority  of  people  were 
without  "  time  pieces."  Evening  church  services  were  announced  thus  : 

"There  will  be  preaching  in  this  house  on evening,  God  willing, 

and  no  preventing  providence,  at  early  candle-lighting." 

In  1840  the  judge  of  our  court  was  Alexander  McCalmont,  of  Frank- 
lin, Venango  County.  Our  associate  judges  from  1841  to  1843  were 
James  Winslow  and  James  L.  Gillis.  Our  local  or  home  lawyers  were 
Hugh  Brady,  Cephas  J.  Dunham,  Benjamin  Bartholomew,  Caleb  A. 
Alexander,  L.  B.  Dunham,  Richard  Arthurs,  Elijah  Heath,  D.  B.  Jenks, 
Thomas  Lucas,  D.  S.  Deering,  S.  B.  Bishop,  and  Jesse  G.  Clark.  Many 
eminent  lawyers  from  adjoining  counties  attended  our  courts  regularly 
at  this  period.  They  usually  came  on  horseback,  and  brought  their 
papers,  etc.,  in  large  leather  saddle-bags.  Most  of  these  foreign  lawyers 
were  very  polite  gentlemen,  and  very  particular  not  to  refuse  a  "  drink." 

Moses  Knapp,  Sr.,  was  our  pioneer  court  crier.  Elijah  Graham  was 
our  second  court  crier,  but  I  think  Cyrus  Butler  served  in  this  capacity 
in  1840. 

In  1840  there  was  no  barber-shop  in  the  town.  The  tailors  then  cut 
hair,  etc.,  for  the  people  as  an  accommodation.  My  mother  used  to  send 
me  for  that  purpose  to  McCreight's  tailor-shop.  The  first  barber  to 
locate  in  Brookville  was  a  colored  man  named  Nathan  Smith.  He  bar- 
bered  and  ran  a  confectionery  and  oyster  saloon.  He  lived  here  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  finally  turned  preacher  and  moved  away.  Some 
high  old  times  occurred  in  his  back  room  which  I  had  better  not  men- 
tion here.  He  operated  'on  the  Major  Rodgers  lot,  now  the  Eddleblute 
property. 

Then  "Hollow  Eve,"  as  it  was  called,  was  celebrated  regularly  on 
the  night  of  October  31  of  every  year.  The  amount  of  malicious  mis- 
chief and  destruction  done  on  that  evening  in  Brookville,  and  patiently 
suffered  and  overlooked,  is  really  indescribable.  The  Presidential  con- 
test in  1840,  between  Harrison,  Whig,  and  Van  Buren,  Democrat,  was 
perhaps  the  most  intense  and  bitter  ever  known  in  this  nation. 

545 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  first  exclusively  drug-store  in  Brookville  was  opened  and  managed 
by  D.  S.  Deering,  Esq.,  in  1848.  It  was  located  in  a  building  where 
McKnight  &  Brothers'  building  now  stands,  on  the  spot  where  McKnight 
&  Son  carry  on  their  drug  business.  The  first  exclusively  grocery-store  in 
Brookville  was  opened  and  owned  by  W.  W.  Corbett,  and  was  located  in 
the  east  room  of  the  American  Hotel.  The  first  exclusively  hardware- 
store  in  the  town  was  opened  and  owned  by  John  S.  King,  now  of  Clear  - 
field,  Pennsylvania.  Brookville  owes  much  to  the  sagacity  of  Mr.  King 
for  our  beautiful  cemetery. 

In  the  forties  the  boring  of  pitch-pine  into  pump-logs  was  quite  a 
business  in  Brookville.  One  of  the  first  persons  to  work  at  this  was 
Charles  P.  Merriman,  who  moved  here  from  the  East.  By  the  way,  Mer- 
riman  was  the  greatest  snare-drummer  I  ever  heard.  He  also  manufac- 
tured and  repaired  drums  while  here.  He  had  a  drum-beat  peculiarly 
his  own,  and  with  it  he  could  drown  out  a  whole  band.  He  introduced 
his  beat  by  teaching  drumming -schools.  It  is  the  beat  of  the  Bowdishes, 
the  Bartletts,  and  the  Schnells.  It  consists  of  single  and  double  drags. 
I  never  heard  this  beat  in  the  army  or  in  any  other  locality  than  here, 
and  only  from  persons  who  had  directly  or  indirectly  learned  it  from  Mer- 
riman. Any  old  citizen  can  verify  the  marvellous  and  wonderful  power 
and  skill  of  Merriman  with  a  drum.  No  pupil  of  his  here  ever  approached 
him  in  skill.  The  nearest  to  him  was  the  late  Captain  John  Bowling, 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  It 
was  the  custom  then  for  the  different  bands  in  the  surrounding  townships 
to  attend  the  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  in  Brookville.  The  Monger 
band,  father  and  sons,  from  Warsaw  township,  used  to  come.  They  had 
a  peculiar  open  beat  that  old  Mr.  Monger  called  the  1812  beat.  The 
Belleview  band  came  also.  It  was  the  Campbell  band,  father  and  sons. 
Andrew  C.  and  James  (1895),  after  going  through  the  war,  are  still  able 
on  our  public  occasions  to  enliven  us  with  martial  strains.  The  Lucas 
band,  from  Dowlingville,  also  visited  us  in  the  forties.  Brookville  had 
a  famous  fifer  in  the  person  of  Harvey  Clover.  He  always  carried  an 
extra  fife  in  his  pocket,  because  he  was  apt  to  burst  one.  When  he 
"  blowed"  the  fife  you  would  have  thought  the  devil  was  in  it  sure. 

In  1847  th6  town  had  water-works,  the  enterprise  of  Judge  Jared  B. 
Evans.  The  Spring  that  furnished  the  water  was  what  is  now  known  as 
the  American  Spring.  The  conduit-pipes  were  'bored  yellow-pine  logs, 
and  the  plant  was  quite  expensive,  but  owing  to  some  trouble  about  the 
tannery,  which  stood  on  the  spot  where  the  American  barn  now  stands, 
the  water-plant  was  destroyed.  Judge  Evans  was  a  useful  citizen.  He 
died  some  three  years  ago. 

In  1840  the  church  collection  was  either  taken  up  in  a  hat  with  a 
handkerchief  in  it  or  in  a  little  bag  attached  to  a  pole. 

H.  Clay  Campbell,  Esq.,  has  kindly  furnished  me  the  legal  rights  of 

546 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

married  women  in  Pennsylvania  from  1840  until  the  present  date.  The 
common  law  was  adopted  by  Pennsylvania,  and  has  governed  all  rights 
except  those  which  may  have  been  modified  from  time  to  time  by  statute. 
Blackstone's  Commentaries,  Book  I.,  page  442,  says,  "By  marriage,  the 
husband  and  wife  are  one  person  in  law ;  that  is,  the  very  being  or  legal 
existence  of  the  woman  is  suspended  during  the  marriage,  or  at  least  is 
incorporated  and  consolidated  into  that  of  her  husband,  under  whose 
wing,  protection,  and  cover  she  performs  everything." 

You  see  the  rights  surrendered  by  a  woman  marrying  under  the  com- 
mon law  were  two :  First,  the  right  to  make  a  contract ;  secondly,  tfie 
right  to  property  and  her  own  earnings.  To  compensate  for  this  she 
acquired  one  right, — the  right  to  be  chastised.  For  as  the  husband  was  to 
answer  for  her  misbehavior,  the  law  thought  it  reasonable  to  intrust  him 
with  the  power  of  restraining  her,  by  domestic  chastisement,  with  the 
same  moderation  that  a  man  is  allowed  to  correct  his  apprentice  or  his 
children. 

In  1840  married  women  had  no  right  to  the  property  bequeathed  to 
them  by  their  parents,  unless  it  was  put  into  the  hands  of  a  trustee,  and 
by  marriage  the  husband  became  the  immediate  and  absolute  owner  of 
the  personal  property  of  the  wife  which  she  had  in  possession  at  the  time 
of  marriage,  and  this  property  could  never  again  revert  to  the  wife  or 
her  representatives.  She  could  acquire  no  personal  property  during 
marriage  by  industry,  and  if  she  obtained  any  by  gift  or  otherwise, 
it  became  immediately  by  and  through  the  law  the  property  of  her  hus- 
band. This  condition  prevailed  until  the  passage  of  an  act,  dated 
nth  of  April,  1848,  which  in  some  slight  degree  modified  this  injustice 
of  the  common  law.  By  that  act  it  was  provided  that  all  property  which 
belonged  to  her  before  marriage,  as  well  as  all  that  might  accrue  to  her 
afterwards,  should  remain  her  property.  Then  came  another  modifica- 
tion by  the  act  of  1855,  which  provided,  among  other  things,  that  "  when- 
ever a  husband,  from  drunkenness,  profligacy,  or  other  cause,  shall 
neglect  or  refuse  to  provide  for  his  wife,  she  shall  have  the  rights  and 
privileges  secured  to  z.femme-sole  trader  under  the  act  of  1718."  Modi- 
fications have  been  made  from  year  to  year,  granting  additional  privi- 
leges to  a  wife  to  manage  her  own  property,  among  which  may  be  noted 
the  act  of  1871,  enabling  her  to  sell  and  transfer  shares  of  the  stock  of  a 
railroad  company.  By  the  act  of  May,  1874,  she  may  draw  checks  upon 
a  bank.  During  all  these  years  of  enlightenment  the  master  has  still 
held  the  wife  in  the  toils  of  bondage,  and  it  was  with  great  grudging  that 
he  acknowledged  that  a  married  woman  had  the  right  to  claim  anything. 
The  right  to  the  earnings  of  the  wife  received  its  first  modification  when 
the  act  of  April,  1872,  was  passed,  which  granted  to  the  wife,  if  she 
went  into  court,  and  the  court  granted  her  petition,  the  right  to  claim 
her  earnings.  But  legally  the  wife  remained  the  most  abject  of  slaves 

547 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

until  the  passage  of  the  "married  woman's  personal  property  act"  of 
1887,  giving  and  granting  to  her  the  right  to  contract  and  acquire  prop- 
erty ;  and  it  was  not  until  1893  tnat  sne  was  granted  the  same  rights  as 
an  unmarried  woman,  excepting  as  to  her  right  to  convey  her  real  estate, 
make  a  mortgage,  or  become  bail. 

The  higher  education  of  women  in  the  seminary  and  college  is  of 
American  origin,  and  in  1840  there  was  an  occasional  young  ladies'  semi- 
nary here  and  there  throughout  the  country.  These  isolated  institutions 
were  organized  and  carried  on  by  scattered  individuals  who  had  great 
persistency  and  courage.  Being  of  American  origin  its  greatest  progress 
has  been  here,  and  at  present  there  are  more  than  two  hundred  institu- 
tions for  the  superior  education  of  women  in  the  United  States,  and  fully 
one  half  of  these  bear  the  name  of  college.  The  women  who  graduate 
to-day  from  colleges  and  high  schools  outnumber  the  men,  and  as  a  result 
of  this  mental  discipline  and  training  women  are  now  found  throughout 
the  world  in  every  profession,  in  all  trades,  and  in  every  vocation. 

"  Preferring  sense  from  chin  that's  bare 
To  nonsense  'throned  in  whiskered  hair." 

Women  are  now  admitted  to  the  bar  in  nine  different  States  of  the 
Union,  and  by  an  act  of  Congress  she  may  now  practise  before  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court. 

In  1840  women  had  but  one  vocation  for  a  livelihood, — viz.,  marriage 
and  housekeeping.  Then  female  suffrage  was  unknown.  To-day  (1895) 
women  vote  on  an  equality  with  men  in  two  States,  Colorado  and 
Wyoming,  and  they  can  vote  in  a  limited  form  in  twenty  other  States 
and  Territories. 

In  1840  women  had  no  religious  rights.  She  did  not  dare  to  speak, 
teach,  or  pray  in  public,  and  if  she  desired  any  knowledge  in  this  direc- 
tion, she  was  admonished  to  ask  her  husband  at  home.  The  only  excep- 
tion I  know  to  this  rule  was  in  the  Methodist  Church,  which  from  its 
organization  has  recognized  the  right  of  women  to  teach,  speak  in  class- 
meetings,  and  to  pray  in  the  public  prayer-meeting. 

In  1840  women  had  no  industrial  rights.  I  give  below  a  little  ab- 
stract from  the  census  of  1880,  fourteen  years  ago,  which  will  show  what 
some  of  our  women  were  working  at  then  and  are  working  at  now. 

FEMALE   WORKERS. 

Artists,  2016  ;  authors,  320  ;  assayists,  chemists,  and  architects,  2136  ; 
barbers,  2902;  dress-makers,  281,928;  doctors,  2433;  journalists,  238; 
lawyers,  75  ;  musicians,  13,181  ;  preachers,  165  ;  printers,  3456;  tailors, 
52,098;  teachers,  194,375;  nurses,  12,294;  stock  raisers,  216;  farmers, 
56,809;  in  government  employ  as  clerks,  2171;  managing  commercial 
and  industrial  interests,  14,465.  And  now  in  1894  we  have  6000  post- 
548 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

mistresses,  10,500  women  have  secured  patents  for  inventions,  and 
300,000  women  are  in  gainful  occupations.  I  confess  that  this  statement 
looks  to  the  intelligent  mind  as  though  "  the  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle" 
will  soon  not  only  move  but  own  the  world. 

The  earliest  schools  established  by  the  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  were 
the  home  school,  the  church  school,  and  the  public  subscription  school, 
the  most  simple  and  primitive  in  style.  The  subscription  or  public  school 
remained  in  force  until  the  law  of  1809  was  enacted,  which  was  intended 
for  a  State  system,  and  which  provided  a  means  of  education  for  the 
poor,  but  retained  the  subscription  character  of  pay  for  the  rich.  This 
1809  system  remained  in  force  until  1834.  The  method  of  hiring 
"masters"  for  a  subscription  school  was  as  follows:  A  meeting  was 
called  by  public  notice  in  a  district.  At  this  gathering  the  people  chose, 
in  their  own  way,  three  of  their  number  to  act  as  a  school  committee. 
This  committee  hired  the  master  and  exercised  a  superintendence  over 
the  school.  The  master  was  paid  by  the  patrons  of  the  school  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  days  each  had  sent  a  child  to  school.  A  rate- 
bill  was  made  out  by  the  master  and  given  to  the  committee,  who  col- 
lected the  tuition-money  and  paid  it  to  the  master.  The  terms  of  these 
schools  were  irregular,  but  usually  were  for  three  months. 

The  studies  pursued  were  spelling,  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 
The  daily  programme  was  two  or  four  reading  lessons,  two  spelling  les- 
sons,— one  at  noon  and  one  at  evening, — the  rest  of  the  time  being  de- 
voted to  writing  and  doing  "sums"  in  arithmetic.  It  was  considered  at 
that  time  (and  even  as  late  as  my  early  schooling)  that  it  was  useless  and 
foolish  for  a  girl  to  learn  more  at  school  than  to  spell,  read,  and  write. 
Of  course  there  was  no  uniformity  in  text-books.  The  child  took  to  the 
school  whatever  book  he  had,  hence  there  was,  and  could  be,  no  classifi- 
cation. Black-boards  were  unknown.  When  any  information  was  wanted 
about  a  "  sum,"  the  scholar  either  called  the  master  or  took  his  book  and 
went  to  him. 

The  first  school-master  in  Jefferson  County  was  John  Dixon.  His  first 
term  was  for  three  months,  and  was  in  the  year  1803  or  1804.  The  first 
school-house  was  built  on  the  Ridgway  road,  two  miles  from  Brookville, 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  D.  B.  McConnell.  I  give  Professor  Blose's 
description  of  this  school-house  : 

"  The  house  was  built  of  rough  logs,  and  had  neither  window-sash 
nor  pane.  The  light  was  admitted  through  chinks  in  the  wall,  over  which 
greased  paper  was  pasted.  The  floor  was  made  with  puncheons,  and  the 
seats  from  broad  pieces  split  from  logs,  with  pins  in  the  under  side,  for 
legs.  Boards  laid  on  pins  fastened  in  the  wall  furnished  the  pupils  with 
writing-desks.  A  log  fireplace,  the  entire  length  of  one  end,  supplied 
warmth  when  the  weather  was  cold." 

The  era  of  these  log  school- houses  in  Jefferson  County  is  gone,— gone 

549 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

forever.  We  have  now  (1895)  school  property  to  the  value  of  $269,300. 
We  have  196  modern  school-houses,  with  262  school-rooms,  295  schools, 
and  the  Bible  is  read  in  251  of  these.  There  is  no  more  master 's  call  in 
the  school-room,  but  we  have  131  female  and  149  male  teachers, — a  total 
of  280  teachers  in  the  county.  The  average  yearly  term  is  six  and  a  half 
months.  The  average  salary  for  male  teachers  is  $39  50,  and  for  female 
teachers,  $33.  Total  wages  received  by  teachers  each  year,  $64,913.20. 
Number  of  female  scholars,  5839  ;  number  of  male  scholars,  6073.  The 
amount  of  tax  levied  for  school  purposes  is  $56,688.23.  Received  by 
county  from  State  appropriation,  $42,759.72. 

The  act  of  1809  made  it  the  duty  of  assessors  to  receive  the  names  of 
all  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twelve  years  whose  parents  were 
unable  to  pay  for  their  schooling,  and  these  poor  children  were  to  be 
educated  by  the  county.  This  law  was  very  unpopular,  and  the  schools 
did  not  prosper.  The  rich  were  opposed  to  this  law  because  they  paid 
all  the  tax-bills,  and  the  poor  were  opposed  to  it  because  it  created  a 
"  caste"  and  designated  them  as  paupers.  However,  it  remained  in  force 
for  about  twenty-five  years,  and  during  this  period  the  fight  over  it  at 
elections  caused  many  strifes,  feuds,  and  bloody  noses.  This  was  the 
first  step  taken  by  the  State  to  evolve  our  present  free-school  system. 
The  money  to  pay  for  the  education  of  these  "pauper"  children  was 
drawn  from  the  county  in  this  way:  "The  assessor  of  each  borough  or 
township  returned  the  names  of  such  indigent  children  to  the  county 
commissioners,  and  then  an  order  was  drawn  by  the  commissioners  on 
the  county  treasurer  for  the  tuition-money." 

One  of  the  most  desirable  qualifications  in  the  early  school -master 
was  courage,  and  willingness  and  ability  to  control  and  flog  boys.  Physi- 
cal force  was  the  governing  power,  and  the  master  must  possess  it.  Never- 
theless, many  of  the  early  masters  were  men  of  intelligence,  refinement, 
and  scholarship.  As  a  rule,  the  Scotch-Irish  master  was  of  this  class. 
Goldsmith  describes  the  old  master  well :  .  . 

"  He  was  kindly,  and  if  severe  in  aught, 
The  love  he  bore  to  learning  was  in  fault. 
The  village  all  declared  how  much  he  knew, 
'Twas  certain  he  could  write  and  cipher,  too. 
In  arguing  the  parson  owned  his  skill, 
For  e'en  though  vanquished  he  would  argue  still." 

The  government  of  the  early  masters  was  of  the  most  rigorous  kind. 
Perfect  quiet  had  to  be  maintained  in  the  school-room,  no  buzzing,  and 
the  punishment  for  supposed  or  real  disobedience,  inflicted  on  scholars 
before,  up  to,  and  even  in  my  time,  was  cruel  and  brutal.  One  punish- 
ment was  to  tie  scholars  up  by  the  thumbs,  suspending  them  in  this  way 
over  the  door.  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child"  was  the  master's 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

slogan.  Whippings  were  frequent,  severe,  and  sometimes  brutal.  Thorn, 
birch,  and  other  rods  were  kept  in  large  number  by  the  master.  Other 
and  milder  modes  of  punishment  were  in  vogue,  such  as  the  dunce-block, 
sitting  with  the  girls,  pulling  the  ears,  and  using  the  ferule  on  the  hands 
and  sometimes  on  the  part  of  the  body  on  which  the  scholar  sat. 

"  What  is  man, 

If  his  chief  good  and  market  for  his  time 
Be  but  to  sleep  and  feed?     A  beast,  no  more." 

In  1840  the  country  master  boarded  round  with  the  scholars,  and  he 
was  always  given  the  best  bed  in  the  house,  and  was  usually  fed  on  dough- 
nuts and  pumpkin -pie  at  every  meal.  He  called  the  school  to  order  by 
rapping  on  his  desk  with  his  ferule. 

During  the  twenty-five  years  of  the  existence  of  the  pauper  schools 
the  agitation  for  a  better  system  was  continually  kept  up  by  isolated  in- 
dividuals. This  was  done  in  various  ways, — at  elections,  in  toasts  to  a 
"  free-school  system"  at  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  and  in  conventions 
of  directors.  The  first  governor  who  took  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of  the 
common  schools  was  John  A.  Schultze.  He  advocated  it  in  his  message 
in  1828.  Governor  Wolf,  in  1833,  found  that  out  of  four  hundred  thou- 
sand school  children  of  the  legal  age,  twenty  thousand  attended  school, 
and  that  three  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  were  yearly  uninstructed. 
Therefore,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature,  he  strongly  recommended 
the  passage  of  a  law  to  remedy  this  state  of  affairs.  William  Audenreid, 
a  senator  from  Schuylkill  County,  introduced  a  bill  during  the  session 
of  the  Legislature  of  1833,  which  became  what  is  known  as  the  school 
law  of  1834, — the  establishment  of  the  common-school  system.  Our 
second  State  superintendent  of  public  instruction  was  appointed  under 
this  law.  His  name  was  Thomas  H.  Burrowes.  The  first  State  aid  for 
schools  in  Jefferson  County  was  in  1835,  and  through  Mr.  Burrowes.  The 
amount  received  was  one  hundred  and  four  dollars  and  ninety-four  cents. 

"  Barring  the  master  out"  of  the  school-room  on  Christmas  and  New 
Year's  was  a  custom  in  vogue  in  1840.  The  barring  was  always  done  by 
four  or  five  determined  boys.  The  contest  between  the  master  and  these 
scholars  was  sometimes  severe  and  protracted,  the  master  being  deter- 
mined to  get  into  the  school-room  and  these  boys  determined  to  keep 
him  out.  The  object  on  the  part  of  the  scholars  in  this  barring  out  was 
to  compel  the  master  to  treat  the  school.  If  the  master  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  school-room,  by  force  or  strategy,  he  generally  gave  the  boys 
a  sound  flogging,  but  if  the  boys  "  held  the  fort,"  it  resulted  in  negotia- 
tions for  peace,  and  in  the  master  eventually  signing  an  agreement  in 
writing  to  treat  the  school  to  apples,  nuts,  or  candy.  It  took  great  nerve 
on  the  part  of  the  boys  to  take  this  stand  against  a  master.  I  know  this, 
as  I  have  been  active  in  some  of  these  contests. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  1840  a  woman  could  teach  an  A,  B,  C,  or  "a-b  ab,"  school  in 
summer,  but  the  man  that  desired  to  teach  a  summer  school  was  a  lazy, 
worthless,  good-for-nothing  fellow.  Cyrus  Crouch  taught  the  first  term 
in  Brookville  under  the  common  school  law  of  1834. 

In  the  forties  the  school-books  in  use  were  the  New  England  Primer, 
Webster's  Spelling- Book,  Cobb's  Spelling-Book,  the  English  Reader, 
the  New  England  Reader,  the  Testament  and  Bible,  the  Malte  Braun 
Geography,  Olney's  Geography,  Pike's  Arithmetic,  the  Federal  Calcula- 
tor, the  Western  Calculator,  Murray's  Grammar,  Kirkham's  Grammar, 
and  Walker's  Dictionary.  A  scholar  who  had  gone  through  the  single 
rule  of  three  in  the  Western  Calculator  was  considered  educated.  Our 
present  copy-books  were  unknown.  A  copy-book  was  then  made  of  six 
sheets  of  foolscap- paper  stitched  together.  The  copies  were  set  by  the 
master  after  school  hours,  at  which  time  he  usually  made  and  mended  the 
school  pens  for  the  next  day.  Our  pens  were  made  of  goose-quills,  and 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  master  to  teach  each  scholar  how  to  make  or  mend 
a  goose  quill  pen.  One  of  the  chief  delights  of  a  mischievous  boy  in 
those  days  was  to  keep  a  master  busy  mending  his  pens. 

The  first  school-house  in  Brookville  that  I  recollect  of  was  a  little  brick 
on  the  alley  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  American  Hotel  lot.  Mrs.  Pearl 
Roundy  was  the  first  teacher  that  I  went  to.  She  taught  in  this  house. 
She  was  much  beloved  by  the  whole  town.  I  afterwards  went  to  Hamlin 
and  others  in  this  same  house. 

When  the  first  appropriation  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  was 
made  by  our  State  for  the  common  schools,  a  debt  of  twenty- three  mil- 
lion dollars  rested  on  the  Commonwealth.  A  great  many  good,  conser- 
vative men  opposed  this  appropriation,  and  "predicted  bankruptcy  from 
this  new  form  of  extravagance."  But  the  great  debt  has  been  all  paid, 
the  expenses  of  the  war  for  the  Union  have  been  met,  and  now  (1895)  tne 
annual  appropriation  for  our  schools  has  been  raised  to  five  and  a  half 
million  dollars.  This  amount  due  the  schools  for  the  year  ending  June 
5,  1893,  was  all  paid  on  November  i,  1893,  and  our  State  treasurer  had 
deposits  still  left,  lying  idle,  in  forty-six  of  our  banks,  amounting  to  six 
and  a  half  million  dollars,  which  should  have  been  appropriated  for 
school  purposes  and  not  kept  lying  idle.  This  additional  appropriation 
would  have  greatly  relieved  the  people  from  oppressive  taxation  during 
these  hard  times. 

The  act  of  May  18,  1893,  completed  the  evolution  in  our  school  sys- 
tem from  the  early  home,  the  church,  the  subscription,  the  1809  pauper, 
the  1834  common,  into  the  now  people's  or  free  school  system. 

This  free  school  is  our  nation's  hope.  Our  great  manufacturing  inter- 
ests attract  immigrants  to  our  land  in  large  numbers,  and  to  thoroughly 
educate  their  children  and  form  in  them  the  true  American  mind,  and  to 
prevent  these  children  from  drifting  into  the  criminal  classes,  will  task  to 

552 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  utmost  all  the  energies,  privileges,  and  blessed  conditions  of  our 
present  free  schools.  In  our  free  schools  of  Pennsylvania  the  conditions 
are  now  equal.  The  child  of  the  millionaire,  the  mechanic,  the  widow, 
and  the  day  laborer  all  stand  on  the  same  plane.  We  have  now,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  our 'State,  in  addition  to  the  free  school- 
houses,  free  desks,  free  fuel,  free  black-boards,  free  maps,  free  teachers, 
free  books,  free  paper,  free  pens,  free  ink,  free  slates,  free  pencils,  free 
sponges,  and,  in  short,  free  schools. 

In  1840  our  houses  and  hotels  were  never  locked  at  night.  This  was 
from  carelessness,  or  perhaps  thought  to  be  unnecessary.  But  every 
store-window  was  provided  with  heavy  outside  shutters,  which  were  care- 
fully closed,  barred,  or  locked  every  night  in  shutting  up. 

Then  every  merchant  in  Brookville  was  forced,  as  a  matter  of  protec- 
tion, to  subscribe  for  and  receive  a  weekly  bank-note  detecter.  These 
periodicals  were  issued  to  subscribers  for  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a 
year.  This  journal  gave  a  weekly  report  of  all  broken  banks,  the  dis- 
count on  all  good  bank-notes,  as  well  as  points  for  the  detection  of  coun- 
terfeit notes  and  coin.  The  coin  department  in  the  journal  had  wood- 
cut pictures  of  all  the  foreign  and  native  silver  and  gold  coins,  and  also 
gave  the  value  of  each. 

Money  was  scarce  then,  and  merchants  were  compelled  to  sell  their 
goods  on  credit,  and  principally  for  barter.  The  commodities  that  were 
exchanged  for  in  Brookville  stores  were  boards,  shingles,  square  timber, 
wheat,  rye,  buckwheat,  flaxseed,  clover-seed,  timothy-seed,  wool,  rags, 
beeswax,  feathers,  hickory-nuts,  chestnuts,  hides,  deer-pelts,  elderberries, 
furs,  road  orders,  school  and  county  orders,  eggs,  butter,  tow  cloth,  linen 
cloth,  axe-handles,  rafting  bows  and  pins,  rafting  grubs,  maple-sugar  in 
the  spring,  and  oats  after  harvest. 

In  those  days  everybody  came  to  court,  either  on  business  or  to  see 
and  be  seen.  Tuesday  was  the  big  day.  The  people  came  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot.  We  had  no  book-store  in  town,  and  a  man  named 
Ingram,  from  Meadville,  came  regularly  every  court  and  opened  up  his 
stock  in  the  bar-room  of  a  hotel.  An  Irishman  by  the  name  of  Hugh 
Miller  came  in  the  same  way,  and  opened  his  jewelry  and  spectacles  in 
the  hotel  bar-room.  This  was  the  time  for  insurance  agents  to  visit  our 
town.  Robert  Thorn  was  the  first  insurance  agent  who  came  here,  at 
least  to  my  knowledge. 

In  1840  every  store  in  town  kept  pure  Monongahela  whiskey  in  a 
bucket,  either  on  or  behind  the  counter,  with  a  tin  cup  in  or  over  the 
bucket  for  customers  to  drink  free  of  charge,  early  and  often.  Every 
store  sold  whiskey  by  the  gallon.  Our  merchants  kept  chip  logwood  by 
the  barrel,  and  kegs  of  madder,  alum,  cobalt,  copperas,  indigo,  etc.,  for 
women  to  use  in  coloring  their  homespun  goods.  Butternuts  were  used 
by  the  women  to  dye  brown,  peach-leaves  or  smartweed  for  yellow,  and 
6  553 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

cobalt  for  purple.  Men's  and  women's  clothing  consisted  principally  of 
homespun,  and  homespun  underwear.  Men  and  boys  wore  warmusses, 
roundabouts,  and  pants  made  of  flannels,  buckskin,  Kentucky  jean,  blue 
drilling,  tow,  linen,  satinet,  bed-ticking,  and  corduroy,  with  coon-skin, 
seal-skin,  and  cloth  caps,  and  in  summer  oat-straw  or  chip  hats.  The 
dress  suit  was  a  blue  broadcloth  swallow-tail  coat  with  brass  buttons,  and 
a  stove-pipe  hat.  "Galluses"  were  made  of  listing,  bed-ticking,  or  knit 
of  woollen  yarn.  Women  wore  barred  flannel,  linsey-woolsey,  tow,  and 
linen  dresses.  Six  or  eight  yards  of  "  Dolly  Varden"  calico  made  a 
superb  Sunday  dress.  Calico  sold  then  for  fifty  cents  a  yard.  Every 
home  had  a  spinning-wheel,  some  families  had  two, — a  big  one  and  a 
little  one.  Spinning-parties  were  in  vogue,  the  women  taking  their  wheels 
to  a  neighbor's  house,  remaining  for  supper,  and  after  supper  going  home 
with  their  wheels  on  their  arms.  Wool- carding  was  then  done  by  hand 
and  at  home.  Every  neighborhood  had  several  weavers,  and  they  wove 
for  customers  at  so  much  per  yard. 

About  1840,  Brookville  had  a  hatter, — John  Wynkoop.  He  made 
what  was  called  wool  hats.  Those  that  were  high- crowned  or  stove-pipe 
were  wreath-bound  with  some  kind  of  fur,  perhaps  rabbit-fur.  These 
hatters  were  common  in  those  days.  The  sign  was  a  stove-pipe  hat  and 
a  smoothing-iron.  There  was  a  standing  contest  between  the  tailors, 
hatters,  and  printers  in  drinking  whiskey  (doctors  barred). 

Then,  too,  coopers  were  common  in  every  town.  These  coopers 
made  tubs,  buckets,  and  barrels,  all  of  which  were  bound  with  hickory 
hoops.  Ours  was  a  Mr.  Hewitt.  His  shop  was  on  the  alley,  rear  of  the 
Commercial  Hotel  lot.  These  are  now  two  lost  industries. 

In  1840  there  was  but  one  dental  college  in  the  world, — the  Baltimore 
College  of  Dental  Surgery,  established  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1839, 
— the  first  dental  college  ever  started.  Up  to  and  in  that  day  dentistry 
was  not  a  science,  for  it  was  practised  as  an  addenda  by  the  blacksmith, 
barber,  watch-maker,  and  others.  In  the  practice  no  anatomical  or  sur- 
gical skill  was  required.  It  was  something  that  required  muscular  strength 
and  manual  dexterity  in  handling  the  "  turnkey."  With  such  a  clumsy, 
rude  condition  of  dentistry,  is  it  any  wonder  that  Tom  Moore  wrote  these 

lines  ? 

"  What  pity,  blooming  girl,  that  lips  so  ready  for  a  lover, 
Should  not  beneath  their  ruby  casket  cover  one  tooth  of  pearl, 
But  like  a  rose  beneath  a  churchyard  stone, 
Be  doomed  to  blush  o'er  many  a  mouldering  bone." 

All  the  great  discoveries  and  improvements  in  the  science  and  art  of 
dentistry  as  it  is  to-day  are  American.  Dentistry  stands  an  American  in- 
stitution, not  only  beautified,  but  almost  perfected  upon  a  firm  pedestal, 
a  most  noble  science.  Through  the  invention,  by  Charles  W.  Peale,  of 
Philadelphia,  of  porcelain  teeth,  our  molars  shall  henceforth  be  white  as 

554 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

milk.     If  Moore  lived  to-day,  under  the  condition  of  American  dentistry, 
he  might  well  exclaim,  in  the  language  of  Akenside, — 

"  What  do  I  kiss  ?     A  woman's  mouth, 
Sweeter  than  the  spiced  winds  from  the  south." 

In  1 796,  when  Andrew  Barnett  trod  on  the  ground  where  Brookville 
now  stands,  slavery  existed  throughout  all  Christendom.  Millions  of 
men,  women,  and  children  were  held  in  the  legal  condition  of  horses  and 
cattle.  Worse  than  this,  the  African  slave-trade — a  traffic  so  odious  and 
so  loudly  reproved  and  condemned  by  the  laws  of  religion  and  of  nature — 
was  carried  on  as  a  legal  right  by  slave-dealers  in  and  from  every  Chris- 
tian nation.  The  horror  with  which  this  statement  of  facts  must  strike 
you  is  only  proof  that  the  love  of  gold  and  the  power  of  evil  in  the  world 
is  most  formidable.  The  African  slave-trade  was  declared  illegal  and  un- 
lawful by  England  in  1806-7,  by  the  United  States  in  1808,  by  Denmark, 
Portugal,  and  Chili  in  1811,  by  Sweden  in  1813,  by  Holland  in  1814-15, 
by  France  in  1815,  and  by  Spain  in  1822. 

When  Andrew  Barnett  first  trod  the  ground  where  Brookville  now 
stands  the  curse  of  slavery  rested  on  Pennsylvania,  for  in  that  year  three 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven  human  beings  were  considered 
"  property"  within  her  borders  and  held  as  slaves. 

"Chains  him  and  tasks  him,  and  exacts  his  sweat 
With  stripes,  that  Mercy  with  a  bleeding  heart 
Weeps  when  she  sees  it  inflicted  on  a  beast." 

In  1840  slavery  still  existed  in  Pennsylvania,  the  total  number  being 
75,  distributed,  according  to  the  census  of  that  year,  as  follows:  Adams 
County,  2  ;  Berks,  2  ;  Cumberland,  25  ;  Lancaster,  2  ;  Philadelphia,  2  ; 
York,  i;  Greene,  i;  Juniata,  i;  Luzerne,  i;  Mifflin,  31;  Union,  3; 
Washington,  2;  Westmoreland,  i  ;  Fayette,  i. 

It  will  be  seen  there  was  no  slave  held  or  owned  in  Jefferson  County. 
There  is  not  to-day  a  slave  in  all  Christendom,  after  a  struggle  of  nearly 
two  thousand  years. 

"  Little  by  little  the  world  grows  strong, 
Fighting  the  battle  of  Right  and  Wrong. 
Little  by  little  the  Wrong  gives  way ; 
Little  by  little  the  Right  has  sway ; 
Little  by  little  the  seeds  we  sow 
Into  a  beautiful  yield  will  grow.^' 

In  1840,  according  to  the  census,  there  were  fifty-seven  colored  people 
and  no  slaves  in  Jefferson  County.  The  most  prominent  of  these  colored 
people  who  lived  in  and  around  Brookville  were  Charles  Sutherland, 
called  Black  Charley ;  Charles  Anderson,  called  Yellow  Charley ;  John 

555 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Sweeney,  called  Black  John  ;  and  George  Hays,  the  fiddler.  Charles 
Sutherland  came  to  Jefferson  County  and  settled  near  Brookville  in  1812. 
He  came  from  Virginia,  and  was  said  to  have  held  General  Washington's 
horse  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  national  capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. He  was  a  very  polite  man,  a  hard  drinker,  reared  a  family,  and 
died  in  1852,  at  the  advanced  age  of  nearly  one  hundred  years. 

Charley  always  wore  a  stove-pipe  hat  with  a  colored  cotton  handker- 
chief in  it.  He  loafed  much  in  Clover's  store.  The  late  Daniel  Smith 
was  a  young  man  then,  and  clerked  in  this  store.  Mr.  Smith  in  his 
manhood  built  the  property  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Harry  Matson. 
Charley  Sutherland,  if  he  were  living  now,  would  make  a  good  Con- 
gressman, because  he  was  good  on  appropriations.  One  day  there  was 
no  one  in  the  store  but  Smith  and  Charley.  There  was  a  crock  of  eggs 
on  the  counter.  Smith  had  to  go  to  the  cellar,  and  left  the  store  in  the 
charge  of  Charley.  On  returning  he  glanced  in  the  direction  of  the 
eggs,  and  discovered  that  Charley  must  have  pilfered  about  a  dozen  of 
them.  Where  were  they?  He  surmised  they  must  be  in  Charley's  hat ; 
so  stepping  in  front  of  Sutherland,  he  brought  his  right  fist  heavily  down 
on  his  hat,  with  the  exclamation,  "  Why  the  h — -11  don't  you  wear  your 
hat  on  your  head?"  Much  to  the  amusement  of  Smith  and  the  discom- 
fort of  Sutherland,  the  blow  broke  all  the  eggs,  and  the  white  and  yellow 
contents  ran  down  over  Charley's  face  and  clothes,  making  a  striking 
contrast  with  his  sooty  black  face. 

The  lives  of  many  good  men  and  women  have  been  misunderstood 
and  clouded  by  the  thoughtless,  unkind  words  and  deeds  of  their  neigh- 
bors. Good  men  and  women  have  struggled  hard  and  long,  only  to  go 
down,  down,  poisoned  and  persecuted  all  their  days  by  the  venomous 
and  vicious  slanders  of  their  neighbors ;  while,  strange  to  say,  men  and 
women  who  are  guilty  of  all  the  vices  are  frequently  apologized  for,  re- 
spected, and  are  great  favorites  with  these  same  neighbors. 

Charles  Anderson,  or,  as  he  was  called,  "Yellow  Charley,"  came  to 
Brookville  in  May,  1831.  From  his  first  entry  into  the  town  until  his 
death  he  was  a  public  and  familiar  character,  a  kind  of  family  visitor.  He 
was  the  pioneer  coal  merchant.  He  was  the  first  man  to  mine,  transport, 
and  sell  coal  in  this  city.  He  mined  his  coal  on  what  is  now  the  John 
Matson  property,  opposite  Samuel  Truby's,  on  the  Sigel  road,  and  also  on 
the  Clements  farm.  He  dug  this  coal  from  the  spring  ravine  where  our 
school  building  receives  its  supply  of  water.  The  vein  of  this  mine  was 
about  two  feet  thick.  Anderson  stripped  the  earth  from  the  top  of  the 
vein,  dug  the  coal  fine,  and  transported  it  in  a  little,  old,  rickety  one- 
horse  wagon,  offering,  selling,  and  retailing  the  coal  at  each  family  door 
in  quantities  of  a  peck,  half-bushel,  and  bushel.  The  price  per  bushel  was 
twelve  and  a  half  cents,  or  an  eleven-penny  bit,  and  a  fippenny  bit  for  a  half- 
bushel.  I  had  a  free  pass  on  this  coal  line,  and  rode  on  it  a  great  deal. 

556 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

To  me  it  was  a  line  of  "speed,  safety,  and  comfort."  Anderson  was  a 
"  Soft  Coal  King,"  a  baron,  a  robber,  a  close  corporationist,  a  capitalist, 
and  a  monopolist.  He  managed  his  works  generally  so  as  to  avoid 
strikes,  etc.  Yet  he  had  to  assume  the  role  of  a  Pinkerton  or  a  coal 
policeman  at  one  time,  for  "there  was  some  litigation  over  the  owner- 
ship of  this  coal-bank,  and  Charley  took  his  old  flint-lock  musket  one 
day  and  swore  he  would  just  as  soon  die  in  the  coal-bank  as  any  other 
place.  He  held  the  fort,  too." 

Charley  was  a  greatly  abused  man.  Every  theft  and  nearly  all  out- 
lawry was  blamed  on  him.  Public  sentiment  and  public  clamor  were 
against  him.  He  tried  at  times  to  be  good,  attend  church,  etc.,  but  it 
availed  him  nothing,  for  he  would  be  so  coldly  received  as  to  force  him 
back  into  his  former  condition.  As  the  town  grew  and  other  parties 
became  engaged  in  mining  coal,  Charley  changed  his  business  to  that  of 
water-carrier,  and  hauled  in  his  one-horse  wagon  washing-  and  cooking- 
water  in  barrels  for  the  women  of  the  town.  He  continued  in  this  business 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1874.  In  early  days  he  lived  on  the 
lot  now  owned  by  Dr.  T.  C.  Lawson.  He  died  in  his  own  home,  near 
the  new  cemetery. 

It  is  unfortunate  enough  in  these  days  to  have  been  painted  black  by 
our  Creator,  but  in  1840  it  was  a  terrible  calamity.  A  negro  then  had 
no  rights  ;  he  was  nothing  but  a  "  d — d  nigger ;"  anybody  and  everybody 
had  a  right  to  abuse,  beat,  stone,  and  maltreat  him.  This  right,  too,  was 
pretty  generally  exercised.  I  have  seen  a  white  bully  deliberately  step 
up  in  front  of  a  negro,  in  a  public  street,  and  with  the  exclamation, 
"  Take  that,  you  d — d  nigger  !"  knock  him  down,  and  this,  too,  without 
any  cause,  word,  or  look  from  the  negro.  This  was  done  only  to  exhibit 
what  the  ruffian  could  do.  Had  the  negro,  even  after  this  outrage,  said 
a  word  in  his  own  defence,  the  cry  would  have  been  raised,  "  Kill  the 
d — d  nigger  !"  I  have  seen  negro  men  stoned  into  Red  Bank  Creek,  for 
no  crime,  by  a  band  of  young  ruffians.  I  have  seen  a  house  in  Brook- 
ville  borough,  occupied  by  negro  women  and  children,  stoned  until  every 
window  was  broken  and  the  door  mashed  in,  and  all  this  for  no  crime 
save  that  they  were  black.  It  used  to  make  my  blood  boil,  but  I  was 
too  little  to  even  open  my  mouth.  A  sorry  civilization  this,  was  it  not  ? 

The  accompanying  cut  represents  Brookville  as  I  first  recollect  it,— 
from  1840  to  1843, — a  town  of  shanties,  and  containing  a  population  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  people.  It  is  made  from  a  pencil  sketch  drawn  on 
the  ground  in  1840.  It  is  not  perfect,  like  a  photograph  would  make  it 
now.  To  understand  this  view  of  Main  Street,  imagine  yourself  in  the 
middle  of  the  pike  then,  street  now,  opposite  the  Union  or  McKinley 
Hotel,  and  looking  eastward.  The  first  thing  that  strikes  your  attention  is 
a  team  of  horses  hauling  a  stick  of  timber  over  a  newly  laid  hewed  log 
bridge.  This  bridge  was  laid  over  the  deep  gully  that  can  be  now  seen  in 

557 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

G.  B.  Carrier's  lot.  Looking  to  the  left  side  of  the  street,  the  first  build- 
ing, the  gable  end  of  which  you  see,  was  the  Presbyterian  church,  then  out- 
side of  the  west  line  of  the  borough.  The  next,  or  little  house,  was  Jimmie 
Lucas's  blacksmith  shop.  The  large  house  with  the  paling  fence  was  ,the 
residence  and  office  of  John  Gallagher,  Esq.,  and  is  now  the  Judge  Clark 
property.  The  next  house  was  east  of  Barnett  Street,  and  the  Peace  and 


Brookville,  1843. 


Poverty  Hotel.  East  of  this  hotel  you  see  the  residence  and  tailor-shop 
of  Benjamin  McCreight.  Then  you  see  a  large  two- story  house,  which 
stood  where  the  Commercial  Hotel  now  stands.  This  building  was 
erected  by  John  Clements,  and  was  known  as  the  Clements  property. 
Then  there  was  nothing  until  you  see  the  court-house,  with  its  belfry, 
standing  out,  two  stories  high,  bold  and  alone.  East  of  this  and  across 
Pickering  Street,  where  Harry  Matson  now  resides,  was  a  large  frame 
building,  occupied  by  James  Craig  as  a  store-room  for  cabinet  work. 
Rev.  Gara  Bishop  resided  here  for  a  long  time.  Next  to  this,  where 
Guyther  &  Henderson's  store  now  stands,  were  several  brick  business 
buildings  belonging  to  Charles  Evans.  Next  came  Major  William 
Rodgers's  store,  on  what  is  now  the  Edelblute  property.  Then  came  Jesse 
G.  Clark's  home ;  then  the  Jefferson  House  (Phil.  Allgeier's  house)  ;  and 
the  present  building  is  the  original,  but  somewhat  altered.  Then  across  the 
alley,  where  Gregg's  barber-shop  now  is,  was  the  Elkhorn,  or  Red  Lion 
Hotel,  kept  by  John  Smith,  who  was  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1840.  The 
next  house  was  on  the  Mrs.  Clements  property,  and  was  the  home  and 
blacksmith-shop  of  Isaac  Allen.  Then  came  the  Matson  row,  just  as  it 

558 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 

is  now  down  to  the  Brownlee  house,  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Mill 
Streets. 

Now  please  come  back  and  look  down  the  right-hand  side.  The 
first  building,  the  rear  end  of  which  only  can  be  seen  behind  the  tree, 
was  the  first  foundry  built  in  town.  It  stood  near  or  on  the  ground 
where  Fetzer's  brick  building  now  stands,  and  was  built  and  owned  by  a 
man  named  Coleman.  It  was  afterwards  the  Evans  foundry.  When  built 
it  was  outside  the  borough.  The  second  house,  with  the  gable  next  the 
street,  was  the  home  of  James  Corbett,  Esq.,  father  of  Colonel  Corbett, 
and  it  stood  where  the  gas-office  now  is.  The  next  and  large  building, 
with  the  gable-end  next  the  street,  was  called  the  James  Hall  Building, 
and  stood  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Bishop  Buildings.  This 
building  was  used  for  day-school  and  singing-school  purposes.  I  went  to 
day-school  here  to  Miss  Jane  Clark  then,  now  Mrs.  E.  H.  Darrah.  It 
was  also  used  by  a  man  named  Wynkoop,  who  made  beaver  hats.  The 
next  building  was  a  house  erected  by  a  Mr.  Sharpe,  and  was  located  on 
the  lot  west  of  where  the  National  Bank  of  Brookville  now  stands.  The 
building  having  the  window  in  the  gable-end  facing  you  was  the  Jack 
Building,  and  stood  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  McKnight  &  Son 
in  their  drug  business.  East  of  this,  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  R. 
M.  Matson's  brick,  stood  a  little  frame  building,  occupied  by  John 
Heath,  Jr.  It  cannot  be  seen.  East  and  across  Pickering  Street  you 
see  the  Franklin  House  and  its  sign.  Here  now  stands  the  Central 
Hotel  of  S.  B.  Arthurs.  East  of  the  Franklin  House,  but  not  distinctly 
shown  on  the  picture,  were  the  houses  of  Craig,  Waigley,  Thomas  M. 
Barr,  Levi  G.  Clover,  Mrs.  Mary  McKnight,  Snyder's  row,  and  Billy 
McCullough's  house  and  shop,  situate  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Mill 
Streets,  or  where  the  Baptist  church  now  stands. 

The  buildings  on  each  side  of  Pickering  Street,  east  of  the  court- 
house, you  will  see,  are  not  very  plain  or  distinct  on  the  picture. 


559 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CORNPLANTER — OUR  CHIEF — CHIEF  OF  THE  SENEGAS,  ONE  OF  THE  SIX 
NATIONS — BRIEF  HISTORY — SOME  SPEECHES — LIFE  AND  DEATH — MOSES 
KNAPP SAW-MILLS — JOHN  JONES. 

IN  the  year  1784  the  treaty  to  which  Cornplanter  was  a  party  was 
made  at  Fort  Stanwix,  ceding  the  whole  of  Northwestern  Pennsylvania  to 
the  Commonwealth,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  individual  reserve  to 
Cornplanter.  The  frontier,  however,  was  not  at  peace  for  some  years 
after  that,  nor,  indeed,  until  Wayne's  treaty  in  1795. 

Notwithstanding  his  bitter  hostility,  while  the  war  continued,  he  be- 
came the  fast  friend  of  the  United  States  when  once  the  hatchet  was 
buried.  His  sagacious  intellect  comprehended  at  a  glance  the  growing 
power  of  the  United  States,  and  the  abandonment  with  which  Great 
Britain  had  requited  the  fidelity  of  the  Senecas.  He  therefore  threw  all 
his  influence  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  now  Rome,  New  York,  and 
Fort  Harmar  in  favor  of  peace.  And  notwithstanding  the  large  con- 
cessions which  he  saw  his  people  were  necessitated  to  make,  still,  by  his 
energy  and  prudence  in  the  negotiation,  he  retained  for  them  an  ample 
and  beautiful  reservation.  For  the  course  which  he  took  on  those  occa- 
sions the  State  of  Pennsylvania  granted  him  the  fine  reservation  upon 
which  he  resided  on  the  Allegheny.  The  Senecas,  however,  were  never 
satisfied  with  his  course  in  relation  to  these  treaties,  and  Red  Jacket, 
more  artful  and  eloquent  than  his  elder  rival,  but  less  frank  and  honest, 
seized  upon  this  circumstance  to  promote  his  own  popularity  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Cornplanter. 

Having  buried  the  hatchet,  Cornplanter  sought  to  make  his  talents 
useful  to  his  people  by  conciliating  the  good  will  of  the  whites  and  se- 
curing from  further  encroachment  the  little  remnant  of  his  national 
domain.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  when  some  reckless  and  blood- 
thirsty whites  on  the  frontier  had  massacred  unoffending  Indians  in  cold 
blood,  did  Cornplanter  interfere  to  restrain  the  vengeance  of  his  people. 
During  all  the  Indian  wars  from  1791  to  1794,  which  terminated  with 
Wayne's  treaty,  Cornplanter  pledged  himself  that  the  Senecas  should 
remain  friendly  to  the  United  States.  He  often  gave  notice  to  the  garri- 
son at  Fort  Franklin  of  intended  attacks  from  hostile  parties,  and  even 
hazarded  his  life  on  a  mediatorial  mission  to  the  Western  tribes. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  of  Cornplanter  to  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  government  appointed  to  meet  him  at 
Fort  Franklin,  8th  of  March,  1 796  : 

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PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  'I  thank  the  Almighty  for  giving  us  luck  to  meet  together  at  this 
time,  and  in  this  place  as  brethren,  and  hope  my  brothers  will  assist  me 
in  writing  to  Congress  what  I  have  now  to  say. 

"  '  I  thank  the  Almighty  that  I  am  speaking  this  good  day.  I  have 
been  through  all  Nations  in  America,  and  am  sorry  to  see  the  folly  of 
many  of  the  people.  What  makes  me  sorry  is  they  all  tell  lies,  and  I 
never  found  truth  amongst  them.  All  the  western  Nations  of  Indians, 
as  well  as  white  people,  have  told  me  lies.  Even  in  Council  I  have 
been  deceived,  and  been  told  things  which  I  have  told  to  my  chiefs  and 
young  men,  which  I  have  found  not  to  be  so,  which  makes  me  tell  lies  by 
not  being  able  to  make  good  my  word,  but  I  hope  they  will  all  see  their 
folly  and  repent.  The  Almighty  has  not  made  us  to  lie,  but  to  tell  the 
truth  one  to  another,  for  when  two  people  meet  together,  if  they  lie  one 
to  the  other,  them  people  cannot  be  at  peace,  and  so  it  is  with  nations, 
and  that  is  the  cause  of  so  much  war. 

"  'General  Washington,  the  father  of  us  all,  hear  what  I  have  now 
to  say,  and  take  pity  on  us  poor  people.  The  Almighty  has  blest  you, 
and  not  us.  He  has  given  you  education,  which  enables  you  to  do  many 
things  that  we  cannot  do.  You  can  travel  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land,  and 
know  what  is  doing  in  any  other  country,  which  we  poor  people  know 
nothing  about.  Therefore  you  ought  to  pity  us.  When  the  Almighty 
first  put  us  on  this  land  he  gave  it  to  us  to  live  on.  And  when  the  white 
people  first  came  to  it  they  were  very  poor,  and  we  helped  them  all  in 
our  power ;  did  not  kill  them,  but  received  them  as  brothers.  And  now 
it  appears  to  me  as  though  they  were  agoing  to  leave  us  in  distress.'  " — 
Pennsylvania  Archives. 

"After  peace  was  permanently  established  between  the  Indians  and 
the  United  States,  Cornplanter  retired  from  public  life  and  devoted  his 
labors  to  his  own  people.  He  deplored  the  evils  of  intemperance,  and 
exerted  himself  to  suppress  it.  The  benevolent  efforts  of  missionaries 
among  his  tribe  always  received  his  encouragement,  and  at  one  time  his 
own  heart  seemed  to  be  softened  by  the  words  of  truth,  yet  he  preserved 
in  his  later  years  many  of  the  peculiar  notions  of  the  Indian  faith. 

"In  1821—22  the  commissioners  of  Warren  County  assumed  the  right 
to  tax  the  private  property  of  Cornplanter,  and  proceeded  to  enforce  its 
collection.  The  old  chief  resisted  it,  conceiving  it  not  only  unlawful, 
but  a  personal  indignity.  The  sheriff  again  appeared  with  a  small  posse 
of  armed  men.  Cornplanter  took  the  deputation  to  a  room  around 
which  were  ranged  about  a  hundred  rifles,  and,  with  the  sententious  brevity 
of  an  Indian,  intimated  that  for  each  rifle  a  warrior  would  appear  at  his 
call.  The  sheriff  and  his  men  speedily  withdrew,  determined,  however, 
to  call  out  the  militia.  Several  prudent  citizens,  fearing  a  sanguinary 
collision,  sent  for  the  old  chief  in  a  friendly  way  to  come  to  Warren  and 
compromise  the  matter.  He  came,  and  after  some  persuasion,  gave  his 

561 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

note  for  the  tax,  amounting  to  forty-three  dollars  and  seventy-nine  cents. 
He  addressed,  however,  a  remonstrance  to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
soliciting  a  return  of  his  money  and  an  exemption  from  such  demands 
against  lands  which  the  State  itself  had  presented  to  him.  The  Legislature 
annulled  the  tax,  and  sent  two  commissioners  to  explain  the  affair  to  him. 
He  met  them  at  the  court-house  in  Warren,  on  which  occasion  he  deliv- 
ered the  following  speech,  eminently  characteristic  of  himself  and  his  race : 

"'Brothers,  yesterday  was  appointed  for  us  all  to  meet  here.  The 
talk  which  the  governor  sent  us  pleased  us  very  much.  I  think  that  the 
Great  Spirit  is  very  much  pleased  that  the  white  people  have  been  in- 
duced so  to  assist  the  Indians  as  they  have  done,  and  that  he  is  pleased 
also  to  see  the  great  men  of  this  State  and  of  the  United  States  so  friendly 
to  us.  We  are  much  pleased  with  what  has  been  done. 

"  '  The  Great  Spirit  first  made  the  world,  and  next  the  flying  animals, 
and  found  all  things  good  and  prosperous.  He  is  immortal  and  ever- 
lasting. After  finishing  the  flying  animals,  he  came  down  on  earth  and 
there  stood.  Then  he  made  different  kinds  of  trees  and  weeds  of  all 
sorts,  and  people  of  every  kind.  He  made  the  spring  and  other  seasons 
and  the  weather  suitable  for  planting.  These  he  did  make.  But  stills  to 
make  whiskey  to  be  given  to  the  Indians  he  did  not  make.  The  Great 
Spirit  bids  me  tell  the  white  people  not  to  give  Indians  this  kind  of 
liquor.  When  the  Great  Spirit  had  made  the  earth  and  its  animals,  he 
went  into  the  great  lakes,  where  he  breathed  as  easily  as  anywhere  else, 
and  then  made  all  the  different  kinds  of  fish.  The  Great  Spirit  looked 
back  on  all  that  he  had  made.  The  different  kinds  he  had  made  to  be 
separate  and  not  to  mix  with  or  disturb  each  other.  But  the  white  peo- 
ple have  broken  his  command  by  mixing  their  color  with  the  Indians. 
The  Indians  have  done  better  by  not  doing  so.  The  Great  Spirit  wishes 
that  all  wars  and  fightings  should  cease. 

' ' '  He  next  told  us  that  there  were  three  things  for  our  people  to 
attend  to.  First,  we  ought  to  take  care  of  our  wives  and  children.  Sec- 
ondly, the  white  people  ought  to  attend  to  their  farms  and  cattle. 
Thirdly,  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  the  bears  and  deers  to  the  Indians. 
He  is  the  cause  of  all  things  that  exist,  and  it  is  very  wicked  to  go 
against  his  will.  The  Great  Spirit  wishes  me  to  inform  the  people  that 
they  should  quit  drinking  intoxicating  drink,  as  being  the  cause  of  disease 
and  death.  He  told  us  not  to  sell  any  more  of  our  lands,  for  he  never  sold 
lands  to  any  one.  Some  of  us  now  keep  the  seventh  day,  but  I  wish  to  quit 
it,  for  the  Great  Spirit  made  it  for  others,  but  not  for  the  Indians,  who 
ought  every  day  to  attend  to  their  business.  He  has  ordered  me  to  quit 
drinking  intoxicating  drink,  and  not  to  lust  after  any  woman  but  my  own, 
and  informs  me  that  by  doing  so  I  should  live  the  longer.  He  made 
known  to  me  that  it  is  very  wicked  to  tell  lies.  Let  no  one  suppose  this 
I  have  said  now  is  not  true. 

562 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  '  I  have  now  to  thank  the  governor  for  what  he  has  done.  I  have 
informed  him  what  the  Great  Spirit  has  ordered  me  to  cease  from,  and  I 
wish  the  governor  to  inform  others  what  I  have  communicated.  This  is 
all  I  have  at  present  to  say.'  " — Day's  Recollections. 

The  old  chief  appears  after  this  again  to  have  fallen  into  entire  seclu- 
sion, taking  no  part  even  in  the  politics  of  his  people.  He  died  at  his 
residence  on  the  yth  of  March,  1836,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  four 
years.  "  Whether  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  expected  to  go  to  the  fair 
hunting-grounds  of  his  own  people  or  to  the  heaven  of  the  Christian  is 
not  known. ' ' 

"  Notwithstanding  his  profession  of  Christianity,  Cornplanter  was  very 
superstitious.  '  Not  long  since,'  says  Mr.  Foote,  of  Chautauqua  County, 
'  he  said  the  Good  Spirit  had  told  him  not  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  white  people,  or  even  to  preserve  any  mementos  or  relics  that  had 
been  given  to  him  from  time  to  time  by  the  pale-faces,  whereupon,  among 
other  things,  he  burnt  up  his  belt  and  broke  his  elegant  sword.'  ' 

In  reference  to  the  personal  appearance  of  Cornplanter  at  the  close  of 
his  life,  a  writer  in  the  Democratic  Arch  (Venango  County)  says, — 

"  I  once  saw  the  aged  and  venerable  chief,  and  had  an  interesting  in- 
terview with  him  about  a  year  and  a  half  before  his  death.  I  thought 
of  many  things  when  seated  near  him,  beneath  the  wide-spreading  shade 
of  an  old  sycamore,  on  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny, — many  things  to  ask 
him,  the  scenes  of  the  Revolution,  the  generals  that  fought  its  battles 
and  conquered,  the  Indians,  his  tribe,  the  Six  Nations,  and  himself.  He 
was  constitutionally  sedate,  was  never  observed  to  smile,  mi^h  less  to 
indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  laugh.  When  I  saw  him  he  estimated  his 
age  to  be  over  one  hundred ;  I  think  one  hundred  and  three  was  about 
his  reckoning  of  it.  This  would  make  him  near  one  hundred  and  five 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  His  person  was  stooped,  and  his 
stature  was  far  short  of  what  it  once  had  been,  not  being  over  five  feet 
six  inches  at  the  time  I  speak  of.  Mr.  John  Struthers,  of  Ohio,  told  me, 
some  years  since,  that  he  had  seen  him  near  fifty  years  ago,  and  at  that 
period  he  was  at  his  height, — viz.,  six  feet  one  inch.  Time  and  hard- 
ship had  made  dreadful  impressions  upon  that  ancient  form.  The  chest 
was  sunken  and  his  shoulders  were  drawn  forward,  making  the  upper 
part  of  his  body  resemble  a  trough.  His  limbs  had  lost  size  and  become 
crooked.  His  feet  (for  he  had  taken  off  his  moccasins)  were  deformed 
and  haggard  by  injury.  I  would  say  that  most  of  the  fingers  on  one 
hand  were  useless ;  the  sinews  had  been  severed  by  the  blow  of  a  toma- 
hawk or  scalping- knife.  How  I  longed  to  ask  him  what  scene  of  blood 
and  strife  had  thus  stamped  the  enduring  evidence  of  its  existence  upon 
his  person  !  But  to  have  done  so  would,  in  all  probability,  have  put  an 
end  to  all  further  conversation  on  any  subject.  The  information  desired 
would  certainly  not  have  been  received,  and  I  had  to  forego  my  curiosity. 

563 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

He  had  but  one  eye,  and  even  the  socket  of  the  lost  organ  was  hid  by 
the  overhanging  brow  resting  upon  the  high  cheek-bone.  His  remaining 
eye  was  of  the  brightest  and  blackest  hue.  Never  have  I  seen  one,  in 
young  or  old,  that  equalled  it  in  brilliancy.  Perhaps  it  had  borrowed 
lustre  from  the  eternal  darkness  that  rested  on  its  neighboring  orbit.  His 
ears  had  been  dressed  in  the  Indian  mode,  all  but  the  outside  ring  had 
been  cut  away.  On  the  one  ear  this  ring  had  been  torn  asunder  near  the 
top,  and  hung  down  his  neck  like  a  useless  rag.  He  had  a  full  head  of 
hair,  white  as  the  driven  snow,  which  covered  a  head  of  ample  dimensions 
and  admirable  shape.  His  face  was  not  swarthy,  but  this  may  be  ac- 
counted for  from  the  fact,  also,  that  he  was  but  half  Indian.  He  told  me 
he  had  been  at  Franklin  more  than  eighty  years  before  the  period  of  our 
conversation,  on  his  passage  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  with  the 
warriors  of  his  tribe,  in  some  expedition  against  the  Creeks  or  Osages. 
He  had  long  been  a  man  of  peace,  and  I  believe  his  great  characteristics 
were  humanity  and  truth.  It  is  said  that  Brandt  and  Cornplanter  were 
never  friends  after  the  massacre  of  Cherry  Valley.  Some  have  alleged, 
because  the  Wyoming  massacre  was  perpetrated  by  Senecas,  that  Corn- 
planter  was  there.  Of  the  justice  of  this  suspicion  there  are  many  reasons 
for  doubt.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  not  the  chief  of  the  Senecas  at  that 
time.  The  name  of  the  chief  in  that  expedition  was  Ge-en-quah-toh,  or 
He-goes-in-the-smoke.  As  he  stood  before  me — the  ancient  chief  in 
ruins — how  forcibly  was  I  struck  with  the  truth  of  that  beautiful  figure  of 
the  old  aboriginal  chieftain,  who,  in  describing  himself,  said  he1  was  '  like 
an  aged  he/nlock,  dead  at  the  top,  and  whose  branches  alone  were  green'  ! 
After  more  than  one  hundred  years  of  most  varied  life, — of  strife,  of 
danger,  of  peace, — he  at  last  slumbers  in  deep  repose  on  the  banks  of  his 
own  beloved  Allegheny. 

"  Cornplanter  was  born  at  Conewongus,  on  the  Genesee  River,  in 
1732,  being  a  half-breed,  the  son  of  a  white  man  named  John  O'Bail,  a 
trader  from  the  Mohawk  Valley.  In  a  letter  written  in  later  years  to  the 
governor  of  Pennsylvania  he  thus  speaks  of  his  early  youth  :  '  When  I 
was  a  child  I  played  with  the  butterfly,  the  grasshopper,  and  the  frogs ; 
and  as  I  grew  up  I  began  to  pay  some  attention  and  play  with  the  Indian 
boys  in  the  neighborhood,  and  they  took  notice  of  my  skin  being  of  a 
different  color  from  theirs,  and  spoke  about  it.  I  inquired  from  my 
mother  the  cause,  and  she  told  me  my  father  was  a  resident  of  Albany. 
I  still  ate  my  victuals  out  of  a  bark  dish.  I  grew  up  to  be  a  young  man 
and  married  a  wife,  and  I  had  no  kettle  or  gun.  I  then  knew  where  my 
father  lived,  and  went  to  see  him,  and  found  he  was  a  white  man  and 
spoke  the  English  language.  He  gave  me  victuals  while  I  was  at  his 
house,  but  when  I  started  to  return  home  he  gave  me  no  provisions  to 
eat  on  the  way.  He  gave  me  neither  kettle  nor  gun.' 

"  Little  further  is  known  of  his  early  life  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was 

564 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

allied  with  the  French  in  the  engagement  against  General  Braddock  in 
July,  1755.  He  was  probably  at  that  time  at  least  twenty  years  old. 
During  the  Revolution  he  was  a  war  chief  of  high  rank,  in  the  full  vigor 
of  manhood,  active,  sagacious,  brave,  and  he  most  probably  participated 
in  the  principal  Indian  engagements  against  the  United  States  during  the 
war.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  present  at  the  cruelties  of  Wyoming 
and  Cherry  Valley,  in  which  the  Senecas  took  a  prominent  part.  He 
was  on  the  war-path  with  Brandt  during  General  Sullivan's  campaign  in 
1779,  and  in  the  following  year,  under  Brandt  and  Sir  John  Johnson,  he 
led  the  Senecas  in  sweeping  through  the  Schoharie  and  the  Mohawk  Val- 
leys. On  this  occasion  he  took  his  father  a  prisoner,  but  with  such  cau- 
tion as  to  avoid  an  immediate  recognition.  After  marching  the  old  man 
some  ten  or  twelve  miles,  he  stepped  before  him,  faced  about,  and 
addressed  him  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  '  My  name  is  John  O'Bail,  commonly  called  Cornplanter.  I  am 
your  son.  You  are  my  father.  You  are  now  my  prisoner,  and  subject 
to  the  custom  of  Indian  warfare ;  but  you  shall  not  be  harmed.  You  need 
not  fear.  I  am  a  warrior.  Many  are  the  scalps  which  I  have  taken. 
Many  prisoners  have  I  tortured  to  death.  I  am  your  son.  I  was  anxious 
to  see  you  and  greet  you  in  friendship.  I  went  to  your  cabin  and  took 
you  by  force ;  but  your  life  shall  be  spared.  Indians  love  their  friends 
and  their  kindred,  and  treat  them  with  kindness.  If  you  now  chose  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  your  yellow  son  and  to  live  with  our  people,  I  will 
cherish  your  old  age  with  plenty  of  venison,  and  you  shall  live  easy.  But 
if  it  is  your  choice  to  return  to  your  fields  and  live  with  your  white  chil- 
dren, I  will  send  a  party  of  trusty  young  men  to  conduct  you  back  in 
safety.  I  respect  you,  my  father.  You  have  been  friendly  to  Indians, 
and  they  are  your  friends.'  The  elder  O'Bail  preferred  his  white  children 
and  green  fields  to  his  yellow  offspring  and  the  wild  woods,  and  chose  to 
return. 

"Cornplanter  was  the  greatest  warrior  the  Senecas,  the  untamable 
people  of  the  hills,  ever  had,  and  it  was  his  wish  that  when  he  died  his 
grave  would  remain  unmarked,  but  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
willed  otherwise,  and  erected  a  monument  to  him  with  this  beautiful 

inscription  : 

" '  CYANTWAHIA,  THE  CORNPLANTER, 
JOHN  O'BAIL,  ALIAS  CORNPLANTER, 

DIED 

AT  CORNPLANTER  TOWN,  FEB.  18,  A.  D.  1836, 
AGED  ABOUT  100  YEARS.' 

"  Upon  the  west  side  is  the  following  inscription  : 

" '  Chief  of  the  Seneca  tribe,  and  a  principal  chief  of  the  Six  Nations  from  the 
period  of  the  Revolutionary  War  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Distinguished  for  talent, 
courage,  eloquence,  sobriety,  and  love  for  tribe  and  race,  to  whose  welfare  he  devoted 
his  time,  his  energy,  and  his  means  during  a  long  and  eventful  life.'  " 

565 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  the  above  I  have  copied  largely  from  Rupp's  history,  and  from  the 
"  History  of  Warren  County,  Pennsylvania." 

MOSES   KNAPP. 

In  the  spring  of  1797,  Joseph  Barnett,  of  Linesville,  Dauphin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  Samuel  Scott  and  Moses  Knapp,  of  Lycoming  County, 
Pennsylvania,  left  the  mouth  of  Pine  Creek,  on  the  west  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna,  in  Lycoming  County,  and  wended  their  way  over  Meade's 
Trail  to  the  confluence  of  Mill  Creek  with  Sandy  Lick,  now  Port  Bar- 
nett, for  the  purpose  of  starting  a  settlement.  Port  Barnett  was  then  in 
Pine  Creek  township,  Lycoming  County.  Upon  their  arrival  they  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  saw-mill.  "  Samuel  Scott  was  a  millwright  by 
trade,  and  was  assisted  in  his  work  by  Moses  Knapp,  who  was  an  adopted 
son,  then  about  nineteen  years  of  age.  They  first  built  a  saw-mill  on 
Mill  Creek,  about  where  the  present  mill  of  Mr.  Humphrey  now  stands. 
This  mill  was  the  property  of  Mr.  Scott.  Young  Knapp  exhibited  a  good 
deal  of  mechanical  ingenuity  in  this  work,  and  the  next  year  built  a  mill 
for  himself  on  the  North  Fork,  on  a  site  about  the  head  of  Heidrick, 
Matson  &  Co.'s  mill-pond.  Leaving  his  mill  in  the  fall  to  stand  still 
during  the  winter,  young  Knapp  went  to  Indiana  to  attend  a  term  of 
school.  While  there  he  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Susan  Matson,  a 
daughter  of  Uriah  Matson,  of  that  place.  The  acquaintance  thus  made 
soon  ripened  into  an  engagement,  and  Moses  Knapp  and  Susan  Matson 
were  united  in  matrimony,  and  thus  in  one  short  absence  from  the  scene 
of  his  labors  Moses  had  accomplished  much,  and  when  all  this  was  ac- 
complished she  returned  with  him  to  Port  Barnett.  He  then  built  a 
camp  or  residence  at  his  saw-mill  on  the  North  Fork,  and  there  they 
commenced  keeping  house,  a  beginning  which  resulted  in  the  production 
of  a  family  of  eleven  children.  Here,  in  1801,  was  born  Polly,  and 
afterwards  Isabel  and  Samuel. 

"  He  sold  out  his  mill  and  '  betterments'  at  the  head  of  Heidrick, 
Matson  &  Co.'s  pond  to  Samuel  and  William  Lucas,  and  then  began 
house-keeping  in  a  new  place,  at  the  mouth  of  the  North  Fork,  now 
Brookville.  After  he  had  got  his  family  in  living  shape  here,  he  built  an- 
other saw-mill  on  what  was  known  as  Knapp's  Run.  The  name  of  this 
stream  has  since  been  changed  to  Five-Mile  Run.  This  mill  Knapp  sold 
to  Thomas  Lucas,  Esq.  He  then  built  a  log  grist-mill  on  the  North 
Fork,  near  his  residence,  only  a  few  rods  from  the  Red  Bank  Creek. 
This  mill  had  one  run  of  rock-stones.  The  water  was  gathered  by  a  wing- 
dam  of  brush  and  stones,  that  extended  nearly  up  to  where  the  road  now 
crosses  below  Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co.'s  dam,  and  was  thus  brought  into 
a  chute,  that  passed  it  under  a  large  under-shot  water-wheel.  A  '  face- 
gear'  wheel  upon  the  water-wheel  shaft  '  meshed'  into  a  '  trundle-head' 
upon  the  '  spindle'  which  carried  the  revolving-stone,  comprised  the  pro- 

566 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

pelling  machinery.  This  mill  was  often  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
People  would  come  here  to  get  their  grain  ground  from  distances  of 
twenty  and  thirty  miles,  through  the  woods  on  horseback  and  on  bare- 
foot carrying  the  grain  on  their  backs.  A  big  day's  grind  was  from  six 
to  ten  bushels  of  grain." 

While  residing  at  this  place,  in  what  is  now  Brookville,  John  Knapp 
was  born  in  1807,  and  afterwards  Amy,  Joshua,  Moses,  Clarissa,  and 
Joseph,  the  last  in  1818. 

During  the  time  of  Knapp's  residence  at  the  head  of  what  is  now 
Heidrick,  Matson  &  Co.'s  pond,  and  many  years  thereafter,  "  the  cheap- 
est and  most  expeditious  method  of  obtaining  such  supplies  as  could  not 
be  produced  on  the  ground  was  to  go  to  Pittsburg  for  them.  Rafts  of 
sawed  lumber  were  run  to  Pittsburg  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  A  canoe 
was  taken  along,  and  when  the  raft  was  sold  most  of  the  avails  would  be 
invested  in  whiskey,  pork,  sugar,  dry  goods,  etc.  These  goods  were  then 
loaded  into  the  canoe,  and  the  same  men  that  brought  the  raft  through 
to  market  would  "pole"  or  "push"  the  loaded  canoe  up  the  river  and 
up  the  creek  to  Port  Barnett.  This  was  a  "  voyage"  that  all  men  of  full 
strength  were  very  desirous  of  making,  and  was  the  subject  of  conversa- 
tion for  the  remaining  part  of  the  year. 

These  canoes  were  hewed  out  of  a  large  pine-tree,  large  enough  to  re- 
ceive a  barrel  of  flour  crosswise.  A  home-made  rope  of  flax  was  attached 
to  the  front  end  of  the  canoe  to  be  used  in  pulling  the  canoe  up  and  over 
ripples.  The  men  with  these  canoes  had  to  camp  in  the  woods  wherever 
night  overtook  them,  and  their  greatest  terror  and  fear  was  rattlesnakes, 
for  the  creek  bottoms  were  alive  with  them. 

The  pioneer  keel-boat  built  on  these  western  waters  was  at  Pittsburg 
in  1811, — viz.,  the  "  New  Orleans."  The  first  river  steamboat  was  built 
in  1817. 

In  1821,  Moses  Knapp  "articled"  with  the  Holland  Land  Company 
for  a  quantity  of  land  in  what  is  now  Clover  township.  The  land  was 
taken  from  warrants  numbered  3082  and  3200,  which  included  the  land 
upon  which  Dowlingville  is  situated,  and  also  that  upon  which  the  Baxter 
property  and  mills  now  are. 

After  building  a  cabin  and  moving  his  family  into  it,  he  commenced 
the  building  of  a  dam  pretty  much  on  the  site  of  the  present  dam,  and  a 
saw-mill  on  the  site  of  the  present  mill.  He  took  a  partner  in  the  busi- 
ness and  vigorously  prosecuted  the  work.  In  cutting  timber  for  the  mill 
he  in  some  way  got  his  foot  crushed  so  badly  that  it  became  necessary  to 
have  the  leg  amputated  above  the  knee.  The  mill  was  completed,  and 
the  business  of  manufacturing  lumber,  etc.,  was  carried  on  for  a  few 
years  by  Knapp  <S:  Ball. 

He  had  two  children  born  here, — Isaac  M.  and  Eliza.  He  was 
elected  constable  while  here  in  1821,  the  year  he  was  hurt. 

567 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Moses  Knapp  was  the  pioneer  pilot  on  Red  Bank  Creek.  The  pioneer 
board-raft  contained  about  eight  thousand  feet  of  boards.  Pilots  received 
but  two  dollars  per  trip  and  found ;  common  hands  but  one  dollar  per 
trip  and  found.  The  pioneer  pilots  steered  the  rafts  then  with  the  front 
oar.  The  pioneer  oars  and  stems  were  then  hewn  out  of  a  single  dry 
pine-tree.  Elijah  M.  Graham  was  the  first  to  saw  oar-blades  separate 
from  the  stem. 

SAW-MILLS. 

The  earliest  form  of  a  saw-mill  was  a  "saw-pit."  In  it  lumber  was 
sawed  in  this  way :  by  two  men  at  the  saw,  one  man  standing  above  the 


A  pioneer  saw-mill  erected  on  Rattlesnake  Creek,  in  Snyder  township,  in  1841, 
by  James  Pendleton. 

pit,  the  other  man  in  the  pit,  the  two  men  sawing  the  log  on  trestles 
above.  Saws  are  prehistoric.  The  ancients  used  "bronzed  saws." 
Saw-mills  were  first  run  by  "individual  power,"  and  water-power  was 
first  used  in  Germany  about  1322.  The  primitive  water  saw-mill  con- 
sisted of  a  wooden  pitman  attached  to  the  shaft  of  the  wheel.  The  log  to 
be  sawed  was  placed  on  rollers,  sustained  by  a  framework  over  the  wheel, 
and  was  fed  forward  on  the  rollers  by  means  of  levers  worked  by  hand. 
The  pioneer  saw-mill  erected  in  the  United  States  was  near  or  on  the  di- 
viding line  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  in  1634. 

The  early  up-and-down  saw-mills  were  built  of  frame  timbers  mor- 

568 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tised  and  tenoned  and  pinned  together  with  oak  pins.  In  size  these 
mills  were  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  wide  and  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in 
length,  and  were  roofed  with  clapboards,  slabs,  or  boards.  The  run- 
ning-gear was  an  undershot  flutter-wheel,  a  gig-wheel  to  run  the  log-car- 
riage back,  and  a  bull-wheel  with  a  rope  or  chain  attached  to  haul  the 
logs  into  the  mill  on  and  over  the  slide.  The  capacity  of  such  a  mill 
was  about  four  thousand  feet  of  boards  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  total 
cost  of  one  of  these  up-and-down  saw-mills  when  completed  was  about 
three  hundred  dollars,  one  hundred  dollars  for  iron  used  and  two  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  work  and  material.  Luther  Geer,  an  old  pioneer, 
built  about  twenty-eight  of  such  mills.  Moses  Knapp  died  near  Dow- 
lingville,  in  1853,  and  is  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  Jefferson  United 
Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Knapp  was  a  Seceder  in  belief,  and  was  a 
leading  member  of  that  church, — to  wit,  the  Jefferson. 

JOHN  JONES. 

"The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in*  Northumberland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  the  loth  of  February,  1781,  and  in  the  year  1797  he 
came  to  what  is  now  Port  Barnett,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  east  of 
Brookville,  Jefferson  County,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  millwright  trade 
with  his  uncle,  Samuel  Scott.  After  the  erection  of  this  mill  (being  as- 
sisted by  the  Indians)  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  his  uncle, 
and  became  quite  a  woodsman,  killing  as  many  as  one  hundred  deer  in 
a  season.  The  Indians  being  quite  numerous  at  that  time  in  the  forest, 
he  even  camped  and  hunted  in  partnership  with  them.  He  was  often 
heard  to  remark  that  he  could  beat  them  killing  deer,  but  they  could 
beat  him  on  the  bear.  In  the  year  1811  he  settled  on  his  farm,  east  of 
Strattonville.  He  erected  a  cabin  and  commenced  clearing,  and  in  a 
short  time  he  was  drafted  into  the  military  service.  After  clearing  off  a 
portion  of  ground  and  sowing  his  wheat  and  fencing  the  same,  he  was, 
with  several  of  his  neighbors,  ready  for  the  call,  and  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember they  started  for  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  remained  there 
for  a  short  time  and  elected  their  officers.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Wallace 
was  elected  captain,  and  Robert  Orr,  major.  They  then  marched  through 
the  State  of  Ohio  to  the  Maumee  River,  and  there  they  built  Fort  Meigs ; 
remained  there  until  spring,  then  returned  to  their  home. 

"Jones  then  commenced  opening  up  more  land,  but  still  lumbering 
occasionally  on  Red  Bank,  and  canoeing  provisions  and  groceries  from 
Pittsburg,  there  being  no  store  of  any  account  nearer.  After  they  got  to 
raising  some  grain,  it  had  to  be  taken  to  Samuel  Scott's  at  Port  Barnett, 
fifteen  miles  distant.  When  the  mill  failed,  some  of  the  neighbors  had 
to  go  to  Mudlic,  Indiana  County.  Some  went  to  a  horse  mill  on  Bear 
Creek,  below  Parker  City.  There  were  also  quite  a  number  of  hand 
mills  in  use  in  the  country  for  grinding  corn.  The  first  store  in  what  is 
37  569 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

now  Clarion  County  was  located  where  Reimersburg  now  stands,  in  1812, 
and  owned  by  James  Pinks,  and  if  you  happened  to  run  out  of  salt  for 
your  venison,  you  could  get  a  bushel  from  him  for  five  dollars,  and  all 
other  things  in  proportion. 

"  In  the  year  1818  the  mildew  struck  the  wheat  and  it  was  totally  de- 
stroyed, and  starvation  stared  them  in  the  face ;  but  he  knew  where  to  go. 
So  off  he  starts  to  the  pine-woods,  selects  a  place  for  himself  and  brothers, 
and  at  it  they  went,  and  gathered  and  split,  and  burned  each  of  them  a 
kiln  of  tar ;  and  when  they  got  the  tar  barrelled,  they  then  had  to  haul 
it  four  miles  to  the  Clarion  River,  made  a  canoe  and  run  the  tar  to  Pitts- 
burg,  and  traded  it  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  He  also  piloted  the  viewers 
and  surveyors  of  the  Brookville  and  Meadville  turnpike,  or,  more  prop- 
erly, the  Bellefonte  and  Erie  turnpike,  and  many  other  roads,  he  being 
considered  the  best  posted  in  regard  to  location." 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

JOSEPH    BARNETT — BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH    OF   THE   PATRIARCH    OF   JEFFER- 
SON   COUNTY. 

JOSEPH  BARNETT,  the  patriarch  of  Jefferson  County,  was  the  son 
of  John  and  Sarah  Barnett,  and  was  born  in  Dauphin  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1754.  His  father  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  located  in 
Pennsylvania  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  was  a 
farmer  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1757.  His  mother  died  a  few 
years  later,  and  Joseph  was  "brought  up"  by  his  relatives.  He  was 
raised  on  a  farm,  and  was  thus  peacefully  employed  when  the  Revolu- 
tion commenced.  As  a  son  of  a  patriotic  sire  he  could  not  resist  taking 
part  in  the  struggle,  and  so  joined  the  army  and  served  for  some  years. 
The  exact  duration  of  his  service  cannot  now  be  ascertained,  but  this 
we  learn:  "he  was  a  brave  and  efficient  soldier,  and  never  faltered 
in  the  path  of  duty."  He  also  served  in  the  State  militia  in  the  cam- 
paign against  the  Wyoming  boys.  After  the  war  he  settled  in  North- 
umberland County,  where  he  owned  a  large  tract  of  land,  but  was  dis- 
possessed of  it  by  some  informalities  of  the  title.  Here  he  was  married 
to  Elizabeth  Scott,  sister  of  Samuel  Scott  and  daughter  of  John  Scott, 
July  3,  1794. 

I  find  Joseph  Barnett  assessed  in  Pine  Creek  township,  Northumber- 
land County,  April  28,  1786.  I  find  him  in  1788  assessed  in  the  same 
township  and  county  with  a  saw-mill  and  as  a  single  freeman.  This  was 
his  saw-mill  at  the  mouth  of  Pine  Creek,  and  the  mill  on  which  he  lost 

57o 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

his  eye.  The  property  is  now  in  Clinton  County.  After  losing  his  mill 
and  land  Barnett  returned  in  the  nineties  to  Dauphin  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  engaged  in  contracting  for  and  building  bridges.  In  1 799  I 
find  him  again  assessed  in  Pine  Creek  township,  then  Lycoming  County, 
Pennsylvania,  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  land.  This 
was  his  Port  Barnett  property,  where  he  migrated  to  with  his  family  in 
1800,  and  here  he  engaged  in  the  erection  of  mills  and  in  the  lumbering 
business  that  eventually  made  Port  Barnett,  then  in  Lycoming  County, 
the  centre  of  business  for  a  large  extent  of  territory.  In  a  short  time  a 
tub  grist-mill  was  added  to  his  saw-mill,  and,  with  his  "Port  Barnett 
flint-stone  binns,"  he  made  an  eatable,  if  not  a  very  desirable,  quality 
of  flour.  The  Indians  (Cornplanters  and  Senecas)  then  in  the  country 
were  good  customers  of  our  subject,  and  what  few  whites  there  were  for 
thirty  or  forty  miles  around  would  make  his  cabin  a  stopping-place  for 
several  days  at  a  time.  His  log  cabin  became  a  tavern,  the  only  one 
in  a  seventy-five  miles'  journey,  and  was  frequented  by  all  the  early 
settlers. 

"  His  Indian  guests  did  not  eat  in  the  house,  but  would  in  winter  make 
a  pot  of  mush  over  his  fire  and  set  it  out  in  the  snow  to  cool;  then  one 
fellow  would  take  a  dipper  and  eat  his  fill  of  the  pudding,  sometimes  with 
milk,  butter,  or  molasses  ;  then  another  would  take  it  and  go  through  the 
same  process  until  all  were  satisfied.  The  dogs  would  then  help  them- 
selves from  the  same  pot,  and  when  they  put  their  heads  in  the  pot  in 
the  Indian's  way  he  would  give  them  a  slap  over  the  head  with  the 
dipper." 

He  kept  a  store,  rafted  lumber  on  Sandy  Lick  and  Red  Bank,  and  at 
the  same  time  attended  to  his  saw-  and  grist-mills.  I  find  him  assessed 
in  Pine  Creek  township  in  1800  as  a  farmer. 

"The  Senecas  of  Cornplanter's  tribe  were  friendly  and  peaceable 
neighbors,  and  often  extended  their  excursions  into  these  waters,  where 
they  encamped,  two  or  three  in  a  squad,  and  hunted  deers  and  bears, 
taking  the  hams  and  skins  in  the  spring  to  Pittsburg.  Their  rafts  were 
constructed  of  dry  poles,  upon  which  they  piled  up  their  meat  and  skins 
in  the  form  of  a  haystack,  took  them  to  Pittsburg,  and  exchanged  them 
for  trinkets,  blankets,  calicoes,  weapons,  etc.  They  were  friendly, 
sociable,  and  rather  fond  of  making  money.  During  the  war  of  1812 
the  settlers  were  apprehensive  that  an  unfortunate  turn  of  the  war  upon 
the  lakes  might  bring  an  irruption  of  the  savages  upon  the  frontier 
through  the  Seneca  nation. 

"  Old  Captain  Hunt,  a  Muncy  Indian,  had  his  camp  for  some  years 
on  Red  Bank,  near  where  is  now  the  southwestern  corner  of  Brookville. 
He  got  his  living  by  hunting,  and  enjoyed  the  results  in  drinking  whiskey, 
of  which  he  was  inordinately  fond.  One  year  he  killed  seventy-eight 
bears, — they  were  plenty  then ;  the  skins  might  be  worth  about  three 

57i 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

dollars   each, — nearly  all  of  which  he  expended  for   his   favorite   bev- 
erage. 

"Samuel  Scott  resided  here  until  1810,  when,  having  scraped  to- 
gether, by  hunting  and  lumbering,  about  two  thousand  dollars,  he  went 
down  to  the  Miami  River  and  bought  a  section  of  fine  land,  which  made 
him  rich. 

"It  is  related  that  Joseph  Barnett  at  one  time  carried  sixty  pounds  of 
flour  on  his  back  from  Pittsburg.  Their  supplies  of  flour,  salt,  and  other 
necessaries  were  frequently  brought  in  canoes  from  that  place.  These 
were  purchased  with  lumber,  which  he  sawed  and  rafted  to  that  city,  and 
which  in  those  days  was  sold  for  twenty-five  dollars  per  thousand.  The 
nearest  settlement  on  Meade's  trail  eastward  of  Port  Barnett  was  Paul 
Clover's,  thirty-three  miles  distant,  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Susque- 
hanna,  where  Curwensville  now  stands ;  and  westward  Fort  Venango  was 
forty-five  miles  distant,  which  points  were  the  only  resting-places  for  the 
travellers  who  ventured  through  this  unbroken  wilderness.  The  Seneca 
Indians,  of  Cornplanter's  tribe,  heretofore  mentioned,  often  extended 
their  hunting  excursions  to  these  waters,  and  encamped  to  hunt  deer  and 
bears  and  make  sugar.  They  are  said  to  have  made  sugar  by  catching 
the  sap  in  small  troughs,  and,  after  collecting  in  a  large  trough,  hot 
stones  were  dipped  into  it  to  boil  it  down." — Day's  Collections. 

About  the  year  1802,  Joseph  Barnett  consented  to  act  as  banker  for 
the  Indians  around  Port  Barnett.  The  Indians  were  all  "  bimetallists," 
and  had  the  "  silver  craze,"  for  their  money  was  all  silver ;  and  bringing 
their  monometallism  to  Mr.  Barnett,  he  received  it  from  them  and  de- 
posited it  in  their  presence  in  his  private  vault, — viz.,  a  small  board 
trunk  covered  with  hog-skin,  tanned  with  the  bristles  on.  On  the  lid 
were  the  letters  "J.  B.,"  made  with  brass  tacks.  The  trunk  was  now 
full ;  the  bank  was  a  solid  financial  institution.  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, the  red  men  concluded  to  withdraw  their  deposits,  and  they  made 
a  "run"  in  a  body  on  the  bank.  Barnett  handed  over  the  trunk,  and 
each  Indian  counted  out  his  own  pieces,  and  according  to  their  combined 
count  the  bank  was  insolvent ;  there  was  a  shortage,  a  deficiency  of  one 
fifty-cent  piece.  Mr.  Barnett  induced  the  Indians  to  recount  their  silver, 
but  the  fifty-cent  piece  was  still  missing.  The  Indians  then  declared 
Mr.  Barnett  must  die ;  they  surrounded  the  house  and  ordered  him  on 
the  porch  to  be  shot.  He  obeyed  orders,  but  pleaded  with  them  to 
count  their  pieces  the  third  time,  and  if  the  fifty-cent  piece  was  still 
missing,  then  they  could  shoot  him.  This  the  Indians  considered  fair, 
and  they  counted  the  silver  pieces  the  third  time,  and  one  Indian  found 
he  had  one  more  piece  than  his  own ;  he  had  the  missing  fifty-cent 
piece.  Then  there  was  joy  and  rejoicing  among  the  Indians.  Banker 
Barnett  was  no  longer  a  criminal ;  he  was  the  hero  and  friend  of  the 
Indians. 

572 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  first  white  settlement  within  the  county 
was  principally  derived  from  Andrew  Barnett,  Jr.,  Esq.,  in  1840  : 

"  Old  Mr.  Joseph  Barnett  was  the  patriarch  of  Jefferson  County.  He 
had  done  service  on  the  West  Branch  under  General  Potter  during  the 
Revolution,  and  also  under  the  State  against  the  Wyoming  boys.  After 
the  war  he  settled  in  Northumberland  County,  at  the  mouth  of  Pine 
Creek,  and  very  probably  might  have  been  one  of  the  Fairplay  boys ;  at 
any  rate,  he  lost  his  property  by  the  operation  of  the  common  law,  which 
superseded  the  jurisdiction  of  fair  play.  Again,  in  1797,  he  penetrated 
the  wilderness  of  the  Upper  Susquehanna  by  the  Chinklacamoose  path, 
and,  passing  the  headlands  between  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Allegheny, 
arrived  on  the  waters  of  Red  Bank,  then  called  Sandy  Lick  Creek.  He 
had  purchased  lands  here  of  Timothy  Pickering  &  Co.  He  first  erected 
a  saw- mill  at  Port  Barnett,  where  Andrew  Barnett,  Jr.,  now  resides,  at 
the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek,  about  two  miles  east  of  Brookville.  His  com- 
panions on  this  expedition  were  his  brother,  Andrew  Barnett,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Samuel  Scott.  Nine  Seneca  Indians,  of  Cornplanter's 
tribe,  assisted  him  to  raise  his  mill.  Leaving  his  brothers  to  look  after 
the  new  structure,  he  returned  to  his  family  in  Dauphin  County,  intend- 
ing to  bring  them  out.  But  Scott  soon  followed  him  with  the  melan- 
choly news  of  the  death  of  his  brother  Andrew,  who  was  buried  by  the 
friendly  Indians  and  Scott  in  the  flat  opposite  the  present  tavern.  This 
news  discouraged  him  for  a  while ;  but  in  1800  he  removed  his  family 
out,  accompanied  again  by  Mr.  Scott.  They  sawed  lumber  and  rafted  it 
down  to  Pittsburg,  where  it  brought  in  those  days  twenty-five  dollars  per 
thousand.  The  usual  adventures  and  privations  of  frontier  life  attended 
their  residence.  The  nearest  mill  was  on  Black  Lick  Creek,  in  Indiana 
County.  Mr.  Barnett  knew  nothing  of  the  wilderness  south  of  him,  and 
was  obliged  to  give  an  Indian  four  dollars  to  pilot  him  to  Westmoreland. 
The  nearest  house  on  the  eastward  was  Paul  Clover's  (grandfather  of 
General  Clover),  thirty-three  miles  distant  on  the  Susquehanna,  where 
Curwensville  now  stands ;  westward  Fort  Venango  was  distant  forty-five 
miles.  These  points  were  the  only  resting-places  for  the  travellers  through 
that  unbroken  wilderness." 

Their  children  were  as  follows :  Sarah  and  Thomas,  twins,  born  in 
Pine  Creek  township,  Northumberland  County,  in  1790,  now  Clinton 
County.  John  was  born  in  Linesville,  Dauphin  County,  June  16,  1795. 
Andrew,  born  in  Dauphin  County,  November  22,  1797,  where  Joseph 
Barnett  was  engaged  in  contracting  for  and  building  bridges  in  the  nine- 
ties. He  emigrated  with  his  family  from  Dauphin  County  to  Mill  Creek, 
Port  Barnett,  Lycoming  County,  in  1800,  now  Jefferson  County;  and 
Rebecca  was  born  at  Port  Barnett,  Lycoming  County,  August  6,  1802. 
She  was  the  first  white  female  child  born  within  the  present  limits  of  Jef- 
ferson County.  J.  Potter  was  born  at  Port  Barnett,  Lycoming  County, 

573 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

May  23,  1800.  Margaret  Annie  was  born  October  22,  1805,  at 
Barnett,  Pine  Creek  township,  Jefferson  County.  Joseph  Scott,  the 
youngest  child  and  the  first  white  male  child  born  in  the  county,  was 
born  April  12,  1812,  at  Port  Barnett,  Pine  Creek  township,  Jefferson 
County;  and  Juliet  was  born  April  12,  1808,  at  Port  Barnett,  Pine 
Creek  township,  Jefferson  County. 

The  original  Pine  Creek  township  was  erected  in  Northumberland 
County  at  the^August  term  of  court  in  1785.  In  1795,  when  Lycoming 
was  organized,  Pine  Creek  township  became  a  part  of  that  county.  In 
1804,  when  Jefferson  County  was  organized  and  taken  from  Lycoming, 
Pine  Creek  township  was  divided,  and  that  part  taken  from  Lycoming 
was  thrown  into  Jefferson  and  made  into  Pine  Creek  township,  and  was 
the  whole  of  Jefferson  County  until  the  year  1818. 

The  census  of  1800  shows  that  Lycoming  had  a  population  of  5414. 
The  population  of  Pine  Creek  township,  Lycoming  County,  in  1800, 
when  Joseph  Barnett  migrated  and  located  at  Mill  Creek,  now  Jefferson 
County,  was:  whites,  682;  colored,  24;  slaves,  5  ;  total,  711. 

The  following  advertisement  is  a  relic  of  the  institution  of  slavery  in 
Pennsylvania  at  the  time  Joseph  Barnett  migrated  to  what  is  now  Jefferson 
County : 

"  2  s.  (SHILLINGS)  REWARD. 

"Ran  away  on  the  2d  inst.  negro  man  John,  about  22  ;  also  negro 
girl  named  Flora,  about  18,  slender  made,  speaks  bad  English  and  a 
little  French.  Has  a  scar  on  her  upper  lip  and  letters  branded  on  her 
breast.  Whoever  secures  the  runaways  in  any  place  where  their  master 
can  get  them  shall  have  the  above  reward  and  reasonable  charges  paid 
by 

"JOHN  PATTON. 

"  CENTRE  FURNACE,  MIFFLIN  COUNTY,  July  26,  1799." 

— History  of  Centre  County. 

When  Joseph  Barnett  settled  on  Mill  Creek,  Pine  Creek  township, 
Lycoming  County  was  divided  into  two  election  districts, — the  third  and 
fourth, — viz.  :  "3.  That  part  of  Lycoming  township  west  of  Pine  Run, 
and  that  part  of  Pine  Creek  east  of  Chatham's  Run,  and  the  township  of 
Nippenose,  to  form  the  third  district.  Elections  to  be  held  at  the  house 
of  Thomas  Ramey,  Pine  Creek. 

"  4.  All  that  part  of  Pine  Creek  township  west  of  Chatham's  Run  to 
constitute  the  fourth  district,  and  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
Hugh  Andrew,  Dunnsburgh."  Dunnsburgh,  or  Dunnstown,  as  it  is  now 
called,  is  in  Clinton  County,  Pennsylvania.  It  was  founded  in  1768  by 
William  Dunn,  and  is  about  one-half  mile  down  the  river  from  Lock 

574 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Haven,  and  on  the  opposite  or  east  side  of  the  river.     This  fourth  district 
was  the  polling-  or  voting-place  for  the  Port  Barnett  settlement. 

Hon.  Jacob  Rush  was  then  president  judge.  He  was  the  president 
judge  of  the  third  judicial  district,  formed,  in  part,  of  Northumberland 
County,  from  which  Lycoming  County  was  taken,  the  act  of  April  13, 
1795,  providing  that  it  shall  be  within  his  jurisdiction.  He  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  in  1 746,  was  a  brother  of  the  famous  Benjamin  Rush,  of  that 
city,  and  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College. 

The  first  road  we  have  any  account  of  in  Lycoming  County  was 
the  "pack-horse"  road  into  the  valley  of  Loyalsock  ;  it  was  cut  across 
the  mountain  from  Muncy  to  Hillsgrove,  for  the  use  of  explorers  and  sur- 
veyors, and  was  called  the  "  Wallis  road,"  because  it  was  made  by  Samuel 
Wallis.  In  1793  another  "pack-horse"  road  was  cut.  It  left  the  Wallis 
road  at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghenies,  then  ran  northward  to  the  left  of 
Hunter's  Lake  and  on  the  forks  of  the  Loyalsock,  where  Forksville  is  now 
situated.  It  was  called  the  "  Courson  road."  In  1792,  Williamson  cut 
his  famous  road  through  from  Trout  Run  to  the  Block  House  and  be- 
yond to  enable  him  to  conduct  a  company  of  colonists  to  the  Genesee 
country. 

In  stature,  Mr.  Barnett  was  five  feet  eight  inches,  and  would  weigh 
about  one  hundred  and  eight  pounds.  His  presence  was  prepossessing, 
and  with  his  smooth-shaved  face,  and  a  countenance  open  and  frank,  his 
appearance  was  such  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  all. 

In  1800  the  only  road  was  Meade's  trail.  Before  the  axe  of  the  lum- 
berman had  visited  these  forests,  the  trees  stood  tall,  lordly,  and  free 
from  undergrowth,  the  great  trunks  standing  straight  in  the  air,  with  the 
ground  cool  and  damp  in  the  shade.  You  could  ride  a  horse  almost  any- 
where through  the  woods.  In  1801,  Barnett  got  out  of  salt.  The  nearest 
place  to  obtain  it  was  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania.  Barnett 
could  not  make  the  trip  through  the  woods  himself,  and  he  bargained  for 
three  days  with  an  Indian  to  guide  him.  The  Indian  wanted  just  as 
much  more  as  Barnett  felt  able  to  give.  At  the  end  of  three  days  the 
bargain  was  closed  for  what  the  Indian  believed  to  be  half-price, — viz., 
two  dollars.  The  trip  to  Westmoreland  was  then  made,  and  after  Barnett 
secured  his  salt,  the  Indian  coolly  remarked,  "Me  no  go  back;  me  no 
go  back."  All  then  that  was  left  for  Barnett  to  do  was  to  give  him  his 
original  price  of  four  dollars.  Joseph  Barnett  was  rather  a  homely  man 
in  face  and  features.  He  was  Scotch-Irish.  He  was  a  practical  business 
man,  a  strict  Presbyterian,  a  true  Christian  of  that  time.  He  had  his 
left  eye  gouged  out  in  a  rough  and-tumble  fight  on  his  saw-mill.  He 
died  as  he  had  lived,  a  true-hearted  man,  on  the  i5th  of  April,  1838, 
and  was  buried  in  our  old  graveyard  above  Church  Street.  His  wife 
passed  away  four  months  later,  in  her  sixty-fifth  year,  and  was  buried 
there  also. 

575 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

BIOGRAPHY   OF   BILL   LONG. 

THE  "KING  HUNTER" — THE  HUNTER  OF  HUNTERS  IN  THIS  WILDERNESS — 
SOME  OF  THE  ADVENTURES  AND  LIFE  OF  "BILL  LONG"  FROM  HIS 
CHILDHOOD  UNTIL  HE  WAS  SEVENTY  YEARS  OLD. 

William  Long,  a  son  of  Louis  (Ludwig)  Long,  was  born  near  Read- 
ing, Berks  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1 794.  His  father  and  mother  were 
Germans.  In  the  summer  of  1803,  Louis  Long,  with  his  family,  moved 


Bill  Long. 

into  this  wilderness  and  settled  near  Port  Barnett  (now  the  McConnell 
farm).  Ludwig  Long's  family  consisted  of  himself,  wife,  and  eleven 
children, — nine  sons  and  two  daughters, — William,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  being  the  second  child.  The  Barnetts  were  the  only  neighbors 

576 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  the  Longs.  Louis  Long  brought  with  him  a  small  "  still"  and  six  flint- 
lock guns,  the  only  kind  in  use  at  that  time.  It  was  not  until  about  the 
year  1830  that  the  percussion-cap  rifles  were  first  used,  but  they  were  not 
in  general  use  here  for  some  years  after  that.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Long 
raised  some  grain  he  commenced  to  operate  his  "still"  and  manufacture 
whiskey,  this  being  the  first  manufactured  west  of  the  mountains  and 
east  of  the  Allegheny  River. 

This  part  of  Pennsylvania  was  then  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  Seneca 
Indians, — Cornplanter  tribe.  The  still  house  of  Long  soon  became  the 
resort  for  these  Indians.  Pittsburg  was  the  nearest  market  for  pelts,  furs, 
etc.,  and  the  only  place  to  secure  flour  and  other  necessaries,  etc.  From 
the  mouth  of  Red  Bank  Creek  these  goods  had  to  be  poled  up  to  Bar- 
nett's  in  canoes.  By  scooping  the  channel,  wading,  and  polling,  a 
round  trip  to  the  mouth  could  be  made  in  from  one  to  two  weeks.  Al- 
though the  woods  swarmed  with  Seneca  Indians,  as  a  rule,  they  never 
committed  any  depredations. 

In  the  summer  of  1804,  when  William  was  ten  years  old,  he  killed  his 
first  deer.  One  morning  his  father  sent  him  into  the  woods  for  the  cows. 
Nature  was  resplendent  with  verdure.  William  carried  with  him  a  flint- 
lock gun,  and  when  a  short  distance  from  the  house  he  found  the  cows 
and  a  deer  feeding  with  them.  This  was  William's  opportunity.  He 
shot  and  killed  this  deer,  and,  as  a  reward  for  merit,  his  father  gave  him 
a  flint-lock  gun  as  a  present.  This  circumstance  determined  his  course 
in  life,  for  from  that  day  until  his  death  it  was  his  delight  to  roam  in  the 
forest  and  pursue  wild  animals,  and  hunting  was  his  only  business.  He 
was  a  "professional  hunter,"  a  "still  hunter,"  or  a  man  who  hunted 
alone. 

In  this  summer  of  1804,  William  went  with  his  mother  to  Ligonier,  in 
Westmoreland  County,  to  get  some  provisions.  The  only  road  was  an 
Indian  path,  the  distance  sixty  miles.  They  rode  through  the  brush  on 
a  horse,  and  made  this  trip  in  about  five  days. 

The  Indians  soon  became  civilized,  as  far  as  drinking  whiskey  and 
getting  drunk  was  an  evidence.  They  visited  this  still-house  for  de- 
bauchery and  drunken  carnivals.  As  a  safeguard  to  himself  and  family, 
Louis  Long  had  a  strong  box  made  to  keep  the  guns  and  knives  of  these 
Indians  in  while  these  drunks  were  occurring.  The  Indians  desired  him 
to  do  this.  Mr.  Long  never  charged  the  Indians  for  this  whiskey,  al- 
though they  always  offered  pelts  and  furs  when  they  sobered  up.  In 
consideration  of  this  generosity,  the  Indians,  in  broken  English,  always 
called  Louis  Long,  "Good  man;  give  Indian  whiskey.  Indian  fight 
pale-face  ;  Indians  come  one  hundred  miles  to  give  '  good  man'  warning." 

Ludwig  Long  kept  his  boys  busy  in  the  summer  months  clearing 
land,  farming,  etc.  The  boys  had  their  own  time  in  winter.  Then 
William,  with  his  gun  and  traps,  traversed  the  forest,  away  from  the 

577 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ocean's  tide,  with  no  inlet  or  outlet  but  winding  paths  used  by  the  deer 
when  he  wished  to  slake  his  thirst  in  the  clear,  sparkling  water  of  the 
North  Fork. 

The  boy  hunter,  to  keep  from  being  lost  while  on  the  trail,  followed 
up  one  side  of  this  creek  and  always  came  down  on  the  opposite.  When 
he  grew  older  he  ventured  farther  and  farther  into  the  wilderness,  but 
always  keeping  the  waters  of  the  North  Fork,  Mill  Creek,  and  Sandy 
Lick  within  range  until  he  became  thoroughly  educated  with  the  country 
and  woods. 

In  his  boyhood  he  frequently  met  and  hunted  in  company  with  In- 
dians. The  Indians  were  friendly  to  him  on  account  of  his  father's  rela- 
tions to  them,  and  it  was  these  Indians  that  gave  young  William  his  first 
lesson  in  the  art  of  hunting.  Young  William  learned  the  trick  of  calling 
wolves  in  this  way.  One  day  his  father  and  he  went  out  for  a  deer. 
William  soon  shot  a  large  one,  and  while  skinning  this  deer  they  heard 
a  pack  of  wolves  howl.  William  told  his  father  to  lie  down  and  be 
ready  to  shoot,  and  he  would  try  the  Indian  method  of  "howling"  or 
calling  wolves  up  to  you.  His  father  consented,  and  William  howled 
and  the  wolves  answered.  William  kept  up  the  howls  and  the  wolves 
answered,  coming  closer  and  closer,  until  his  father  became  scared  ;  but 
William  wouldn't  stop  until  the  wolves  got  so  close  that  he  and  his  father 
had  to  fire  on  the  pack,  killing  two,  when  the  others  took  fright  and 
ran  away.  The  bounty  for  killing  wolves  then  was  eight  dollars  a  piece. 
A  short  time  after  this  William  and  his  father  went  up  Sandy  to  watch 
an  elk  lick,  and  at  this  point  they  killed  an  elk  and  started  for  home. 
On  the  way  home  they  found  where  a  pack  of  about  twenty  wolves  had 
crossed  their  path,  near  where  the  town  of  Reynoldsville  now  is.  Look- 
ing up  the  hill  on  the  right  side  of  Sandy  they  espied  the  whole  pack, 
and,  both  father  and  son  firing  into  the  pack,  they  killed  two  of  them. 
William  then  commenced  to  "  howl,"  and  one  old  wolf  through  curiosity 
came  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  looking  down  at  the  hunters.  For  this 
bravery  William  shot  him  through  the  head.  On  their  return  home  that 
day  Joseph  Barnett  treated  them  both  to  whiskey  and  "tansy,"  for, 
said  he,  "  the  wolves  this  day  have  killed  one  of  my  cows."  When  Long 
was  still  a  young  man,  one  day  he  went  up  the  North  Fork  to  hunt. 
About  sundown  he  shot  a  deer,  and  when  he  had  it  dressed  there  came 
up  a  heavy  rain.  Being  forced  to  stay  all  night,  he  took  the  pelt  and 
covered  himself  with  it,  and  lay  down  under  the  bank  to  sleep.  After 
midnight  he  awoke,  and  found  himself  covered  with  sticks  and  leaves. 
In  a  minute  he  knew  this  was  the  work  of  a  panther  hunting  food  for  her 
cubs,  and  that  she  would  soon  return.  He  therefore  prepared  a  pitch- 
pine  fagot,  lit  it,  and  hid  the  burning  fagot  under  the  bank  and  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  panther.  In  a  short  time  after  this  preparation  was 
completed  the  animal  returned  with  her  cubs,  and  when  she  was  within 

578 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

about  thirty  feet  of  him,  Long  thrust  his  torch  up  and  out,  and  when  it 
blazed  up  bright  the  panther  gave  out  a  yell  and  ran  away. 

John  Long  and  William  started  out  one  morning  on  Sandy  Lick  to  have 
a  bear-hunt,  taking  with  them  nine  dogs.  William  had  been  sent  out  the 
day  before  with  two  dogs,  and  had  a  skirmish  with  one  on  Sandy  Lick, 
near  where  Fuller's  Station  now  stands.  The  two  brothers  went  to  this 
point  and  found  the  track,  and  chased  the  bear  across  the  creek  at  Rocky 
Bend,  the  bear  making  for  a  windfall ;  but  the  dogs  stopped  him  before 
he  reached  the  windfall  and  commenced  the  fight.  They  soon  heard 
some  of  the  dogs  giving  death-yells.  They  both  hurried  to  the  scene  of 
conflict,  and  the  first  sight  they  beheld  was  three  favorite  dogs  stretched 
out  dead  and  the  balance  fighting.  William  ran  in  and  placed  the  muzzle 
of  his  gun  against  bruin's  breast  and  fired.  The  bear  then  backed  up  to 
the  root  of  a  large  hemlock,  sitting  upright  and  grabbing  for  dogs.  John 
and  William  then  fired,  and  both  balls  entered  bruin's  head,  not  more 
than  an  inch  apart.  In  this  melee  three  dogs  were  killed  and  the  other 
six  badly  wounded.  When  William  was  still  a  boy  he  went  up  the  North 
Fork  and  killed  five  deer  in  one  day.  On  his  way  home  about  dark  he 
noticed  a  pole  sticking  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  and  carelessly  gave  this 
pole  a  jerk,  when  he  heard  a  noise  in  the  hole.  The  moon  being  up,  he 
saw  a  bear  emerge  from  this  tree  some  distance  up.  Young  Long  shot 
and  killed  it  before  it  reached  the  earth.  In  that  same  fall,  Bill  Long 
killed  in  one  day,  on  Mill  Creek,  nine  deer,  the  largest  number  he  ever 
killed  in  that  space  of  time.  At  that  time  he  kept  nothing  but  the 
pelts,  and  carried  them  home  on  his  back.  Panthers  often  came  around 
Louis  Long's  home  at  night,  screaming  and  yelling.  So  one  morning, 
after  three  had  been  prowling  around  the  house  all  night,  William 
induced  his  brother  John  to  join  him  in  a  hunt  for  them.  There  was 
snow  on  the  ground,  and  they  took  three  dogs  with  them.  The  dogs 
soon  found  the  "tracks."  Keeping  the  dogs  back,  they  soon  found 
three  deer  killed  by  the  brutes,  and  then  they  let  the  dogs  go.  The  dogs 
soon  caught  these  three  panthers  feasting  on  the  fourth  deer.  The  dogs 
treed  two  of  the  panthers.  John  shot  one  and  Billy  the  other,  the  third 
escaped.  The  hunters  then  camped  for  the  night,  dining  on  deer-  and 
panther-meat  roasted,  and  each  concluded  the  panther-meat  was  the 
sweetest  and  the  best. 

In  the  morning  they  pursued  the  third  panther,  treed  it,  and  killed 
it.  These  were  the  first  panthers  the  Long  boys  ever  killed.  This  stim- 
ulated young  William,  so  he  took  one  of  the  Vastbinder  boys  and  started 
out  again,  taking  along  two  dogs.  They  soon  found  one,  the  dogs  at- 
tacking it.  Young  Vastbinder  fired,  but  missed.  The  panther  sprang 
for  Long,  but  the  dogs  caught  him  by  the  hams  and  that  saved  young 
Long.  The  panther  broke  loose  from  the  dogs  and  ran  up  on  a  high 
root.  Long  then  fired  and  broke  the  brute's  back.  The  dogs  then 

579 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

rushed  in,  but  the  panther  whipped  them  off.  Then  Long,  to  save  the 
dogs,  ran  in  and  tomahawked  the  creature.  Long  was  about  eighteen 
years  of  age  now.  At  another  time  a  panther  sprang  from  a  high  tree  for 
Long.  Long  fired  and  killed  the  panther  before  it  reached  him,  but  the 


Shooting  a  panther. 

weight  of  the  animal  striking  Long  on  the  shoulder,  felled  him  to  the 
earth. 

In  1815  six  brothers  of  Cornplanter's  tribe  of  Indians  erected  wig- 
wams in  the  Beaver  Meadows,  where  Du  Bois  now  stands.  These 
brothers  called  themselves  respectively  "Big"  John,  "Little"  John, 
"Black"  John,  "Saucy"  John,  "John"  John,  and  "John"  Sites.  In 
1823,  Long  coaxed  these  Indians  to  go  with  him  to  Luther's  tavern  to 
shoot  at  mark  with  Lebbeus  Luther.  Luther  made  on  purpose  several 
careless  shots,  when  the  Indians  were  greatly  elated  at  their  victory ;  but 
then,  to  their  amazement  and  fear,  all  at  once  he  pierced  the  centre  every 
time.  The  Indians  were  then  afraid,  and  casting  superstitious  glances  at 
Luther,  said,  "  We  are  not  safe.  Luver  is  a  bad  medicine-man.  Let  us 
go."  This  was  great  fun  for  Long.  Long  told  me  this  story  in  1862  in 
Hickory  Kingdom. 

In  1826,  Ludwig  Long  moved  to  Ohio,  and  young  Bill  went  with  the 
family.  He  remained  there  about  twenty  months ;  but  finding  little 

580 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

game,  concluded  to  return  to  the  mountain-hills  of  Jefferson  County, 
then  the  paradise  of  hunters.  In  1828,  William  Long  married  Mrs. 
Nancy  Bartlett,  formerly  Miss  Nancy  Mason,  and  commenced  married 
life  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  North  Fork,  three  miles  from  where  Brookville 
now  is,  and  on  what  is  now  the  Albert  Horn  farm,  formerly  the  Gaup 
place.  About  this  time,  game  being  plenty,  and  the  scalps,  skins,  and 
saddles  being  hard  to  carry  in,  Bill  Long  induced  a  colored  man  named 
Charles  Sutherland  to  build  a  cabin  near  him  on  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Jacob  Hoffman  farm.  Long  was  to  provide  for  Charlie's  family. 


Long  sees  one. 

The  cabin  was  built,  and  Sutherland  served  Long  for  about  five  years. 
Charles  never  carried  a  gun.  I  remember  both  these  characters  well  in 
my  childhood,  and  doctored  Long  and  his  wife  in  my  early  practice  and 
as  late  as  1862.  In  1830,  taking  Charlie,  Long  started  up  the  North 
Fork  for  bear ;  it  was  on  Sunday.  After  Long  killed  the  first  bear,  he 
called  Charlie  to  come  and  bring  the  dogs.  When  Charlie  reached  him 
he  yelled  out,  "Good  God,  massa,  hab  you  seed  one?"  They  con- 
tinued the  hunt  that  day,  and  before  dark  had  killed  seven  bears. 
Charlie  had  never  seen  any  bears  killed  before,  but  after  this  day  was 
crazy  to  be  on  a  hunt,  for,  he  said,  if  "dem  little  niggers  of  mine  hab 
plenty  of  bear-grease  and  venison,  they  will  fatten  well  enough."  This 

581 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

fall  Long  killed  sixty  deer  and  twenty-five  bears,  all  on  the  North  Fork, 
and  the  bears  were  all  killed  near  and  around  where  Richardsville  now  is. 
This  locality  was  a  natural  home  for  wild  animals, — 

"  With  its  woodland  dale  and  dell, 
Rippling  brooks  and  hill-side  springs." 

"  A  life  in  the  forest  deep, 
Where  the  winds  their  revels  keep ; 
Like  an  eagle  in  groves  of  pine, 
Long  hunted  with  his  mate." 

In  1832,  the  day  after  Long  killed  the  seven  bears,  he  took  Charlie 
Sutherland,  and  travelled  over  the  same  ground  that  he  had  been  over 
the  day  before.  He  heard  nothing,  however,  during  the  day  but  the 
sigh  of  the  breeze  or  the  speech  of  the  brook  until  near  evening,  when, 
within  about  a  mile  of  home,  he  saw  a  large  buck  coming  down  the  hill. 
He  fired  and  wounded  the  buck,  and  then  motioned  Charlie  to  come  up 
to  him  while  he  was  loading.  Charlie  came  with  a  large  pine-log  on  his 
back.  Long  asked  him  what  he  was  doing  with  that  log.  Sutherland 
replied,  he  wanted  it  for  dry  wood.  Long  told  him  to  throw  the  wood 
away,  and  made  him  carry  the  buck  home  for  food.  Long  then  yoked 
his  two  dogs  up  and  told  Charlie  to  lead  them,  but  soon  discovering 
bear  signs,  told  Charlie  to  let  the  dogs  go.  The  dogs  took  the  trail,  and 
found  two  bears  heading  for  the  laurel  on  the  head  of  the  North  Fork. 
Long  knew  the  route  they  would  take,  and  beat  them  to  the  laurel  path. 
Soon  Long  heard  them  coming,  the  dogs  fighting  the  bears  every  time 
the  bears  would  cross  a  log,  catching  them  from  behind.  The  bears 
would  then  turn  around  and  fight  the  dogs  until  they  could  get  over  the 
log.  When  the  bears  came  within  about  thirty  yards  of  Long,  he  shot 
one  through  the  head  and  killed  him.  At  this  time  Long  only  took  the 
pelts,  which  he  always  carried  home,  the  meat  being  of  no  account. 
This  same  year  Long  took  Charlie  with  him  to  get  some  venison  by 
watching  a  lick,  and  he  took  Charlie  up  a  tree  with  him.  In  a  short 
time  a  very  large  bear  came  into  the  lick.  Long  shot  it  while  he  and 
Charlie  were  up  the  tree.  Much  to  Long's  amusement,  Charlie  was  so 
scared  that  he  fell  from  the  tree  to  the  ground,  landing  on  his  back  with 
his  face  up.  He  was,  however,  unhurt,  and  able  to  carry  home  to  his 
cabin  the  pelt  and  bear  oil.  The  next  morning  they  saw  a  bear,  and 
Long  fired,  hitting  him  in  the  lungs.  This  same  fall,  on  the  head  of 
the  North  Fork,  Long  saw  something  black  in  the  brush,  which,  on 
closer  inspection,  proved  to  be  a  large  she  bear.  On  looking  up,  he 
saw  three  good-sized  cubs.  Long  climbed  up,  and  brought  the  whole 
three  of  them  down,  one  at  a  time.  He  then  handed  them  to  Charlie, 
who  tied  their  legs.  Long  put  them  in  his  knapsack  and  carried  them 

582 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

home.     Bears  have  from  one  to  four  cubs  annually,  about  the   ist  of 
February. 

Knapsacks  were  made  out  of  bed-ticking  or  canvas,  with  shoulder- 
straps.  One  of  these  young  bears  Long  sold  to  Adam  George,  a  butcher 
in  Brookville.  Even  at  this  late  day  Long  only  took  the  skins  and  what 
meat  he  wanted  for  his  own  use.  This  fall  Long  was  not  feeling  well, 
and  had  to  keep  out  of  the  wet.  He  therefore  made  Charlie  carry  him 
across  the  streams.  He  also  made  Charlie  carry  a  wolf-skin  for  him  to 
sit  on  at  night,  when  he  was  watching  a  lick.  At  another  time  Charlie 
and  Long  went  out  on  a  hunt  near  the  head  of  the  North  Fork.  In  lonely 
solitude  the  dog  started  a  bear,  and  Long  could  not  shoot  it  for  fear  of 
hitting  the  dog,  so  he  ran  up  and  made  a  stroke  at  the  bear's  head  with 
a  tomahawk,  wounding  it  but  slightly.  The  bear  jumped  for  Long,  and 
the  dogs  came  to  the  rescue  of  their  master  by  catching  "  the  tip  of  the 
bear's  tail  end,"  and,  with  the  valor  and  fidelity  of  a  true  knight,  held 


A  common  bear-pen. 


it  firmly,  until  Long,  who  had  left  his  gun  a  short  distance,  ran  for 
it.  Charlie  thought  Long  was  running  from  the  bear,  and  took  to  his 
heels  as  if  the  "Old  Harry"  was  after  him.  Long  tried  to  stop  him, 
but  Charlie  only  looked  back,  and  at  this  moment  his  foot  caught  under 
a  root,  throwing  him  about  thirty  feet  down  a  hill.  Charlie  landed  on 

583 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

a  rock  hard  enough  to  have  burst  a  shingle-bolt.  Long,  seeing  this, 
ran  to  the  bear  with  his  gun  and  shot  him.  He  then  hurried  down  the 
hill  to  see  what  had  become  of  Charlie,  calling  to  him.  Charlie  came 
out  from  under  a  bunch  of  laurel,  saying,  "  God  Almighty,  Massa  Long, 
I  am  failed  from  heben  to  hell !  Are  you  still  living  ?  I  tot  that  ar  bar 
had  done  gon  for  you  when  I  seed  him  come  for  you  with  his  mouth 
open.  Bless  de  good  Lord  you  still  live,  or  this  nigger  would  never  git 
out  of  dese  woods  !"  That  night  Charlie  and  Long  laid  out  in  the  woods. 
The  wolves  came  up  quite  close  and  commenced  to  howl.  Long  saw 
there  was  a  chance  for  a  little  fun,  so  he  commenced  to  howl  like  a 
wolf.  Charlie  became  nervous.  "  When  lo  !  he  hears  on  all  sides,  from 
innumerable  tongues,  a  universal  howl,  and  in  his  fright"  said  there 
must  be  five  thousand  wolves.  Long  said  he  thought  there  was,  and 
told  Charlie  that,  if  the  wolves  came  after  them,  he  must  climb  a  tree. 
In  a  few  minutes  Long  made  a  jump  into  the  woods,  yelling  "  The  wolves 
are  coming,"  and  Charlie  bounded  like  a  deer  into  the  woods,  too.  The 
night  was  dark  and  dreary ;  but  deep  in  the  forest  Charlie  made  out  to 
find  and  climb  a  majestic  oak.  Long,  therefore,  had  to  look  Charlie 
up,  and  when  he  got  near  to  our  colored  brother,  he  heard  him  solilo- 
quizing thus  :  "  Charles,  you  have  to  stick  tight,  for  if  this  holt  breaks  you 
are  a  gone  nigger."  Long  then  stepped  up  to  the  tree  and  told  Charlie 
the  danger  was  over ;  but  coming  down  the  tree  was  harder  than  going 
up,  for  Charlie  fell  to  the  earth  like  a  thunder-bolt  and  doubled  up  like  a 
jack-knife. 

Charlie's  domestic  life  was  not  all  peace,  as  the  following  newspaper 
advertisement  will  explain : 

"CAUTION. 

"  Whereas  my  wife  Susey  did  on  the  26th  day  of  March  last  leave  my 
bed  and  board,  and  took  with  her  two  of  my  sons  and  some  property, 
having  no  other  provocation  than  '  that  I  would  not  consent  to  my  son 
marrying  a  white  girl,  and  bring  her  home  to  live  with  us. '  Therefore  I 
hereby  caution  all  persons  against  harboring  or  trusting  her  on  my 
account,  as  I  will  pay  no  debts  of  her  contracting. 

"  If  she  will  come  home  I  promise  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  make  her 
comfortable,  and  give  an  equal  share  of  all  my  property. 

"  CHARLES  SOUTHERLAND. 

"April  7,  1847." 

When  this  wilderness  commenced  to  settle  up,  Long  visited  Broken 
Straw  Creek,  in  Warren  County,  on  the  head  of  the  Allegheny  River,  to 
see  a  noted  hunter  by  the  name  of  Cotton,  and  to  learn  from  him  his 
method  of  hunting  young  wolves.  He  learned  much  from  this  man 
Cotton,  and  afterwards  secured  many  young  wolves  by  the  instruction 
given  him  by  Cotton.  In  the  winter  of  1835,  Mike  and  Bill  Long  went  to 

584 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Boone's  Mountain  to  hunt.     This  mountain  was  a  barren  region  in  those 
days,  that  always  looked  in  winter-time  like 

"  Rivers  of  ice  and  a  sea  of  snow, 
A  wilderness  frigid  and  white." 

During  the  season  Bill  killed  one  hundred  and  five  deer  and  Mike 
one  hundred  and  four,  and  together  they  killed  four  bears.  At  this  time 
there  was  some  local  demand  in  Brookville  and  other  towns  for  venison, 
and  in  this  year  the  Long's  sent  loads  of  venison  to  Harrisburg,  making 
a  trip  to  the  capital  in  seven  or  eight  days.  In  1839,  Long  moved  into 
Clearfield  County,  and  his  history  in  this  county  ceased. 

Number  of  animals  killed  by  Long  in  his  life-time  :  bears,  400  ;  deer 
(in  1835  one  white  one),  3500;  panthers,  50;  wolves,  2000;  elks,  125; 
foxes,  400;  wild-cats,  200;  catamounts,  500;  otters,  75. 

Long  used  to  catch  fawns,  mark  their  ears,  turn  them  loose,  and  kill 
them  when  full-grown  deer.  Elks  were  easily  domesticated,  and  sold  as 
follows, — viz. :  for  a  living  male  elk  one  year  old,  $50  ;  two  years  old,  $75  ; 
three  years  old,  $100;  and  for  a  calf  three  months  old,  $25.  In  1835, 
Long  had  five  wolf-dens  that  he  visited  annually  for  pups,  about  the  ist 
of  May  each  year. 

In  1834,  Bill  Long,  his  brother  Mike,  and  Ami  Sibley  started  on  a 
hunt  for  elk  near  where  Portland  now  is.  At  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek 
these  three  hunters  came  across  a  drove  of  about  forty  elks.  Bill  Long 
fired  into  the  herd  and  broke  the  leg  of  one.  This  wounded  elk  began 
to  squeal,  and  then  the  herd  commenced  to  run  in  a  circle  around  the 
injured  one.  Sibley's  gun  had  the  wiping-stick  fastened  in  it,  and  he 
could  not  use  it.  Bill  and  Mike  then  loaded  and  fired  into  the  drove  as 
rapidly  as  they  could,  the  elks  continuing  to  make  the  circle,  until  each 
had  fired  about  twenty-five  shots,  when  the  drove  became  frightened  and 
ran  away.  On  examination,  the  hunters  found  eight  large  elks  killed. 
They  then  made  a  raft,  ran  the  load  down  to  where  Raught's  mill  is  now, 
and  hauled  the  meat,  pelts,  and  horns  to  Brookville. 

In  1836,  Bill  Long  took  Henry  Dull  and  started  on  a  hunt  for  a  young 
elk.  On  the  third  day  Long  saw  a  doe  elk  and  calf.  He  shot  the 
mother,  and  his  dog  caught  the  calf  and  held  it  without  hurting  it. 
Long  removed  the  udder  from  the  mother,  carrying  it  with  the  "teats" 
uppermost,  and  giving  the  calf  milk  from  it  until  they  reached  Ridgway, 
where  a  jug  of  milk  was  secured,  and  by  means  of  an  artificial  "  teat' vthe 
calf  was  nourished  until  Long  reached  his  North  Fork  home.  Dull  led 
the  little  creature  by  a  rope  around  its  neck.  Mrs.  Long  raised  this  elk 
with  her  cows,  feeding  it  every  milking-time,  and  when  the  calf  grew  to 
be  some  size  he  would  drive  the  cows  home  every  evening  for  his  supper 
of  milk.  When  this  elk  was  full  grown,  Long  and  Dull  led  him  to  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  via  the  pike  westward  to  the  Allegheny  River,  and  up 
38  585 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

through  Warren,  and  sold  the  animal  for  two  hundred  dollars, — one  hun- 
dred dollars  in  cash  and  a  note  for  the  other  hundred,  that  was  never 
paid. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  Long  took  Henry  Dull  with  him  to  hunt  wolves. 
The  second  evening,  Long  found  an  old  wolf  with  six  half-grown  pups. 
He  shot  two  and  the  rest  ran  away.  Long  and  Dull  then  climbed  a  hem- 
lock, and  Long  began  his  wolf  howl.  On  hearing  the  howl,  two  pups 
and  the  old  wolf  came  back.  Long  then  shot  the  mother,  and  afterwards 
got  all  the  pups.  Dull  became  so  frightened  that  he  fell  head  first,  gun 
and  all,  through  the  brush,  striking  the  ground  with  his  head,  producing 
unconsciousness  and  breaking  his  shoulder.  "  Thanks  to  the  human 
heart,  by  which  we  live,"  for  Long  nursed  Dull  at  his  home  on  the 
North  Fork  for  three  months.  Scalps  then  brought  twelve  dollars  a 
piece.  In  that  same  year  Fred.  Heterick  and  Bill  killed  an  elk  at  the 
mouth  of  Little  Toby  which  weighed  six  hundred  pounds.  In  1824,  Bill 
Long  had  a  thrilling  adventure  with  a  huge  panther  in  what  is  now  War- 
saw township.  He,  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter,  killed  the  animal 
near  where  Bootjack  now  stands. 

In  the  winter  of  1834,  William  Dixon,  Mike  and  Bill  Long,  with 
dogs,  went  out  to  "rope"  or  catch  a  live  elk.  They  soon  started  a 
drove  on  the  North  Fork,  and  the  dogs  chased  the  drove  over  to  the 
Little  Toby,  a  short  distance  up  from  the  mouth.  The  dogs  separated 
one  buck  from  the  drove,  and  this  elk,  to  protect  himself  from  the  dogs, 
took  refuge  on  a  ledge  of  rocks.  Bill  Long,  while  Mike  and  Dixon  and 
the  dogs  attracted  the  attention  of  the  elk  from  below,  scrambled  in  some 
way  to  the  top  of  the  rocks  and  threw  a  rope  over  the  elk's  horns,  and 
then  cabled  the  elk  to  a  small  tree.  This  infuriated  the  elk,  so  that  he 
jumped  out  over  the  rocks  and  fell  on  his  side.  Mike  and  Dixon  now 
had  the  first  rope.  Bill  Long  then  rushed  on  the  fallen  elk  and  threw 
another  rope  in  a  slip-noose  knot  around  the  elk's  neck,  and  fastened  this 
rope  as  a  guy  to  a  tree.  Each  rope  was  then  fastened  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion to  a  tree,  and  after  the  buck  was  choked  into  submission,  his  feet 
were  tied,  and  the  elk  was  dragged  by  these  three  men  on  the  creek  ice  to 
where  Brockwayville  now  is.  Here  they  secured  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  sled 
from  Ami  Sibley,  a  mighty  hunter.  A  small  tree  was  then  cut,  the  main 
stem  being  left  about  five  feet  long  and  the  two  forks  about  three  feet  in 
length.  Each  prong  of  the  tree  was  fastened  to  a  horn  of  the  buck, 
and  the  main  stem  permitted  to  hang  down  in  front  over  the  buck's  nose, 
to  which  it  was  fastened  with  a  rope.  A  rope  was  then  tied  around  the 
neck  and  antlers,  and  the  loose  end  tied  around  the  hind  bench  of  the 
sled ;  this  drove  the  elk  close  up  to  the  hind  part  of  the  sled.  The  ropes 
around  the  feet  of  the  elk  were  then  cut,  and  the  buck  lit  on  his  feet. 
After  the  animal  had  made  many  desperate  efforts  and  plunges,  he 
quieted  down,  and  no  trouble  was  experienced  until  within  a  few  miles 

586 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

of  Brookville,  when,  meeting  an  acquaintance,  Dixon  became  so  much  ex- 
cited over  the  success  in  capturing  a  live  elk,  that  he  ran  up  and  hit  the 
elk  on  the  back,  exclaiming,  "  See,  we  have  done  it !"  and  this  so  scared 
the  elk  that  he  made  a  desperate  jump,  upsetting  the  sled  into  a  ditch 
over  a  log.  The  oxen  then  took  fright,  and  in  the  general  melee  the  elk 
had  a  shoulder  knocked  out  of  place  and  the  capture  was  a  failure. 

There  grew  in  abundance  in  those  days  a  tree  called  moose  or  leather- 
wood.  The  pioneers  used  the  bark  for  ropes,  which  were  very  strong. 

ELK    AND    VENISON    JERK. 

This  was  "  venison  flesh  cut  off  in  a  sheet  or  web  about  half  an  inch 
thick  and  spread  on  the  tops  of  pegs  driven  into  the  ground,  whilst  under- 
neath a  fire  was  kindled,  fed  with  chips  of  sassafras  and  other  odorous 
woods,  that  gradually  dried  it."  The  web  would  be  removed  and  re- 
placed until  the  jerk  was  thoroughly  dried.  The  old  hunter  used  to  carry 
a  little  jerk  always  with  him  to  eat  with  his  bread.  This  jerk  was  a 
delicious  morsel.  Bill  Long  gave  me  many  a  "cut."  I  think  I  can 
taste  it  now.  Mike  and  Bill  Long  would  bring  it  to  Brookville  and  retail 
it  to  the  people  at  five  cents  a  cut. 

AN    INCIDENT    ON    THE    PIKE. 

In  the  spring  of  1820,  when  the  pike  was  being  constructed,  there  was 
an  early  settler  by  the  name  of  George  Eckler  living  near  Port  Barnett. 
This  man  Eckler  liked  a  spree,  and  the  Irish  that  worked  on  the  pike 
were  not  averse  to  "  a  wee  drop  at  ony  time."  A  jug  or  two  of  Long's 
"  Mountain  Dew"  whiskey,  fresh  from  the  still,  was  secured,  and  a  jolly 
"  Donnebrook  fair"  time  was  had  one  night  in  the  woods.  Eckler  came 
in  for  the  worst  of  it,  for  his  eyes  were  blackened  and  he  was  battered  up 
generally.  On  sober  reflection  he  concluded  to  swear  out  a  warrant  before 
Thomas  Lucas,  Esq.,  for  the  "  Paddies  of  the  pike."  The  warrant  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  constable,  John  Dixon,  Sr.  There  were  about 
twenty-five  in  this  gang  of  Paddies,  and  Constable  Dixon  summoned  a  posse 
of  eight  to  assist  in  the  arrest.  This  posse  consisted  of  the  young  Dixons, 
Longs,  and  McCulloughs,  and  when  this  solid  column  of  foresters  reached 
the  Irish  on  the  pike,  one  of  the  Paddies  told  the  constable  to  "go  home 
and  attend  to  his  own  business."  He  then  commanded  the  pike  battalion 
to  remove  the  handles  from  their  picks  and  charge  on  the  posse.  This 
they  did,  to  the  complete  rout  of  the  natives,  chasing  them  all  in  con- 
fusion like  a  herd  of  deer  through  and  across  Mill  Creek.  Young  Bill 
Long  was  with  this  posse,  and  he  ran  home,  too,  but  only  to  arm  him- 
self, not  with  a  shillelah,  but  with  his  flint-lock,  tomahawk,  and  knife. 
Thus  armed  and  single-handed  he  renewed  the  conflict,  keeping  in  the 
woods  and  above  the  Irish,  and  sending  balls  so  close  to  their  heads  that 

587 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  whiz  could  be  heard,  until  he  drove  the  whole  pack,  with  their  carts, 
etc.,  from  above  Port  Barnett  to  where  Brookville  now  stands. 

As  I  remember  Long,  he  was  about  five  feet  and  four  inches  high, 
chubby,  strongly  built,  active,  athletic,  and  a  great  dancer, — danced 
what  he  called  the  "  chippers"  and  the  "crack," — was  cheerful,  lively, 
and  good-natured.  He  carried  a  heavy  single-barrel,  muzzle-loading  rifle. 
His  belief  was  that  he  could  shoot  better  with  a  heavy  rifle  than  with  a 
light  one.  Although  there  were  dozens  of  professional  hunters  in  this 
wilderness,  this  man  was  the  king.  He  had  an  enduring  frame,  a  catlike 
step,  a  steady  nerve,  keen  eyesight,  and  a  ripe  knowledge  of  all  the  laws 
governing  "still  hunts  for  deer  and  bear."  To  reach  the  great  skill  he 
attained  in  mature  life  required  natural  talents,  perseverance,  sagacity, 
and  habits  of  thought,  as  well  as  complete  self-possession,  self-control, 
and  quickness  of  execution. 

In  these  woods  Long  had  great  opportunities  for  perfecting  himself  in 
all  that  pertained  to  proficiency  in  a  great  hunter.  Of  the  other  hunters 
that  approached  him,  I  only  recall  his  brothers,  the  Knapps,  the  three 
Vastbinders,  the  Lucases,  the  Bells,  the  Nolfs,  Sibley,  Fred.  Heterick, 
Indian  Russell,  and  George  Smith,  who  is  still  living. 

The  professional  hunter  was  created  by  the  law  of  1705  under  the 
dynasty  of  William  Penn.  The  law  reads  as  follows : 

"AN  ACT  FOR  THE  KILLING  OF  WOLVES.     FOR  PREVENTING  THE  DE- 
STRUCTION OF  SHEEP  AND  CATTLE  BY  WOLVES. 

"SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  John  Evans,  Esquire,  by  the  Queen's 
royal  approbation  Lieutenant-  Governor  under  William  Penn,  Esquire,  ab- 
solute Proprietary  and  Governor-in-  Chief  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Territories,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  freemen  of  the 
said  Province  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same, 
That  if  any  person  within  this  province  shall  kill  a  dog- wolf,  he  shall  have 
ten  shillings,  and  if  a  bitch-wolf,  fifteen  shillings,  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
county  stock.  Provided  inch  person  brings  the  wolf's  head  to  one  of  the 
justices  of  the  peace  of  that  county,  who  is  to  cause  the  ears  and  tongue 
of  the  said  wolf  to  be  cut  off.  And  that  the  Indians,  as  well  as  others, 
shall  be  paid  for  killing  wolves  accordingly. 

"  SECTION  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That 
all  and  every  person  or  persons  who  are  willing  to  make  it  their  business 
to  kill  wolves,  and  shall  enter  into  recognizance  before  two  or  more  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  of  the  respective  counties  where  he  or  they  dwell,  with 
sufficient  security  in  the  sum  of  five  pounds,  that  he  or  they  shall  and  will 
make  it  his  or  their  sole  business,  at  least  three  days  in  every  week,  to 
catch  wolves,  shall  have  twenty- five  shillings  for  every  wolf,  dog  or  bitch, 
that  he  or  they  shall  so  catch  and  kill  within  the  time  mentioned  in  the 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

said  recognizance,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county  levies  where  the  wolves 
are  taken  as  aforesaid." 

Repealed  by  the  acts  of  1782  and  1819. 

Long's  early  dress  was  a  coon-skin  cap,  moccasin  shoes,  a  hunting- 
shirt,  and  generally  buckskin  breeches.  The  hunting-shirt  was  worn  by 
all  these  early  hunters,  and  sometimes  in  militia  drill.  It  was  a  kind 
of  frock,  reached  down  to  the  thighs,  had  large  sleeves,  was  open  be- 
fore, and  lapped  over  a  foot  or  so  when  belted.  This  shirt  was  made  of 
linsey,  coarse  linen,  or  of  dressed  buckskin.  The  deer-skin  shirt  was 
cold  and  uncomfortable  in  wet  and  cold  rains.  The  bosom  of  the  shirt 
served  as  a  receptacle  for  rye  bread,  wheat  cakes,  tow  for  cleaning  the 
rifle,  jerk,  punk,  flint  and  knocker  to  strike  fire  with,  etc.  Matches  were 
first  made  in  1829,  but  were  not  used  here  for  many  years  after  that. 
The  belt  was  tied  behind ;  it  usually  held  the  mittens,  bullet-bag,  toma- 
hawk, and  scalping-knife  in  its  long  buckskin  sheath.  The  moccasin  in 
cold  weather  was  sometimes  stuffed  with  feathers,  wool,  and  dry  leaves. 
The  heavy  early  rifles  carried  about  forty  five  bullets  to  a  pound  of  lead. 
The  hand-to-hand  conflicts  of  this  noted  hunter  with  panthers,  bears, 
catamounts,  wolves,  elks,  and  bucks,  both  on  the  land  and  in  the  streams, 
if  written  out  in  full,  would  make  a  large  volume  of  itself.  Elks  and  deer 
frequently  took  to  the  creeks,  and  a  battle  royal  with  knife  and  horns 
would  have  to  be  fought  in  the  water.  Long  was  several  times  mistaken 
while  in  a  thicket  for  a  wild  animal,  and  careless  hunters  shot  at  him. 
Once  his  cheek  was  rubbed  with  a  ball.  Dozens  of  Indians  and  pale- 
faced  men  hunted  in  fhis  wilderness  as  well  as  he,  and  the  table  giving 
an  exhibit  of  the  aggregate  number  of  animals  killed  by  Long  during  his 
life  as  a  hunter  only  goes  to  show  what  a  great  zoological  garden  of  wild 
animals  this  wilderness  must  have  been.  For  some  of  the  data  in  this 
article  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Dr.  Gibson,  nee  Anna  McCreight,  of  Rey- 
noldsville,  Pennsylvania. 

William  Long  died  in  Hickory  Kingdom,  Clearfield  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  May,  1880,  and  was  buried  in  the  Comvay  Cemetery,  leaving 
two  sons, — Jack,  a  mighty  hunter,  and  a  younger  son,  William. 

Peace  to  his  ashes.  In  the  haunts  of  this  wilderness,  scorched  by  the 
summer  sun.  pinched  by  the  winds  of  winter  wailing  their  voices  like 
woe,  separated  for  weeks  at  a  time  in  his  lonely  cabins  from  the  society 
of  men  and  women,  and  then,  too,  awakened  in  the  dark  and  dreary 
nights  by  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  the  panther's  scream,  and  the  owl's 
to-hoo  !  to-hoo  !  Long  steadily,  year  in  and  year  out,  for  sixty  years 
pursued  this  wild,  romantic  life. 

THE   HABITS   OF   SOME   OF   THE   GAME   LONG    HUNTED. 

Our  bears  cub  in  February,  have  two  cubs  at  a  birth,  and  these  cubs 
are  about  the  size  of  a  brown  rat,  without  hair,  and  blind  for  nine  days 

589 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

They  are  suckled  by  the  mother  for  about  three  months,  when  they  reach 
the  size  of  a  cat ;  then  the  mother  takes  them  out  and  teaches  them  to  eat 
nuts,  berries,  bugs,  little  animals,  green  corn,  vegetables,  hogs,  sheep,  and 
sometimes  cattle.  A  full-grown  bear  will  weigh  four  hundred  pounds. 
He  is  exceedingly  strong.  He  can  carry  a  heavy  burden  and  walk  on 
his  hind  legs  for  a  long  distance. 

He  frequently  gnawed  himself  out  of  hunters'  pens,  is  a  bold,  intelli- 
gent beast,  and  his  meat  was  considered  a  delicacy  by  the  hunters. 

Bears  lived  in  "homes,"  holes,  or  dens,  and  sometimes  in  a  rocky 
place  there  would  be  a  "community."  They,  like  deer,  follow  their 
own  paths. 

Our  panther  was  fully  as  strong  as  the  bear,  but  was  rather  cowardly, 
and  especially  fearful  of  dogs.  A  single  blow  from  one  forefoot  or  a  bite 
from  a  panther  would  kill  a  dog.  As  a  preservation,  the  panther  hunter 
always  had  a  trained  dog  with  him,  for  a  single  bark  from  a  dog  would 
often  scare  a  panther  up  a  tree.  The  panther,  as  a  rule,  sought  and 
sprang  upon  his  victim  in  the  dark.  He  could  throw  a  buck,  hog,  or 
cow  without  a  struggle.  A  panther  attained  sometimes  a  length  of  ten 
feet  from  nose  to  end  of  tail.  They  lived  in  dens  and  had  two  cubs  at 
a  time. 

Rowe,  of  Clearfield,  says  of  the  hunter  Dan  Turner,  "  Once,  when 
going  out  to  a  '  bear  wallow,'  his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  panther 
acting  in  a  strange  manner.  He  soon  saw  a  large  bear  approaching  it. 
With  hair  erect  and  eyes  glaring,  the  panther  gnashed  his  teeth,  and, 
waiting  until  bruin  came  up,  sprang  upon  him.  A  mortal  struggle  ensued. 
Turner  watched  with  much  interest  the  fight,  which  lasted  some  ten 
minutes  or  more.  At  last  the  growls  of  the  fierce  combatants  became 
faint,  and  the  struggle  ceased.  The  panther  slowly  disengaged  himself 
from  his  dead  enemy  and  took  position  upon  the  carcass.  It  was  now 
Turner's  time,  and,  raising  his  rifle,  he  shot  the  panther  in  the  head.  After 
examining  it,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  could  have  lived  but  a  very 
few  minutes  longer.  Nearly  every  bone  in  its  body  was  broken,  and  its 
flesh  was  almost  reduced  to  a  pulp  by  the  blows  and  hugs  of  the  bear." 

Our  wolves  always  had  their  dens  in  the  wildest,  most  hidden  part  of 
the  wilderness.  They  always  manage  to  get  under  the  rocks  or  ground 
to  shelter  themselves  and  young  from  all  storms.  The  male  fed  the 
female  when  the  "pups"  were  small.  He  would  travel  a  great  distance 
in  search  of  food,  and  if  what  he  found  was  too  heavy  to  carry  home,  he 
would  gorge  himself  with  it  and  go  home  and  vomit  it  up  for  the  family. 
The  wolf  and  fox  were  very  chary  and  hard  to  trap.  But  Long  and 
other  hunters  knew  their  habits  so  well  that  they  could  always  outwit 
them. 

A  wolf  could  carry  a  sheep  for  miles  in  this  way  :  seize  it  by  the  throat 
and  throw  it  over  or  on  his  back.  Wolves  hunted  the  deer  in  packs  ;  they 

59° 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

all  hunted  together  until  a  deer  was  started.  The  pack  would  keep  up 
the  chase  until  they  were  tired ;  then  one  wolf  would  keep  up  the  chase  at 
full  speed,  while  the  balance  of  the  pack  watched,  and  when  the  deer 
turned  a  circle,  fresh  and  rested  wolves  struck  in  and  pursued  ;  thus  the 
deer  was  pursued  alternately  by  fresh  wolves  and  soon  tired  out,  and 
would  then  fly  to  some  stream ;  the  wolves  would  follow,  and  while  the 
deer  would  remain  in  the  stream  the  wolves  would  separate,  a  part  of  the 
pack  forming  in  line  on  each  side  of  the  stream,  when  the  deer  would 
become  an  easy  prey  to  these  ravenous  creatures. 

The  most  dangerous  animal  or  reptile  was  the  rattlesnake.  We  had 
these  colors  :  the  black,  yellow,  or  spotted.  Millions  of  them  inhabited 
these  woods,  and  some  were  four  and  five  feet  long.  Snakes,  as  well  as 
other  wild  animals,  travel  and  seek  their  food  in  the  night.  To  escape 
this  danger,  each  pioneer  kept  a  large  herd  of  hogs,  who  would  kill  and 
eat  snakes  with  impunity.  Dogs,  too,  were  faithful  in  this  direction. 
But  how  did  the  woodsman  and  hunter  escape?  Well,  he  wore  woollen 
stockings,  moccasins  with  anklets,  and  buckskin  breeches.  A  snake 
could  not  bite  through  these,  and  at  night  he  usually  laid  his  head  on  the 
body  of  his  dog  to  protect  his  upper  extremities. 

It  was  seldom  that  the  elk  or  deer  had  twins.  The  bear,  panther, 
and  wolf  always  had  a  litter.  Wolves  reared  in  the  same  pack  lived 
friendly,  but  strange  males  always  fought. 

The  deer,  when  frightened,  circled  round  and  round,  but  never  left 
his  haunt.  The  elk  would  start  on  a  trot,  and  never  stop  under  ten  or 
fifteen  miles.  The  bear  was  and  is  a  wanderer, — here  to-day  and  away 
to-morrow.  The  wolf  and  panther  were  fierce  and  shy. 


APPENDIX. 


SOME  LOCAL  HISTORY— A  LINCOLN  STORY— THE  MEMORABLE  CAM- 
PAIGN OF  1864. 

IN  the  spring  of  1864  we  had  thirty  thousand  human,  living  skeletons 
in  rebel  prisons.  The  war  had  been  carried  on  for  three  years.  The 
following  great  and  sanguinary  battles  had  been  fought, — viz.  :  Bull  Run, 
Seven  Pines,  Fort  Donelson,  Fort  Pillow,  Shiloh,  Seven  Days'  battle  in 
Virginia,  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Stone 
River,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Chickamauga,  Cold  Harbor,  Spott- 
sylvania,  and  the  Wilderness.  These  battles,  or  most  of  them,  had  been 
the  bloodiest  that  modern  history  records.  In  our  sorrow  and  despair, 
the  most  bitter  antagonisms  existed  at  home  between  the  war  and  anti- 
war people.  A  new  President  was  to  be  elected  that  year,  and  in  order 
to  save  the  country  and  to  punish  rebellion,  nearly  all  patriots — this 
included  war  Democrats — believed  that  the  re  election  of  Lincoln  was 
absolutely  necessary.  Actuated  by  these  impulses,  Judge  Joseph  Hender- 
son, of  Brookville,  was  chosen  our  Congressional  delegate  to  the  national 
convention,  which  was  to  meet  on  the  yth  of  June,  1864,  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  Judge  Henderson,  Major  Andrews,  and  myself  were  warm 
friends.  The  judge  was  a  great  friend  of  Lincoln  and  Johnson.  On  the 
5th  of  June  I  accompanied  the  judge  to  Baltimore.  Our  State  delegation 
consisted  of  fifty-two  men, — forty-eight  district  delegates  and  four  at 
large, — viz.,  Simon  Cameron,  W.  W.  Ketcham,  Morrow B.  Lowry,  and  A. 
K.  McClure.  Simon  Cameron  was  made  chairman  of  the  delegation.  The 
following  States  were  represented  in  that  body :  Maine,  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Tennes- 
see, Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon,  West  Virginia,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Nevada,  and 
Missouri.  There  was  a  dispute  as  to  the  right  of  Tennessee  to  represen- 
tation, but  the  convention  voted  them  in.  In  this  the  judge  voted  aye, 
and  on  the  first  ballot  Lincoln  received  every  vote  except  Missouri,  which 
cast  a  solid  vote  for  General  Grant.  For  Vice-President,  Andrew  John- 
son, of  Tennessee,  was  nominated  on  first  ballot  over  Hamlin,  of  Maine, 
Dickinson,  of  New  York,  and  Rosseau,  of  Kentucky.  It  was  thought  by 

593 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 

the  convention  expedient  to  strengthen  the  ticket  by  nominating  a  man 
for  this  office  who  was  known  to  be  a  war  Democrat  and  from  the  South, 
and  as  this  was  a  convention  of  freemen,  wise  leaders,  and  not  of  bosses, 
the  people  and  wisdom  ruled. 

From  Baltimore  I  went  to  Washington  on  business  to  see  Stanton.  I 
found  him  haughty  and  austere.  I  therefore  sought  and  received  an  audi- 
ence at  the  White  House.  I  had  heard  Lincoln  denounced  verbally  and 
in  the  newspapers  as  "  Lincoln,  the  gorilla,"  "  Lincoln,  the  ape,"  "  Lin- 
coln, the  baboon,"  etc.,  and,  true  enough,  I  found  him  to  be  a  very 
homely  man,  tall,  gaunt,  and  long-limbed,  but  courteous,  sympathetic, 
and  easily  approached.  My  business  with  him  was  this  :  In  1863  a  thir- 
teen-year-old boy  from  Jefferson  County,  whose  father  had  been  killed 
in  battle,  was  recruited  and  sold  for  bounty  into  the  Fourteenth  United 
States  Regulars  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  After  a  few  months'  service, 
this  boy,  tired  of  military  life,  was  told  by  his  soldier  companions  that  he 
could  not  be  held  in  the  service,  and,  instead  of  demanding  his  discharge 
in  a  proper  way,  unceremoniously  left  and  deserted,  for  which  he  was 
afterwards  arrested,  court-martialled,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  As  early 
as  April  28,  and  after  that,  legal  efforts  were  put  forth,  and  military  in- 
fluence used  by  myself  and  others  to  save  this  boy,  but  without  avail. 

"  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 
"  WASHINGTON,  B.C.,  April  28,  1864. 

"  SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  commu- 
nication of  the  Qth  ultimo,  requesting  the  discharge  of  -  —  from  the 
military  service  of  the  United  States,  of  the  Fourteenth  United  States  In- 
fantry, on  the  ground  of  minority,  and  to  inform  you  in  reply  that  he  is 
now  under  arrest  for  trial  by  court-martial  for  desertion,  and  no  action 
can  be  taken  for  his  discharge,  or  that  will  prevent  his  punishment  if 
found  guilty. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"THOMAS  M.  VINCENT, 
"Assistant  Adjutant-  General. 
"  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa." 

My  business  was  to  save  this  boy's  life,  and  while  everything  else  had 
been  done  by  legal  talent  and  military  influence,  I  went  to  Lincoln  with 
a  sad  heart.  He  was  at  that  time  perhaps  the  busiest  man  in  the  world. 
He  listened  patiently  to  my  story,  and  then  said,  "Is  all  this  true,  Dr. 
McKnight,  that  you  have  told  me ?  Will  no  one  here  listen  to  you?" 
I  replied,  "Yes,  Mr.  President,  it  is  all  true."  He  arose,  reached  for  his 
hat,  and  remarked  to  me,  "  I'll  be  a  friend  to  that  fatherless  boy."  He 
put  his  arm  in  mine  and  took  me  to  Stanton 's  office,  and,  after  a  few 

594 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

minutes'  talk  with  the  Secretary,  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  You  can  go 
home,  doctor,  and  if  that  boy  has  not  been  shot,  you  can  rest  assured  he 
will  be  discharged."  In  due  time,  after  my  return  home,  I  received  by 
mail  the  following : 

"  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 
"  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  13,  1864. 

"  SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that,  by  direction  of  the 
President,  -        ,  alias  John  Scott.  Fourteenth  United  States  Infan- 
try, was  discharged  the  military  service  of  the  United  States,  by  special 
orders  No.  204,  Par.  25,  current  series,  from  this  office. 
"I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  BRECK, 
"Assistant  Adjutant-  General. 
''MR.  W.  J.  MCKNIGHT,  Brookville,  Pa." 

Washington  at  this  time  was  the  greatest  panorama  of  war  in  modern 
times.  It  took  me  days  to  secure  an  audience  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  I  was 
then,  and  am  yet,  perhaps  too  ultra  and  bitter  a  Republican,  but  after 
this  humane  act  of  President  Lincoln  I  was  as  bitter  a  partisan  as  ever, 
and,  in  addition  to  that,  a  personal  admirer  of  Lincoln  from  the  crown 
of  my  head  to  the  end  of  my  toes.  The  call  for  our  county  convention 
that  year  was  issued  July  13,  1864,  as  follows, — viz. : 

"DELEGATE  ELECTION. 

"  The  Republicans  of  Jefferson  County  will  meet  in  their  respective 
townships  and  boroughs  on  Tuesday,  the  zd  day  of  August,  between  the 
hours  of  two  and  six  o'clock  P.M.,  to  elect  two  delegates  of  each  township 
and  borough,  to  meet  at  the  court-house  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  on 
Friday,  the  5th  day  of  August,  at  one  o'clock,  to  nominate  candidates  to 
be  supported  for  the  different  county  offices. 

"  M.  M.  MEREDITH, 
''•  Chairman  County  Committee." 

The  county  then  had  twenty- three  townships  and  four  boroughs, 
giving  us  fifty-four  delegates.  The  date  fixed  for  the  primaries  was  on 
the  day  set  by  the  law  of  the  State,  passed  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  for 
the  special  election  for  three  amendments  to  our  Constitution,  one  of 
which  was  to  permit  the  soldiers  in  the  field  to  vote.  The  date  fixed  for 
this  call  was  a  shrewd  policy,  as  it  materially  assisted  in  bringing  out  a 
full  Republican  primary,  and  was  a  great  aid  in  carrying  that  "soldier 
vote"  issue  in  the  county,  which  we  did,  as  the  full  return  gave  fourteen 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  for  this  amendment  and  twelve  hundred  and 
twenty  against  it,  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-seven.  This 

595 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

issue  was  bitterly  fought.  After  the  national  convention  I  had  been  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  Union  State  Central  Committee  by  Simon  Cam- 
eron, who  was  then  chairman  of  that  committee,  and  this  soldier  cam- 
paign in  the  county  was  conducted  by  Captain  Meredith.  The  county 
convention  was  held  on  August  5,  as  called,  and  the  following  ticket 
selected:  For  District  Attorney,  A.  C.  White;  County  Commissioners, 
I.  C.  Jordan,  Eli  B.  Irvin ;  Auditor,  Joseph  P.  North;  Trustees  of 
Academy,  P.  H.  Shannon,  M.  M.  Meredith,  Calvin  Rodgers. 

G.  W.  Andrews  was  made  county  chairman.  Our  Representative  dis- 
trict was  Clarion  and  Jefferson,  and  on  September  9,  at  Corsica,  Hunter 
Orr,  of  Clarion  County,  was  declared  the  nominee  for  the  Legislature. 
On  September  15,  G.  W.  Schofield  was  declared  in  Ridgway  our  nominee 
for  Congress.  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  and  S.  W.  Temple  were  our  conferees 
there.  This  completed  our  ticket.  There  were  no  State  officers  to  be 
elected.  Nothing  but  district  and  county  tickets  in  that  October  elec- 
tion. I  do  not  recollect  who  was  the  Democratic  chairman,  but  it  is  im- 
material, for  ex-Senator  K.  L.  Blood  dominated  and  controlled  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  this  county  then,  and  a  bold,  wiry,  vigorous  antagonist  he 
was.  Our  Democratic  Dutch  friends  used  to  make  this  reply  :  "  I  do  not 
know  how  I  votes.  I  votes  for  der  Kennedy  Blute  anyhows. "  School- 
house  meetings  were  held  in  all  the  townships.  Local  speakers  were 
scarce.  Most  of  them  were  in  the  army,  and  this  labor  then  principally 
devolved  upon  Andrews  and  me.  Dr.  Heichhold  was  furloughed  about 
October  20  to  help  us.  In  our  meetings  we  all  abused  Blood,  and  he 
in  return  abused  us.  Major  Andrews  was  a  great  worker,  and  usually 
took  a  number  of  papers  and  documents  to  read  from.  What  little  I 
said  was  off-hand.  The  major  would  always  say  in  his  speeches  that 
"the  common  people  of  the  Democrats  were  honest,  but  the  leaders  of 
that  party  were  rascals,  traitors,  and  rebels."  He  was  a  Maine  Yankee. 
We  elected  him  to  the  State  Constitutional  Convention  in  1-872,  and  after 
his  service  there  he  removed  to  Denver,  where  he  lived  and  died. 

For  the  August  and  October  elections  we  had  no  funds  except  our 
own,  and  we  were  all  poor  alike.  Our  newspaper  editor  was  John  Scott, 
Esq.  He  was  poor,  too  ;  paper  was  high  and  hard  to  get,  and,  as  a  con-, 
sequence  of  this,  our  organ,  the  Republican,  was  only  published  occasion- 
ally, and  often  only  half-sheets :  hence  our  meetings  had  to  be  adver- 
tised verbally  and  by  written  and  printed  posters.  I  had  one  horse.  I 
traded  some  books  for  a  second-hand  buggy,  and  bought  another  horse 
that  I  would  now  be  ashamed  to  own,  and  in  this  buggy  and  behind  this 
team  the  major  and  I  drove  the  circuit  in  October  and  November,  stop- 
ping for  dinner  and  over  night,  Methodist  preacher  fashion,  with  the 
brethren.  It  was  a  rainy  fall,  and  all  through  October  and  November 
there  was  mud, — mud  rich  and  deep,  mud  here  and  there,  mud  on  the 
hill  and  everywhere,  mud  on  the  ground  and  in  the  air,  and  to  those  who 

596 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

travelled  politically  it  was  a  mud- splashing  as  well  as  a  mud-slinging  cam- 
paign. We  had  a  mass -meeting  on  October  8  in  Brookville,  and  on  that 
day  we  had  a  strong  address  published,  reviewing  the  issues  to  the  people, 
signed  by  I.  G.  Gordon,  Philip  Taylor,  T.  K.  Litch,  A.  S.  Rhines,  R.  G. 
Wright,  and  J.  P.  Wann.  The  speakers  for  the  mass-meeting  were  Chair- 
man Andrews,  Colonel  Childs,  of  Philadelphia,  Congressman  Myers,  and 
A.  L.  Gordon.  J.  W.  Pope,  the  great  campaign  singer,  from  Philadel- 
phia, by  his  patriotic  songs,  impelled  us  all  to  greater  earnestness.  In  the 
October  struggle  we  lost  our  county  and  Representative  ticket,  but  Scho- 
field  was  re-elected  to  Congress.  A  Congressman  then  never  thought  of 
having  one  or  two  bosses  in  a  county  to  dispense  post-offices.  The  Demo- 
crats carried  the  State  on  the  home  vote  ;  but,  with  the  aid  of  the  sol- 
diers, we  carried  the  State  by  a  small  majority.  The  anti-war  Democrats 
greatly  rejoiced  at  their  victory  on  the  home  vote,  and  they  confidently 
expected,  as  McClellan  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  that  State  pride  would  carry 
him  through  in  November.  The  two  elections  were  about  one  month 
apart.  The  soldier  vote  was  denounced  as  the  "bayonet  vote"  and 
"bayonet  rule."  Simon  Cameron,  our  State  chairman,  was  greatly  dis- 
appointed at  the  loss  of  our  State  on  the  "home  vote."  After  the  Octo- 
ber election  Cameron  sent  me  a  draft  for  two  hundred  dollars  in  "rag- 
money,"  which  I  expended  as  judiciously  as  I  knew  how.  We  gained  in 
the  county  sixty  votes  for  the  November  election.  I  am  sorry  that  I  can- 
not give  the  manner  of  expenditure  of  this  money.  My  accounts  were 
all  audited  and  the  settlement-paper  left  with  G.  W.  Andrews.  McClel- 
lan had  been  the  idol  of  the  army  and  the  people,  and  although  he  and 
Pendleton  were  nominated  at  Chicago  on  August  31,  1864,  on  a  peace 
platform  that  the  war  had  been  a  failure  and  a  call  to  suspend  hostilities, 
there  never  was  a  day  that  McClellan  would  not  have  been  overwhelm- 
ingly elected  in  1864,  until  in  September,  when  Sherman  captured  At- 
lanta and  Sheridan  went  whirling  through  the  valley  of  Virginia.  Every- 
body, Lincoln  and  all,  knew  this.  These  two  victories  gave  the  Union 
people  great  heart  for  hard  work.  After  these  victories,  Fremont  and 
Cochrane,  who  had  been  nominated  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  May  31, 
1864,  for  President  and  Vice- President  by  radicals  of  the  Republican 
party,  withdrew,  and  both  supported  Lincoln.  Our  army  before  Rich- 
mond was  idle,  and,  to  effectually  stop  the  "  bayonet  rule"  charge,  Meade 
furloughed  five  thousand  soldiers  for  two  weeks.  Sheridan  did  the  same, 
making  ten  thousand  in  all,  and  they  were  home  and  voted.  This  gave  us 
the  State  on  the  home  vote  by  about  five,  and  with  the  "  bayonet  vote," 
by  about  twenty,  thousand.  In  this  election  our  county  went  as  follows  : 

Lincoln.        McClellan. 

Home  vote 1614  175° 

Army  vote 207  1 1 1 

Total  v,.te  . 1821  1867 

597 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

In  the  November  election  our  county  went  Democratic ;  but  we  Re- 
publicans had  a  grand  jubilee  after  the  returns  came  in  from  the  na- 
tion, as  McClellan  only  carried  three  States, — viz.,  Kentucky,  Delaware, 
and  New  Jersey.  Brevity  requires  many  things  that  I  would  delight  to 
say  about  Lincoln  and  this  campaign  to  be  omitted.  Republican  suc- 
cess gave  assurance  to  the  world  that  "  the  war  for  the  Union  would 
still  be  prosecuted,"  and  it  was,  and  Pennsylvania  performed  her 
duty,  both  politically  and  on  the  battle-fields.  Pennsylvania  gave  to 
the  national  government  during  the  war  three  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-two  soldiers,  and  during  the  same 
period  organized  and  put  in  the  field  eighty-seven  thousand  men  for 
State  defence,  making  a  grand  total  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-two  soldiers.  Three  times  during 
the  war  Pennsylvania  was  invaded,  and  it  remained  for  the  Rebel- 
lion to  receive  its  Waterloo  at  Gettysburg  and  from  a  Pennsylvania 
commander. 

In  conclusion,  it  was  the  soldiers'  bayonets  and  the  "  bayonet  voters" 
of  "  Lincoln's  hirelings"  that  crushed  rebellion  and  saved  the  Union. 

"BROOKVILLE'S  PIONEER  RESURRECTION;  OR,  'WHO  SKINNED  THE 
NIGGER?'— THE  TRUTH  TOLD  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME,  BY  THE 
ONLY  ONE  NOW  LIVING  OF  THE  SEVEN  WHO  WERE  ENGAGED 
IN  IT— ORIGIN  OF  THE  STATE  ANATOMICAL  LAW.* 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  November  8,  1857,  Brookville  was  thrown  into 
a  state  of  the  greatest  commotion  and  excitement,  occasioned  by  the 
discovery  by  W.  C.  Smith  (then  a  lad  of  fifteen)  of  the  mutilated  re- 
mains of  a  human  being  in  an  ice-house  belonging  to  K.  L.  Blood,  on 
the  corner  of  Pickering  Street  and  Coal  Alley,  or  where  Mrs.  Banks 
now  lives.  When  discovered  by  Smith,  the  door  was  broken  open, 
having  been  forced  during  the  night,  and  the  body  was  found  lying 
on  the  ice,  with  a  board  under  the  shoulders  and  head,  the  legs  and 
arms  spread  apart,  the  intestines  taken  out,  a  lump  of  ice  placed  in 
the  abdominal  cavity,  and  the  body  literally  skinned,  the  cuticle  hav- 
ing been  removed  entirely  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  soles  of 
the  feet. 

"  Filled  with  terror,  young  Smith  ran  from  the  spot,  telling  his  dis- 
covery to  all  he  met.  Men,  women,  and  children  rushed  en  masse  to  the 
ice-house.  Thoughts  of  savage  butchery,  suicide,  and  horror  took  hold 
of  the  people.  Women  cried,  and  men  turned  pale  with  indignation. 
The  news  of  Smith's  discovery  spread  like  wildfire,  and  the  excitement 
and  indignation  became  more  and  more  intense  as  hundreds  of  men, 


*  By  W.  J.  McKnight,  M.D. 
598 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

women,  and  children  from  the  town  and  vicinity  gathered  around  the 
lonely  ice-house.  It  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  murder  most  foul ;  but, 
on  a  closer  inspection  of  the  '  remains'  by  Henry  R.  Fullerton,  a  little 
'curly  hair,'  resembling  'negro  wool,'  was  found  lying  loose  near  the 
body.  This  was  a  clue.  Fullerton  then  declared  it  was  the  mutilated 
corpse  of  one  Henry  Southerland,  who  had  died  about  ten  days  before  and 
been  buried  in  the  old  graveyard.  Tools  were  at  once  procured  by  the 
excited  mob,  led  by  Henry  R.  Fullerton,  Cyrus  Butler,  Sr. ,  Richard 
Arthurs,  Esq.,  and  others,  and  a  rush  was  made  for  Southerland's  grave. 
Arriving  there,  and  upon  the  removal  of  a  few  shovelfuls  of  dirt,  a  loose 
slipper  was  found,  and  farther  on  its  mate.  When  the  coffin  was  reached, 
the  body  was  found  to  be  gone,  and  only  the  clothes,  torn  off  and  lying 
inside,  were  to  be  seen.  What  was  this  desecration  for?  Cyrus  Butler, 
Sr.,  a  gruff  old  man,  said,  'For  money.'  He  boldly  asserted  that  men 
nowadays  would  do  anything  for  money.  'Yes,'  he  said,  'skin  human 
excrement  and  eat  the  little  end  on't.'  Soon,  in  the  absence  of  any  bet- 
ter theory,  everybody  seemed  to  accept  his  belief,  and  it  was  positively 
asserted  from  one  to  another  that  '  a  negro  hide  would  sell  for  five 
hundred  dollars,  to  make  razor  strops, '  etc. 

"  During  the  entire  day  the  mob  were  at  sea.  The  officials  permitted 
the  body  to  remain  exposed, — a  revolting  spectacle  to  men,  women,  and 
children.  To  all  of  this  I  was  an  interested  spectator. 

"At  nightfall  an  inquest  Avas  summoned  of  twelve  men  by  Justices 
John  Smith  and  A.  J.  Brady,  as  appears  from  the  following  Quarter 
Sessions'  record  : 

(Copy.) 
"  COMMONWEALTH'S  SUMMONS  TO  JURORS. 

"  '  November  8,  1857.  Served  personally  on  all  the  within-named 
jurors.  Cost,  $1.20. 

"  '  C.  BUTLER, 

"  '  Constable. 


"  '  The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  to  C.  Butler,  constable  of  the 
township  of  Pine  Creek,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson  :  We  command  you 
immediately  upon  sight  hereof,  to  summon  twelve  good  and  lawful  men 
of  Jefferson  County  aforesaid,  whose  names  are  hereto  annexed,  to  be  and 
appear  before  A.  J.  Brady  and  John  Smith,  two  of  the  justices  of  the 
peace  of  the  county  of  Jefferson,  at  the  ice-house  of  K.  L.  Blood  & 
Brother,  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  at  four  o'clock  P.M.  of  this  day  ; 
then  and  there  to  inquire  of,  do,  and  execute  all  things  as  in  our  behalf 
shall  be  lawfully  given  them  in  charge,  touching  the  supposed  body  of 
Henry  Southerland ;  and  be  you  then  and  there  to  certify  what  you  shall 

599 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

have  done  in  the  premises ;  and,  further,  to  do  and  execute  what  in  our 
behalf  shall  be  then  and  there  enjoined  you. 

"  '  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals,  this  8th  day  of  November,  1857. 

"  'A.  J.  BRADY,  [L.  s.] 
JOHN  SMITH,  [L.  s  ] 

"'The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  greeting,  to  E.  R.  Brady, 
John  J.  Y.  Thompson,  A.  Craig,  John  Boucher,  L.  A.  Dodd,  Christopher 
Smathers,  Henry  Fullerton,  G.  W.  Andrews,  S.  C.  Arthurs,  John  Carroll, 
John  Ramsey,  D.  Smith. 

"  SUBPCENA    FOR   WITNESSES. 

"  '  November  8,  1857.  Served  personally  on  the  within  names  by 
reading.  Cost,  $1.75. 

"  '  C.  FULLERTON, 

"  '  Constable. 

"'The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  to  K.  L.  Blood,  Thomas 
Espy,  J.  P.  George,  Joseph  Darr,  Thomas  Graham,  John  Hamilton, 
William  J.  McKnight,  T.  B.  McLain,  James  Bowling,  James  Scott,  J.  S. 
Steck,  George  Smith,  A.  B.  McLain,  Charles  Windsor,  Robert  St.  Clair, 
J.  P.  Miller,  West.  Bowman,  greeting :  We  command  you  and  every  of 
you,  that  you  set  aside  all  business  and  excuses  whatsoever,  you  do  in 
your  proper  persons  appear  before  A.  J.  Brady  and  John  Smith,  two  of 
the  justices  of  the  peace  in  and  for  said  county  of  Jefferson,  and  an  inqui- 
sition now  sitting  at  the  office  of  John  Smith,  Esq.,  in  the  borough  of 
Brookville,  in  said  county,  to  testify  the  truth  and  give  such  information 
and  evidence  as  you  and  every  of  you  shall  know  touching  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  said  body  of  Henry  Southerland,  or  some  person  un- 
known, lying  at  the  ice-house  of  K.  L.  Blood  &  Brother,  in  the  borough 
of  Brookville,  dead,  came  by  his  death  or  came  there,  and  touching  all 
other  matters  in  relation  to  which  you  shall  be  examined.  And  this  you 
are  in  nowise  to  omit,  under  the  penalty  that  may  ensue. 

"  '  Witness  our  hands  and  seals,  at  Brookville,  the  8th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, A.D.  1857. 

"  '  A.  J.  BRADY,  [L.  s.] 
JOHN  SMITH,  [L.  s.] 

"CORONER'S  INQUEST. 

"  '  Proceedings  of  the  coroner's  inquest,  held  in  the  borough  of  Brook- 
ville, upon  the  body  of  a  man  found  in  the  ice-house  belonging  to  K.  L. 
Blood,  on  the  corner  of  Pickering  Street  and  Spring  [Coal]  Alley,  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  November  8,  1857. 

"  'In  pursuance  of  the  summons  issued  by  Justices  John  Smith  and 
A.  J.  Brady,  the  following  persons  were  called  and  sworn, — to  wit :  E. 

600 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

R.  Brady,  J.  J.  Y.  Thompson,  Andrew  Craig,  John  Boucher,  Levi  A. 
Dodd,  Christopher  Smathers,  Henry  R.  Fullerton,  G.  W.  Andrews,  S. 
C.  Arthurs,  John  E.  Carroll,  John  Ramsey,  Daniel  Smith,  who  re- 
paired to  the  ice-house  and  made  an  examination  of  the  body  there  de- 
posited, and  found  the  remains  of  a  male  human  being,  with  the  breast 
sawed  open,  the  bowels  and  entrails  removed,  the  toe-and  finger-nails 
cut  off  at  the  first  joint,  and  the  skin  of  the  entire  body  removed. 

"'The  grave  in  which  Henry  Southerland  (colored),  of  Pine  Creek 
township,  had  been  buried  having  been  opened  in  the  presence  of  a 
number  of  the  jurors  and  other  persons,  and  it  being  found  that  the  body 
of  said  deceased  had  been  removed  from  the  said  grave,  the  following 
witnesses  were  called  and  sworn  : 

"  '  David  Banks,  sworn  :  I  helped  open  the  grave  in  which  the  body 
of  Henry  Southerland  (colored)  had  been  buried  ;  found  no  body  in  the 
coffin ;  found  the  burial  clothes  rolled  up  in  a  bundle  and  placed  in  the 
head  of  the  coffin;  found  one  of  the  slippers  in  which  deceased  was 
buried  in  the  clay  about  a  foot  above  and  before  coming  to  the  coffin  ; 
the  body  had  evidently  been  removed. 

"'¥.  C.  Coryell,  sworn:  Was  present  at  the  opening  of  the  grave 
to-day ;  saw  the  coffin  opened  and  no  body  there ;  found  the  clothes 
thrown  in  carelessly  in  a  heap  ;  one  slipper  with  the  clothes  in  the  coffin 
and  another  in  the  clay  some  distance  above  the  coffin  ;  these  slippers  had 
my  cost  mark  on,  and  are  the  same  as  purchased  from  me  by  the  friends 
of  Henry  Southerland  for  his  funeral. 

"  '  A.  R.  Marlin,  sworn  :  Henry  Southerland  was  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard at  Brookville  on  Wednesday  or  Thursday  last ;  helped  to  bury  him  ; 
the  grave  opened  to-day  is  the  one  in  which  deceased  was  placed ;  no 
body  in  the  coffin  when  opened  to  day. 

"'Richard  Arthurs,  sworn :  I  examined  the  body  in  the  ice-house 
this  day ;  looked  at  the  mouth  and  tongue ;  they  resembled  those  of  a 
person  who  had  died  of  a  disease ;  two  double  teeth  out ;  seemed  as  if 
they  had  recently  been  drawn  ;  found  some  hair  about  the  back  of  the 
neck,  which  was  black  and  curly ;  think  it  was  the  hair  of  a  negro,  or 
whiskers  ;  think  this  is  the  body  of  Henry  Southerland ;  toes,  fingers,  and 
skin  taken  off. 

"  'After  making  these  enquiries  and  believing  the  body  found  in  the 
ice-house  to  be  that  of  Henry  Southerland,  which  had  been  removed 
from  the  graveyard  in  the  borough  of  Brookville,  the  jury  caused  the 
same  to  be  taken  up  and  deposited  in  the  coffin,  and  placed  in  the  grave 
from  which  the  body  of  said  Southerland  had  been  removed,  and  the 
same  filled  up  in  their  presence ;  then  returning  to  the  office  of  John 
Smith,  Esq.,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  adjourned,  to  meet  at  nine  o'clock 
to-morrow  (Monday)  morning. 

"  '  The  jury  render  their  verdict  as  follows  :  That  the  body  found  in 

601 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  ice-house  is,  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief,  the  body  of 
Henry  Southerland,  stolen  from  the  grave  in  which  the  same  had  been 
deposited  ;  and  that  the  skin,  bowels,  and  toe-  and  finger-nails  had  been 
removed  by  some  person  or  persons  to  the  jury  unknown. 

"  '  E.  R.  BRADY,  Foreman. 

A.  J.  BRADY,         [L.  s.] 

JOHN  SMITH,         [L.  s.] 

"  'E.  R.  BRADY,  [L.  s.] 

JOHN  J.  Y.  THOMPSON,  [L.  s  ] 

ANDREW  CRAIG,  [L.  s.] 

JOHN  BOUCHER,  [L.  s.] 

LEVI  A.  DODD,  [L.  s.] 

H.  R.  FULLERTON,          [L.  s.] 

C.  SMATHERS,  [L.  s  ] 
G.  W.  ANDREWS,            [L.  s.] 
S.  C.  ARTHURS,  [L.  s.] 
JOHN  E.  CARROLL,         [L.  s.] 
JOHN  RAMSEY,                [L.  s.] 

D.  SMITH,  [L.  s.] 

"  Coroners  Jury. 

"BILL  OF  COST  ON  INQUISITION. 

"  '  Fee  of  coroner,  or  justices     ...............  $4-OO 

Viewing  dead  body      .................  2.75 

Summoning  and  qualifying  inquest    ............  J-37/4 

"            witnesses,  each  25  cents,  4    .....    .    .            .  i.oo 

Jurors,  12,  each  2  days    .................  24.00 

Constable  Fullerton     ..................  1.75 

Constable  Butler  ....................  1.20 

Witnesses'  costs  : 

David  Banks,  I  day     ..................  -62^ 

F.  C.  Coryell,  I  day    ...................  62^ 

A.  R.  Marlin,  I  day     .............    .....  .62^ 

R.  Arthurs,  I  day     ................... 


"  '  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  ss.  : 

"  '  We  hereby  certify  that  the  above  is  a  true  bill  of  the  costs  in  this 
above  case. 

"  '  Witness  our  hands  and  seals,  this  i5th  day  of  December,  A.D.  1857. 

"  '  A.  J.  BRADY,  [L.  s.] 
JOHN  SMITH,  [L.  s.] 

'•'  '  December  17,  1857.     It  is  adjudged  that  there  was  probable  cause 
for  holding  the  inquest. 

"'By  the  Court, 

"  '  J.  S.  ML-CALMONT.' 
602 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"This  coroner's  verdict  was  supposed  to  have  been  manipulated  by 
the  '  Masons. '  It  was  the  custom  then  to  charge  all  unpopular  verdicts 
on  '  the  Masons.' 

"After  the  inquest  jurors  viewed  the  body  and  ice-house  on  Sunday 
evening,  a  rope  was  tied  around  Southerland's  neck,  he  was  dragged  into 
Coal  Alley,  thrown  into  his  coffin,  and  reburied  in  the  old  graveyard, 

where  lie 

"'Hearts  once  pregnant  with  celestial  fire, 

Hearts  that  the  rod  of  empire  might  have  swayed, 
Or  waked  to  ecstacy  the  living  lyre.' 

"Who  were  the  ghouls?  As  usual,  stupidity  and  prejudice  came  to 
the  front,  and  picked  out  for  vengeance  two  innocent  and  inoffensive 
colored  men  living  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town.  'The  law  ordained  in 
reverence  we  must  hold,'  and  so  on  Sunday  evening  Theresa  Sweeney,  a 
sister  of  Southerland's,  was  sent  for,  and  she  made  information  against 
Charles  Anderson  and  John  Lewis.  Cyrus  Butler,  Jr.,  a  constable  then 
in  Pine  Creek  township,  arrested  forthwith  these  two  harmless  colored 
men  and  thrust  them  into  jail.  On  Monday  morning,  the  gth,  Anderson 
and  Lewis  had  a  hearing  before  Justices  Smith  and  Brady.  George  W. 
Zeigler,  an  able  lawyer,  represented  the  Commonwealth  ;  but  the  poor 
negroes  were  without  friends  or  a  lawyer.  However,  as  there  was  no 
evidence  against  them,  they  were  discharged.  The  excitement  was  now 
so  intense  that  several  newly  made  graves  were  opened  to  see  if  friends 
had  been  disturbed.  A  few  timid  people  placed  night-guards  in  the 
cemetery. 

"In  commenting  on  this  atrocity,  the  Jeffersonian  said,  'Taking 
everything  into  consideration,  it  was  one  of  the  most  inhuman  and  bar- 
barous acts  ever  committed  in  a  civilized  community;  and  although  the 
instigators  and  perpetrators  may  escape  the  punishment  which  their 
brutality  demands,  they  cannot  fail  to  receive  the  indignant  frowns  of 
an  insulted  community.  They  may  evade  a  prosecution  through  the 
technicalities  of  the  law,  and  they  may  laugh  it  off,  and  when  we  have 
no  assurance  but  our  bodies,  or  those  of  our  friends,  may  be  treated  in 
the  same  manner,  cold  and  hardened  must  be  the  wretch  who  does  not 
feel  the  flame  of  indignation  rise  in  his  breast  at  the  perpetration  of  such 
an  offence. 

"  '  Since  the  above  was  in  type  and  the  excitement  somewhat  allayed, 
it  is  now  believed  by  every  person  that  the  body  was  placed  in  the  ice- 
house for  dissection,  and  it  is  supposed  that  those  who  had  the  matter  in 
charge  had  the  key  to  the  door  and  left  everything  safe  and  secure  on 
Saturday  night,  and  that  some  thief,  knowing  that  during  the  warm 
weather  butter  had  been  placed  there  for  protection,  broken  open  the 
door  and  entered  the  place  for  the  purpose  of  stealing,  and  on  striking  a 

603 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

light  or  groping  around  in  search  of  butter,  he  came  across  the  "dead 
darky,"  and,  in  his  haste  to  get  away,  forgot  to  shut  the  door,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  that  the  fellow  who  broke  open  the  door  left  in  a  hurry. 
This  is,  no  doubt,  the  true  state  of  the  case.' 

"(A11  this  confusion  was  a  good  thing  for  the  guilty  parties,  as  it  gave 
time  for  the  angry  populace  to  cool  off. 

"Who  was  this  Henry  Southerland?  He  was  a  stout,  perfect  speci- 
men of  physical  manhood.  He  was  a  son  of  Charles  and  Susan  Souther- 
land,  nee  Van  Camp.  Charles  Southerland  came  here  in  1812, — a  run- 
away slave.  Miss  Van  Camp  came  to  Port  Barnett  with  her  father, 
Fudge  Van  Camp,  in  1801.  Henry  Southerland  was  born  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  John  Hoffman.  He  was  a  North  Forker,  and,  like  the 
other  '  North  Fork'  boys,  could  drink,  swear,  wrestle,  shoot,  jump,  'pull 
square,'  and  raft.  In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1857,  he  took  the  fever 
and  died  in  a  few  days,  aged  about  thirty  years.  He  lived  then  on  what 
is  called  the  Charles  Horn  farm.  He  was  married  and  had  one  child. 
His  widow  and  daughter  now  reside  in  the  county,  highly  respectable 
people. 

"  Dr.  J.  C.  Simons  was  then  living  in  Brookville,  practising  medi- 
cine under  his  father  in  law,  Dr.  James  Dowling.  Simons  was  ambitious 
to  become  a  surgeon.  He  believed,  like  all  intelligent  doctors  then, 
that  a  knowledge  of  anatomy  was  the  foundation  of  the  healing  art. 
Dissection  of  human  bodies  then  in  Pennsylvania  was  a  crime.  You 
could  dissect  mules  and  monkeys,  but  not  men.  It  was  legal  in  New 
York  State,  and  was  made  so  in  1789,  and  this  law  in  New  York  was 
greatly  improved  in  1854.  New  York  was  the  first  State  in  the  New 
World  to  legalize  '  the  use  of  the  dead  to  the  living.' 

"The  first  human  body  dissected  was  in  Alexandria,  Egypt,  the 
cradle  of  anatomy.  England  legalized  dissection  in  1820.  The  first 
subject  dissected  in  Jefferson  County  was  in  Brookville,  in  the  winter  of 
1854-55,  by  Dr.  George  Watt,  Dr.  McClay,  Samuel  C.  Arthurs,  and  a 
student,  G.  W.  Burkett,  now  a  doctor  in  Tyrone  City,  Pennsylvania. 
This  subject  was  stolen  from  a  graveyard  in  Clarion  County,  Pennsylva- 
vania.  He  was  an  Irishman  who  froze  to  death.  He  drank  too  much 
water  in  his  whiskey. 

"  Ambition  is  something  like  love, — laughs  at  law  and  takes  fearful 
risks.  The  death  of  Southerland,  Simons  thought,  was  a  good  chance  for 
a  subject  and  a  surgical  school  to  advance  .himself  and  assist  the  rest  of 
us.  On  the  day  of  Southerland's  death  Dr.  Simons  visited  separately 
each  of  the  following  doctors  in  the  town,  and  appointed  a  meeting  to  be 
held  on  Saturday  night,  October  31,  at  ten  o'clock,  in  K.  L.  Blood's 
drug-store,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  resurrecting  the  dead 
negro :  Drs.  J.  G.  Simons,  John  Dowling,  Hugh  Dowling,  A.  P.  Heich- 
hold,  and  W.  J.  McKnight.  By  request,  I  secured,  on  Friday,  October 

604 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

30,  permission  from  Dr.  Clark  to  use  for  our  school  the  empty  house 
then  owned  by  him,  and  where  John  Means  now  lives.  Augustus  Bell, 
an  educated  gentleman  from  Philadelphia,  who  lived  and  died  here,  and 
K.  L.  Blood,  both  medically  inclined,  were  taken  in  as  friends. 
Promptly  at  ten  o'clock,  Saturday  night,  October  31,  1857,  all  these 
parties  met  in  council  in  the  drug-store.  Simons,  the  two  Bowlings, 
and  '  Little  Bell'  filled  themselves  full  to  the  brim  with  Monongahela 
whiskey.  Blood,  Heichhold,  and  McKnight  remained  dry  and  took  not 
a  drop.  At  about  eleven  o'clock  P.M.  we  all  marched  up  Pickering 
Street,  with  a  mattock,  shovel,  and  rope.  John  Bowling  and  I  were 
quite  young  men,  and  were  stationed  as  watchers,  or  guards.  The  others 
were  to  resurrect.  Simons  and  '  Little  Bell'  worked  like  '  bees,'  and  were 
as  brave  as  lions  as  long  as  the  whiskey  stimulated  them ;  but  when  that 
died  out  they  kicked  and  balked  badly.  Mr.  Blood  then  took  hold  like 
a  hero.  He  dug,  shovelled,  broke  open  the  coffin,  and  '  there,  down 
there  in  the  earth's  cold  breast,'  placed  the  rope  around  the  subject  and 
assisted  in  the  resurrection  of  Southerland.  Remember  this : 

"  '  It  was  a  calm,  still  night, 
And  the  moon's  pale  light 
Shone  soft  o'er  hill  and  dale,' 

when  we,  seven  ghouls,  stood  around  the  empty  tomb  of  Henry  Souther- 
land.  The  grave  was  then  hastily  filled,  and  carefully  too.  The  naked 
corpse  was  now  placed  on  a  'bier.'  John  Bowling  and  I  took  one  side 
side,  K.  L.  Blood  and  Simons  the  other,  and  under  the  autumn's  full  moon 
we  left  the  graveyard  ;  down  Barnett  Street,  crossed  Coal  Alley,  across  Jef- 
ferson Street,  down  to  Cherry  Alley,  at  the  rear  of  Judge  Clark's  prop- 
erty now,  and  up  Cherry  Alley  to  the  rear  of  the  lot  now  owned  by  John 
Means,  and  down  that  lot  to  the  kitchen  part  of  the  house,  into  which 
the  body  was  carried  and  placed  in  a  little  bedroom  west  and  south  of 
the  kitchen.  This  was  done  between  the  hours  of  one  and  two  A.M.,  un- 
observed. Tired  and  weary,  we  all  went  home  to  rest,  and  expected  to 
open  the  school  on  Monday  night,  the  ad,  but  for  reasons  I  will  give  you 
farther  on  this  was  not  done. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  November,  1857,  my  mother  called  me 
to  one  side  and  said,  '  You  have  gotten  yourself  into  trouble.  You  have 
been  out  nights.  Bon't  say  a  word  to  me,  just  listen.  You  have  been 
helping  the  other  doctors  to  dig  up  Henry  Southerland.  Br.  Heichhold 
told  Captain  Wise  all  about  it,  Wise  told  his  wife,  she  told  Mrs.  Samuel 
C.  Arthurs,  she  told  Mrs.  Richard  Arthurs,  and  Mrs.  Richard  Arthurs 
told  me  this  afternoon.  Now  take  care  of  yourself.  As  you  are  poor, 
you  will  have  to  suffer;  the  others  are  all  rich  and  influential.' 

"  This  was  a  nitro  glycerin  explosion  to  me.  I  made  no  reply  to  my 
dear  mother,  but  left  for  Blood's  drug-store,  and  repeated  to  him  what 

605 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

mother  had  told  me.  His  left  hand  went  up  as  if  struck  by  a  Niagara 
electric  current.  I  said  to  him,  '  I  want  Dr.  Clark  protected  now ;  South- 
erland  must  be  removed  from  his  house.'  Blood  agreed  with  me.  A 
caucus  was  then  called  for  that  night  at  the  store,  when  it  was  decided 
to  remove  the  body  from  the  house  down  through  the  cellar  and  secrete 
it  under  those  present  front  steps  of  John  Means's  house,  and  there  it  lay 
naked  from  Monday  night  until  Wednesday  night,  when  the  cadaver  was 
removed  from  there  to  Blood's  ice-house,  in  a  large  coffee-sack,  about 
nine  P.M.,  as  follows  :  McElhose  had  his  printing-office  in  a  little  build- 
ing east  and  on  the  same  lot.  It  was  on  that  vacant  piece  next  to  Cor- 
bett's  house  now.  It  was  built  for  and  used  as  a  drug-store.  There  was 
a  door  under  the  west  side  that  opened  into  the  under  part  of  the  porch 
and  the  front  steps.  If  McElhose  or  any  of  his  imps  had  ever  opened  that 
door,  'a  dreadful  sight  would  have  met  their  startled  view.'  I  was  a 
printer  and  had  learned  the  art  in  part  with  McElhose,  and  I  was  de- 
tailed to  go  into  his  office  and  make  all  kinds  of  noises  and  detract  the 
attention  of  the  printers  from  any  sounds  under  the  porch.  This  I  did 
by  dancing,  kicking  over  furniture,  etc.  I  could  hear  the  other  parties 
at  times ;  but  McElhose  thought  I  was  drunk,  or  such  a  fool  that  he  only 
watched  and  heard  me.  Everything  worked  favorably,  and  '  Black  Hen' 
was  successfully  removed  to  a  house  whose  inside  walls  were  frigid  and 
white.  '  In  the  icy  air  of  night'  the  school  for  dissection  was  opened  on 
Wednesday  and  closed  on  Saturday  morning.  As  our  secret  was  known 
to  so  many,  and  realizing  that  we  could  not  dissect  in  Brookville  without 
being  caught  up,  we  only  mutilated  the  cadaver  for  our  personal  safety. 

"At  this  time  Brookville  was  full  of  burglars,  thieves,  and  house- 
breakers. On  Friday  night,  the  6th,  A.  B.  McLain  was  patrolling  for 
robbers  in  Coal  Alley,  and  under  the  '  ebon  vault  of  heaven,  studded  with 
stars  unutterably  bright,'  he  espied  what  he  thought  to  be  three  suspi- 
cious persons,  and  pounced  down  on  them  like  a  hawk  on  a  chicken. 
The  suspects  proved  to  be  J)rs.  Hugh  Bowling,  Heichhold,  and  '  Little 
Bell'  (Augustus  Bell).  McLain  was  then  taken  a  prisoner  by  the  suspects, 
dumped  into  the  ice-house,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  saw  '  a  man 
skinned.'  The  job  was  completed  that  night,  and  the  cuticle,  toes, 
fingers,  and  bowels  were  buried  under  a  large  rock  in  the  '  Dark  Hollow,' 
on  Saturday  forenoon,  by  Drs.  Heichhold  and  John  Dowling. 

"For  dissection  the  cadaver  is  divided  into  five  parts:  the  head  is 
given  to  one  party,  the  right  arm  and  side  to  another,  the  left  arm  and 
side  to  a  third  person,  the  right  leg  to  a  fourth,  and  the  left  leg  to  a 
fifth.  In  this  way  Dr.  Simons  and  the  four  doctors  skinned  Henry 
Souther  land.  For  us  to  dissect  Southerland  would  have  required  about 
fifteen  to  twenty  days. 

"As  dissection  is  a  slow  and  intricate  work,  and  to  avoid  discovery 
and  arrest,  efforts  were  made  to  remove  as  early  as  possible  the  subject 

606 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

from  town.  Dr.  David  Ralston,  then  practising  medicine  in  Reynolds- 
ville,  was  seen,  and  he  agreed  to  come  after  the  cadaver  and  take  it  home 
on  Saturday  night,  the  yth.  Dr.  W.  H.  Reynolds,  who  resides  now  at 
Prescottville,  this  county,  was  then  a  young  man,  living  on  a  farm  near 
Rathmel,  and  Dr.  Ralston  secured  his  co-operation.  On  Saturday  these 
two  gentlemen  came  to  Brookville  with  two  mules  in  a  wagon,  and 
stopped  at  the  American  Hotel,  J.  J.  Y.  Thompson,  proprietor.  At  a 
conference  of  all  parties,  it  was  arranged  that  Ralston  and  Reynolds 
should  drive  to  the' ice-house  from  the  west  end  of  Coal  Alley  about 
eleven  o'clock  P.M.  They  had  a  large  store-box  in  the  wagon  to  carry 
the  corpse.  The  night  was  black  dark.  At  ten  P.M.  J.  Y.  said,  '  I'll  be 
danged  to  Harry,  what  are  so  many  doctors  loafing  here  to-night  for  ?'  A 
little  later,  when  Ralston  ordered  out  the  mules  and  wagon,  Thompson 
was  perfectly  astonished,  and  exclaimed,  'I'll  be  dod  danged  to  Harry 
and  dangnation,  if  you  men  will  leave  my  house  at  this  late  hour  and  this 
kind  of  a  night  for  Reynoldsville. '  But  his  objections  were  futile.  We 
ghouls  were  detailed  as  follows :  Blood  and  Bell  as  watchers,  Heichhold 
and  Hugh  Dowling  to  open  the  ice-house  door,  and  John  Dowling  and 
myself  to  hand  the  'cadaver'  out  of  the  house  to  the  men  in  the  wagon. 
Explicit  directions  were  given  to  avoid  meeting  there  and  forming  a 
crowd. 

"  Dr.  John  Dowling  and  I  were  there  at  our  appointed  time,  but  the 
door  was  unopened,  and  so  we  left.  Dr.  Heichhold  in  some  way  lose  the 
key  at  or  near  the  ice-house,  and  had  to  go  and  find  a  hatchet  to  open 
the  door.  This  he  did,  and  the  wagon  came  along,  and,  finding  no  one 
there,  stopped  a  moment  and  left  without  the  subject.  On  the  North 
Fork  bridge  they  pushed  their  box  into  the  creek.  I  always  felt  that 
Dowling  and  myself  were  somewhat  to  blame ;  but  we  were  young  and 
had  received  orders  not  to  loiter  around,  and  if  the  door  was  not  opened 
to  leave. 

"About  eight  or  nine  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  I  went  up  to 
Dowling's  and  told  John  we  had  better  go  up  and  'view  the  land." 
When  we  arrived  on  the  tragic  scene  we  found  the  door  open  and  broken. 
We  peeped  in,  and  while  doing  so  we  observed  William  C.  Smith  on 
Pickering  Street  watching  us.  We  walked  briskly  away  up  Coal  Alley ; 
but  our  actions  and  the  '  broken  door'  excited  his  curiosity,  and,  hurry- 
ing over  to  the  ice-house,  he  looked  in,  only  to  be  horrified,  and  with 
arms  extended  towards  heaven,  pale  as  death,  he  ran  home,  exclaiming 
excitedly  to  those  he  met,  that  a  man  had  been  '  skinned  alive'  in  Blood's 
ice-house.  He  had  seen  the  man,  and  also  saw  Dr.  John  Dowling  and 
Tom  Espy  looking  at  the  man  in  the  ice-house.  William  C.  Smith  has 
told  his  version  of  the  discovery  to  me  many  times,  and  always  put  '  Tom 
Espy'  in  my  place. 

"  In  the  eyening  of  Sunday,  the  8th,  loud  mutterings  against  the  doc- 
Soy 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

tors  were  heard,  and  we  all  hid.  I  hid  in  the  loft  above  our  old  kitchen. 
At  midnight,  '  in  the  starlight,'  I  left  for  McCurdy's,  in  the  Beechwoods. 
Monday  morning,  Blood  had  business  in  Pittsburg.  David  Barclay,  a 
very  able  man  and  lawyer,  was  then  our  member  of  Congress,  and  he 
took  charge  of  the  prosecution.  He  and  Blood  had  a  political  feud,  and 
Barclay  thought  now  was  his  time  to  annihilate  Blood.  Hearing  of  Bar- 
clay's activity,  my  brother,  the  late  Colonel  A.  A.  McKnight,  then  a 
young  lawyer,  made  information  against  me  before  Esquire  Smith,  under 
the  act  of  1849, to  protect  graveyards.  I  returned  on  Tuesday  night,  and 
was  arrested,  taken  before  Smith,  pleaded  guilty,  and  was  fined  twenty- 
five  dollars  and  costs,  which  I  paid  in  full  to  the  county  commissioners, 
and  I  was  the  only  one  who  had  to  pay  a  penalty.  Under  the  above  act 
the  penalty  was  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both.  My  conviction  before 
Smith  was  to  give  me  the  benefit  in  court  of  that  clause  in  the  constitu- 
tion which  says,  '  No  person  for  the  same  offence  shall  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  of  life  or  limb.'  Barclay  was  a  Republican,  Blood  was  a  Demo- 
crat. I  was  a  Republican,  without  money  or  friends,  therefore  Barclay 
commenced  his  prosecution  against  Blood  and  me,  leaving  the  others  all 
out  for  witnesses.  The  criminal  records  of  Justices  Smith  and  Brady  for 
some  reason  have  been  destroyed,  therefore  I  cannot  give  them.  Barclay 
kept  up  his  prosecution  until  1859,  as  the  following  legal  records  of  the 
court  show. 

(Copy.) 
"'No.  14  Feby.  1859.     Q.  S. 

"  '  Commonwealth  vs.  Kennedy  L.  Blood  and  William  J.  McKnight. 

"  '  Indictment  for  removing  a  dead  body  from  burial-ground.  Prose - 
cutrix,  Tracy  Sweeney. 

"  '  Witnesses,  Charles  Anderson,  F.  C.  Coryell,  L.  A.  Dodd,  John 
McGiven,  A.  P.  Heichhold,  Richard  Arthurs,  John  Dowling,  John  Car- 
roll, William  Smith,  Thomas  Espy,  Myron  Pearsall,  Hugh  Dowling, 
Aug.  Beyle,  William  Reynolds,  Henry  Fullerton,  Matthew  Dowling,  Wil- 
liam Russell,  Sinthy  Southerland,  Zibion  Wilber,  James  Dowling,  A.  M. 
Clarke,  George  Andrews,  A.  B.  McLain,  William  Lansendoffer,  I.  D.  N. 
Ralston,  Charles  McLain,  James  McCracken,  Charles  Matson.  In  the 
Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  County  of  Jefferson,  February  Session, 
1859. 

'''The  grand  inquest  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in- 
quiring for  the  body  of  the  county,  upon  their  oaths  and  affirmations  re- 
spectfully do  present,  that  Kennedy  L.  Blood  and  William  J.  McKnight, 
late  of  the  County  of  Jefferson,  on  the  fifth  day  of  November,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  seven,  with  force  and 
arms,  at  the  County  of  Jefferson,  the  burial-ground  of  and  in  the  borough 
of  Brookville  there  situate,  unlawfully  did  enter  and  the  grave  there  in 

608 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

which  the  body  of  one  Henry  Southerland  deceased  had  lately  before  then 
been  interred ;  and  these  two,  with  force  and  arms,  unlawfully,  wantonly, 
wilfully,  and  indecently,  did  dig  open,  and  afterwards, — to  wit,  on  the 
same  day  and  year  aforesaid, — with  force  and  arms,  at  the  county  afore- 
said, the  body  of  him,  the  said  Henry  Southerland,  out  of  the  grave  afore- 
said, unlawfully  and  indecently,  did  take  and  carry  away,  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

"'And  the  grand  inquest  aforesaid,  upon  their  oaths  and  affirma- 
tion, do  further  present,  that  Kennedy  L.  Blood  and  William  J.  Mc- 
Knight,  late  of  the  County  of  Jefferson,  on  the  fifth  day  of  November,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  with 
force  and  arms,  at  the  County  of  Jefferson,  the  burial-ground  of  and  in 
the  borough  of  Brookville  there  situate,  unlawfully  and  clandestinely,  did 
enter,  and  the  grave  there  in  which  the  body  of  one  Henry  Southerland, 
deceased,  had  lately  before  then  been  interred ;  and  these  two,  with 
force  and  arms  clandestinely,  did  dig  open,  and  afterwards, — to  wit,  on 
the 'same  day  and  year  aforesaid,  with  force  and  arms,  at  the  county  afore- 
said, the  body  of  him,  the  said  Henry  Southerland,  out  of  the  grave  afore- 
said, clandestinely  and  indecently,  did  take,  remove,  and  carry  away, 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  contrary  to  the  form  of  the  statute  in  such  case  made  and  provided. 

"  'A.  L.  GORDON, 

"  '  District  Attorney. 

"  '  Commonwealth  vs.  K.  L.  Blood  and  William  J.  McKnight. 
"  '  In  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  Jefferson  County. 
"'No.  14  Feby.  Session,  1859.     Q.  S.  D.  No.  2,  page  87. 
"  '  Indictment  for  removing  a  dead  body.     Not  a  true  bill.     County 
to  pay  costs. 

"  '  WILLIAM  M.  JOHNSTON, 

"  '  Foreman. 

"  '  Received  of  A.  L.  Gordon,  my  costs,  Hugh  Bowling,  Charles  An- 
derson, John  E.  Carroll,  A.  P.  Heichhold,  W.  C.  Smith,  M.  A.  Bow- 
ling, A.  B.  McLain,  H.  R.  Fullerton,  M.  M.  Pearsall.  Justice  Brady, 
$4.52;  attorney,  $3-' 

"This  indictment  was  under  the  act  of  1855,  'To  protect  burial- 
grounds,'  the  penalty  of  which  was  :  If  any  person  shall  open  any  tomb 
or  grave  in  any  cemetery,  graveyard,  or  any  grounds  set  apart  for  burial 
purposes,  either  private  or  public,  held  by  individuals  for  their  own  use, 
or  in  trust  for  others,  or  for  any  church  or  institution,  whether  incor- 
porated or  not,  without  the  consent  of  the  owners  or  trustees  of  such 
grounds,  and  clandestinely  or  unlawfully  remove,  or  attempt  to  remove, 

609 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

any  human  body,  or  part  thereof,  therefrom,  such  person,  upon  convic- 
tion thereof,  shall  be  sentenced  to  undergo  an  imprisonment  in  the 
county  jail  or  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  less  than  one  year,  nor  more 
than  three  years,  and  pay  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars,  at 
the  discretion  of  the  proper  court. 

"  The  witnesses  before  the  grand  jury  were  of  two  kinds, — those  who 
knew  and  those  who  didn't  know.  Those  who  knew  refused  to  testify, 
on  the  ground  of  incriminating  themselves,  and  Judge  McCalmont  sus- 
tained them. 

"  The  attorneys  for  the  Commonwealth  were  A.  L.  Gordon,  district 
attorney,  and  Hon.  David  Barclay.  Our  attorneys  were  Amor  A. 
McKnight,  Benjamin  F.  Lucas,  and  William  P.  Jenks. 

"  K.  L.  Blood  and  Dr.  Heichhold,  until  the  day  of  their  death,  were 
opposite  political  party  leaders,  and  whenever  either  one  addressed  a 
political  assembly  some  wag  or  opponent  in  ambush  would  always  inter- 
rogate the  speaker  with  '  Who  skinned  the  nigger?' 

"  Before  concluding  this  article  it  might  be  well  to  say  that  the  '  ice- 
house' was  never  used  for  any  purpose  after  November  8,  1857. 

"In  1883,  when  I  was  a  State  senator,  I  was  invited  to  dine  with 
Professor  W.  H.  Pancoast,  of  Philadelphia.  The  city,  State,  and  nation 
was  agitated  over  the  robbing  of  '  Lebanon  Cemetery,'  in  that  city.  It 
was  thought  that  these  subjects  were  for  dissection  in  Jefferson  Medical 
College.  Dr.  Pancoast  was  then  professor  of  anatomy  in  that  school. 
While  at  dinner  the  question  was  raised  as  to  what  effect  this  scandal 
would  have  upon  the  college.  During  this  talk  I  broached  the  idea  that 
now  would  be  an  opportune  time  to  secure  legal  dissection  for  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  wisdom  of  my  suggestion  was  doubted  and  controverted.  I 
defended  my  position  in  this  wise :  The  people  of  the  city  and  State  are 
excited,  alarmed,  and  angered,  and  I  would  frame  the  'act  to  prevent 
the  traffic  in  human  bodies  and  to  prevent  the  desecration  of  graveyards. ' 
This  would  appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  the  people,  as  an  effort,  at  least, 
in  the  right  direction.  Dr.  Pancoast  soon  coincided  with  me,  and  from 
that  moment  took  an  active  interest  in  the  matter.  He  met  with  opposi- 
tion at  first  from  those  who  ought  to  have  supported  him  ;  but  I  assured 
the  doctor  if  he  would  get  the  Anatomical  Association  of  the  city  to  draft 
a  suitable  law  and  send  it  to  Senator  Reyburn,  of  that  city,  I  would  sup- 
port it  from  the  country,  and  that  we  would  push  it  through  the  Senate. 
Dr.  Pancoast  deserves  great  praise  for  his  energy  in  overcoming  the  timid- 
ity and  fears  of  the  college  deans  and  others  in  the  city,  and  in  finally 
inducing  the  '  Association'  to  frame  the  present  act  and  send  it  to  Senator 
Reyburn.  This  law  in  Pennsylvania  legalizing  dissection  was  passed 
finally  on  June  4,  1883.  Its  passage  met  serious  and  able  opposition  in 
both  Houses.  I  firmly  believe  that  had  I  not  been  connected  with  and 
prosecuted  in  this  pioneer  resurrection  case  in  Brookville,  I  would  not 

610 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

have  been  impelled  to  propose  such  a  law  or  to  champion  it  in  the 
Senate.  As  introduced  by  Senator  Reyburn,  the  title  was,  '  Senate 
bill  117,  entitled  An  Act  for  the  promotion  of  medical  science,  by  the 
distribution  and  use  of  unclaimed  human  bodies  for  scientific  purposes, 
through  a  board  created  for  that  purpose,  and  to  prevent  unauthorized 
uses  and  traffic  in  human  bodies.' 

"  The  act  as  passed  and  approved  reads  as  follows, — viz. : 

"  '  No.  1 06.  AN  ACT  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  MEDICAL  SCIENCE  BY  THE 
DISTRIBUTION  AND  USE  OF  UNCLAIMED  HUMAN  BODIES  FOR  SCIEN- 
TIFIC PURPOSES  THROUGH  A  BOARD  CREATED  FOR  THAT  PURPOSE,  AND 
TO  PREVENT  UNAUTHORIZED  USES  AND  TRAFFIC  IN  HUMAN  BODIES. 
"  'SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  the  professors  of  anatomy,  the 
professors  of  surgery,  the  demonstrators  of  anatomy,  and  the  demonstra- 
tors of  surgery  of  the  medical  and  dental  schools  and  colleges  of  this 
Commonwealth,  which  are  now  or  may  hereafter  become  incorporated, 
together  with  one  representative  from  each  of  the  unincorporated  schools 
of  anatomy  or  practical  surgery,  within  this  Commonwealth,  in  which 
there  are  from  time  to  time,  at  the  time  of  the  appointment  of  such  rep- 
resentatives, shall  be  not  less  than  five  scholars,  shall  be  and  hereby  are 
constituted  a  board  for  the  distribution  and  delivery  of  dead  human 
bodies,  hereinafter  described,  to  and  among  such  persons  as,  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  are  entitled  thereto.  The  professor  of  anatomy  in 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  shall  call  a  meeting  of 
said  board  for  organization  at  a  time  and  place  to  be  fixed  by  him  within 
thirty  days  after  the  passage  of  this  act.  The  said  board  shall  have  full 
power  to  establish  rules  and  regulations  for  its  government,  and  to  ap- 
point and  remove  proper  officers,  and  shall  keep  full  and  complete 
minutes  of  its  transactions  ;  and  records  shall  also  be  kept  under  its 
direction  of  all  bodies  received  and  distributed  by  said  board,  and  of  the 
persons  to  whom  the  same  may  be  distributed,  which  minutes  and 
records  shall  be  open  at  all  times  to  the  inspection  of  each  member  of 
said  board,  and  of  any  district  attorney  of  any  county  within  this  Com- 
monwealth. 

"  '  SECTION  2.  All  public  officers,  agents,  and  servants,  and  all  offi- 
cers, agents,  and  servants  of  any  and  every  county,  city,  township, 
borough,  district,  and  other  municipality,  and  of  any  and  every  almshouse, 
prison,  morgue,  hospital,  or  other  public  institution  having  charge  or 
control  over  dead  human  bodies,  required  to  be  buried  at  the  public  ex- 
pense, are  hereby  required  to  notify  the  said  board  of  distribution,  or 
such  person  or  persons  as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be  designated  by  said 
board  or  its  duly  authorized  officer  or  agent,  whenever  any  such  body  or 
bodies  come  to  his  or  their  possession,  charge,  or  control;  and  shall, 
without  fee  or  reward,  deliver  such  body  or  bodies,  and  permit  and  suf- 

6n 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

fer  the  said  board  and  its  agents,  and  the  physicians  and  surgeons  from 
time  to  time  designated  by  them,  who  may  comply  with  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  to  take  and  remove  all  such  bodies  to  be  used  within  this 
State  for  the  advancement  of  medical  science  ;  but  no  such  notice  need 
be  given  nor  shall  any  such  body  be  delivered  if  any  person  claiming 
to  be  and  satisfying  the  authorities  in  charge  of  said  body  that  he  or  she 
is  of  kindred  or  is  related  by  marriage  to  the  deceased,  shall  claim  the  said 
body  for  burial,  but  it  shall  be  surrendered  for  interment,  nor  shall  the 
notice  be  given  or  body  delivered  if  such  deceased  person  was  a  traveller 
who  died  suddenly,  in  which  case  the  said  body  shall  be  buried. 

"  '  SECTION  3.  The  said  board  or  their  duly  authorized  agent  may 
take  and  receive  such  bodies  so  delivered  as  aforesaid,  and  shall,  upon 
receiving  them,  distribute  and  deliver  them  to  and  among  the  schools, 
colleges,  physicians,  and  surgeons  aforesaid,  in  manner  following:  Those 
bodies  needed  for  lectures  and  demonstrations  by  the  said  schools  and 
colleges  incorporated  and  unincorporated  shall  first  be  supplied ;  the 
remaining  bodies  shall  then  be  distributed  proportionately  and  equitably, 
preference  being  given  to  said  schools  and  colleges,  the  number  assigned 
to  each  to  be  based  upon  the  number  of  students  in  each  dissecting  or 
operative  surgery  class,  which  number  shall  be  reported  to  the  board 
at  such  times  as  it  may  direct.  Instead  of  receiving  and  delivering  said 
bodies  themselves,  or  through  their  agents  or  servants,  the  board  of  dis- 
tribution may,  from  time  to  time,  either  directly  or  by  their  authorized 
officer  or  agent,  designate  physicians  and  surgeons  who  shall  receive 
them,  and  the  number  which  each  shall  receive :  Provided  always,  how- 
ever, That  schools  and  colleges  incorporated  and  unincorporated,  and 
physicians  or  surgeons  of  the  county  where  the  death  of  the  person  or 
such  person  described  takes  place,  shall  be  preferred  to  all  others  :  And 
provided  a/so,  That  for  this  purpose  such  dead  body  shall  be  held  subject 
to  their  order  in  the  county  where  the  death  occurs  for  a  period  not  less 
than  twenty-four  hours. 

"  '  SECTION  4.  The  said  board  may  employ  a  carrier  or  carriers  for 
the  conveyance  of  said  bodies,  which  shall  be  well  enclosed  within  a 
suitable  encasement,  and  carefully  deposited  free  from  public  observation. 
Said  carrier  shall  obtain  receipts  by  name,  or  if  the  person  be.  unknown 
by  a  description  of  each  body  delivered  by  him,  and  shall  deposit  said 
receipt  with  the  secretary  of  the  said  board. 

"  'SECTION  5.  No  school,  college,  physician,  or  surgeon  shall  be  al- 
lowed or  permitted  to  receive  any  such  body  or  bodies  until  a  bond  shall 
have  been  given  to  the  Commonwealth  by  such  physician  or  surgeon,  or 
by  or  in  behalf  of  such  school  or  college,  to  be  approved  by  the  prothon- 
otary  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  in  and  for  the  county  in  which  such 
physician  or  surgeon  shall  reside,  or  in  which  such  school  or  college  may 
be  situate,  and  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  said  prothonotary,  which  bond 

612 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON*  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

shall  be  in  the  penal  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  conditioned  that  all 
such  bodies  which  the  said  physician  or  surgeon,  or  the  said  school  or  col- 
lege shall  receive  thereafter  shall  be  used  only  for  the  promotion  of  medi- 
cal science  within  this  State  ;  and  whosoever  shall  sell  or  buy  such  body 
or  bodies,  or  in  any  way  traffic  in  the  same,  or  shall  transmit  or  convey 
or  cause  to  procure  to  be  transmitted  or  conveyed  said  body  or  bodies, 
to  any  place  outside  of.  this  State,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  shall,  on  conviction,  be  liable  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  two 
hundred  dollars,  or  be  imprisoned  for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  year. 

"  '  SECTION  6.  Neither  the  Commonwealth  nor  any  county  or  munici- 
pality, nor  any  officer,  agent,  or  servant  thereof,  shall  be  at  any  expense 
by  reason  of  the  delivery  or  distribution  of  any  such  body;  but  all  the 
expenses  thereof  and  of  said  board  of  distribution  shall  be  paid  by  those 
receiving  the  bodies,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  specified  by  said  board 
of  distribution,  or  otherwise  agreed  upon. 

"  '  SECTION  7.  That  any  person  haying  duties  enjoined  upon  him  by 
the  provisions  of  this  act  who  shall  neglect,  refuse,  or  omit  to  perform 
the  same  as  hereby  required,  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  liable  to 
fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars 
for  each  offence. 

"  '  SECTION  8.  That  all  acts  or  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with  this  act 
be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed. 

"  'Approved — the  i3th  day  of  June,  A.D.  1883. 

"  '  ROBERT  E.  PATTISON.' 

"In  closing  this  narrative  I  quote  a  paragraph  from  my  remarks  in 
the  Senate  in  support  of  the  passage  of  the  law  and  in  reply  to  the 
speeches  of  other  senators  : 

"'Where  would  the  humanity  exist  then,  especially  that  kind  of 
which  so  much  is  said  in  regard  to  the  dead  ?  Humanity,  I  think,  should 
first  be  shown  to  the  living,  and  the  Great  Physician,  whom  senators 
quote  on  this  floor  as  having  had  a  regard  for  humanity,  said,  "  Let  the 
dead  bury  the  dead."  He  took  the  same  practical  view  that  humanity 
should  be  practised  for  the  living.  We  take  a  harsh  view  as  medical 
men  in  regard  to  the  dissection  of  dead  bodies.  We  consider  subjects 
just  as  clay.  I  know  this  is  repugnant  to  the  common  idea  of  mankind, 
but  it  is  the  true  idea.  It  is  the  idea  that  will  enable  a  medical  man  to 
be  of  sound,  practical  good,  professionally,  in  the  world.  For  the  crushed, 
relief  in  life  is  the  great  object,  not  relief  after  death.  We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  that.  Beautiful  poetry  and  nice  homilies  can  be  delivered 
here  by  senators  about  death,  but  it  is  the  living  that  we  want  to  be 
humane  to  and  not  the  dead,  and  if  it  requires  the  dissection  of  ninety- 
nine  dead  persons  to  relieve  one  living  sufferer,  I  would  dissect  the 
ninety-nine  dead  persons  and  relieve  the  one  living  person.  Other 

613 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

senators  here  would  have  us  do  just  the  reverse  of  that.  I  repeat,  Mr. 
President,  this  measure  is  in  the  interest  of  the  laboring  man ;  it  is  in 
the  interest  of  the  mechanic  ;  it  is  in  the  interest  of  science ;  it  is  in  the 
interest  of  the  poor  the  world  over;  it  is  in  the  interest  of  the  man  who 
gets  torn  and  lacerated  in  our  mines  and  workshops,  and  who  is  too  poor 
to  travel  to  Philadelphia  for  his  surgical  aid.  Enact  this  law,  and  the 
young  man  can  go  from  Allegheny,  from  Jefferson,  and  from  Armstrong 
Counties  to  Philadelphia,  and  he  can  legally  take  the  human  body,  which 
is  the  A  B  C  of  all  medical  knowledge,  and  he  can  dissect  it  there,  and 
learn  by  that  means  just  where  each  artery  is,  and  where  each  vein  is, 
and  where  the  different  muscles  lie  and  the  different  relations  they  sus- 
tain to  one  another,  and  then  he  is  qualified  to  return  to  Allegheny  or 
Jefferson  Counties,  locate  at  the  cross-roads  or  in  the  village,  and  per- 
form the  operations  that  are  so  much  needed  there  for  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing humanity  and  the  suffering  poor. 

"'You  all  know  that  the  surgeons  of  Philadelphia  are  famous,  not 
only  in  Philadelphia,  but  throughout  the  world,  and  why  ?  It  is  be- 
cause they  have  studied  the  anatomy  of  the  human  body  so  thoroughly 
and  so  perfectly. 

"  '  We  must  have  anatomical  dissections.  No  man  learns  anatomy  in 
any  other  way  in  the  world  than  through  anatomical  dissections.  Pic- 
tures, models,  and  manikins  won't  do.  He  must  not  only  dissect  one 
body,  but  he  must  dissect  a  large  number  of  bodies.  He  cannot  dissect 
too  many,  neither  can  he  dissect  too  often  ;  therefore  humanity  requires 
that  this  dissection  be  legalized  and  go  on. 

"  '  Of  course,  we  must  have  some  regard  for  the  sentiment  of  the 
living,  and  to  respect  that,  we,  in  this  bill,  only  ask  that  the  unclaimed 
bodies  of  paupers  be  given  to  the  medical  colleges,  not  the  bodies  of 
those  having  friends.  No  body  can  be  taken  if  any  one  objects.' 

"We  have  now,  in  1897,  legalized  dissection  of  the  human  body  in 
twenty-four  States,  and,  as  a  result,  the  skill  of  the  physician  in  the  future 
'  shall  lift  up  his  head,  and  in  the  sight  of  great  men  he  shall  stand  in 
admiration.'  " — Jeffersonian  Democrat,  January,  1897. 

THE    TEACHERS'    INSTITUTE. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  proceedings  held  in  Brookville, 
Pennsylvania,  November  23,  1896  : 

"The  Jefferson  County  Teachers'  Institute  met  in  the  court-house, 
Brookville,  on  Monday,  at  two  P.M.  After  the  enrollment  of  teachers 
and  the  selection  of  T.  T.  Millen  as  secretary,  the  following  address  of 
welcome  to  the  teachers  was  delivered  by  Dr.  W.  J.  McKnight,  of  Brook- 
ville : 

614 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  '  MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  TEACHERS, — This  is  an  assemblage  of  teachers, 
called  an  "  institute" — the  institute  of  Jefferson  County.  What  is  its  his- 
tory? Let  us  lift  the  veil  from  the  past  and  ascertain.  The  Rev.  John 
C.  Wagaman,  of  Punxsutawney,  was  our  first  county  superintendent, 
elected  in  1854,  and  paid  a  salary  of  three  hundred  dollars  a  year.  He 
resigned  in  1856,  and  Samuel  McElhose,  of  Krookville,  succeeded  him 
by  appointment.  Our  first  county  institute  was  held  by  McElhose,  in 
the  old  Academy  building,  in  Brookville,  in  October  of  1856,  continuing 
two  weeks.  The  published  call  for  it  read  as  follows : 

"  '  "  TO  TEACHERS. 

"  '  "  Believing  that  much  good  can  be  done  to  the  cause  of  common 
school  education  by  means  of  a  county  institute  for  the  benefit  of  teach- 
ers, I  hereby  issue  this  call  to  teachers  and  those  who  wish  to  teach,  re- 
questing and  urging  each  one  of  them  to  meet  in  Brookville  on  Monday, 
the  2oth  day  of  October,  at  which  time  will  commence  in  the  Academy 
the  first  session  of  the  Jefferson  County  Teachers'  Institute.  It  will  last 
two  weeks. 

(t  i  u  professor  S.  W.  Smith  will  be  present  during  the  session.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  the  best  of  the  New  England  schools,  and  has  the  advantage 
of  several  years'  practice  as  a  teacher.  The  course  of  instruction  will 
extend  to  a  general  review  of  the  branches  required  to  be  taught  in  our 
common  schools.  It  will  be  our  leading  object  to  treat  at  large  on  the 
subjects  of  school  government,  classification  of  scholars,  and  the  im- 
proved methods  of  teaching. 

"  '  "  Persons  who  attend  the  institute  will  be  at  no  expense  except  for 
their  own  boarding.  Several  gentlemen  have  tendered  their  services  and 
will  deliver  lectures  on  topics  connected  with  education  at  the  proper 
times  in  the  session.  We  again  solicit  the  attendance  of  those  who  de- 
sire to  teach  in  this  county,  and  also  extend  a  cordial  invitation  to  the 
friends  of  education  in  this  and  other  counties  to  be  present. 

"  '  "S.  MCELHOSE, 
"  '  "  County  Superintendent, 

"  '  "  BROOKVILLE,  September  22,  1856." 

"  'This  institute  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Professor  Smith.  The 
work  consisted  largely  of  daily  class  drills,  conducted  by  Professor  Smith 
and  Superintendent  McElhose.  Professor  Smith  was  an  educated  gentle- 
man, and  died  in  Brookville  a  few  years  ago,  after  serving  two  terms  as 
county  superintendent  most  acceptably. 

"  '  The  evening  lectures  before  this  first  institute  were  free,  delivered 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  by  local  talent.  They  were  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Graham,  on  "The  Duties  of  Teachers;"  A.  L.  Gordon,  Esq.,  on  "Self- 
Knowledge,"  and  I.  G.  Gordon,  Esq.,  on  "  Discipline."  All  these  even- 

615 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ing  entertainments  were  announced  to  be  held  at  "  candle-lighting." 
Day  lectures  were  given  before  the  institute  by  Superintendent  McElhose, 
Professor  Smith,  on  astronomy,  and  Dr.  Cummins,  on  physiology.  Nu- 
merous essays  were  read  by  the  teachers  present,  on  the  beauties  of  nature, 
on  education,  on  teaching,  etc.  Of  the  forty-two  teachers  who  attended, 
I  can  recall  but  these :  A.  H.  Brown,  A.  L.  Gordon,  J.  C.  Wilson, 
William  Monks,  T.  Evans,  John  H.  McKee,  A.  J.  Monks,  R.  A.  Travis, 
J.  Kelso,  Misses  Maggie  Polk,  Jennie  Craig,  M.  Kinnear,  Abbie  Mc- 
Curdy,  Martha  Dennison,  Emma  Bishop,  Mary  McCormick,  H.  Thomas, 
Martha  McCreight,  and  Messrs.  C.  M.  Matson,  David  Dickey,  and  S.  A. 
McAllister.  The  last  three  named  are  present  with  us  to-day. 

"  '  Extended  discussion  was  had,  and  resolutions  were  passed,  in  regard 
to  the  construction  of  school-houses  and  concerning  school  furniture  and 
school-books.  The  county  then  had  one  hundred  and  five  school-houses 
and  sixty-eight  male  and  fifty  female  teachers. 

"  '  Samuel  McElhose  served  as  superintendent  a  part  of  a  term  by  ap- 
pointment and  two  full  terms  by  election,  at  a  yearly  salary  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  He  was  an  educated  and  popular  gentleman,  a  great 
worker,  and  the  first  in  the  county  to  agitate  institutes.  He  held  many 
of  these, — sometimes  three  or  four  in  a  year, — some  lasting  three  or  four 
weeks.  He  was  a  good  citizen  and  a  patriot,  and  died  a  private  soldier 
in  the  army  in  1863. 

"  '  Ninety-two  years  ago,  in  the  winter  of  1804,  John  Dixon,  father  of 
the  venerable  John  Dixon,  of  Polk  township,  taught  the  first  school  in 
this  county.  It  was  a  subscription  school,  and  the  term  was  three 
months.  The  "  school-house"  was  two  miles  east  of  Brookville,  on  what 
is  now  the  McConnell  farm.  It  was  twelve  feet  wide  and  sixteen  feet 
long,  was  built  of  rough  logs,  and  had  no  window-sash  or  glass.  The 
light  was  admitted  to  the  school-room  through  chinks  in  the  walls,  over 
which  greased  paper  was  plastered.  The  floor  was  of  "puncheons,"  and 
the  seats  of  broad  pieces  split  from  logs,  with  pins  underneath  for  legs. 
The  roof  was  covered  with  "  clapboards"  held  down  by  poles.  Boards 
laid  on  pins  driven  into  auger-holes  in  the  walls  furnished  writing-desks. 
A  log  fireplace,  occupying  an  entire  end  of  the  room,  supplied  warmth 
when  the  weather  was  cold. 

"  'The  second  school  was  taught  by  John  Johnson,  in  1806,  on  the 
old  "State  road,"  near  the  present  residence  of  William  C.  Evans,  be- 
tween Port  Barnett  and  Brookville.  The  house  was  similar  to  the  first 
one  named,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  window  of  six  lights  of  eight- 
by-ten  glass.  This  school  cabin  was  heated  by  a  ten-plate  wood-stove, 
the  invention  of  Franklin  in  1800,  and  called  by  the  people  "The 
Little  Devil."  This  was  a  subscription  school  also,  and  was  known  in 
those  days  as  a  "neighborhood,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  "family" 
school.  The  building  was  erected  by  those  interested.  The  tools  used 

6x6 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

in  constructing  it  were  a  pole-axe  and  an  auger.  The  master  was  hired 
by  a  committee  of  three,  elected  by  the  people  at  their  own  time  and  in 
their  own  way.  This  committee  supervised  the  school.  Children  had 
to  travel  three  or  four  miles,  in  some  cases  over  trails  and  paths  where  the 
Indian  lurked  and  the  wild  beast  prowled. 

"  '  Although  Penn  had  declared  in  founding  his  colony  that  "wisdom 
and  virtue  must  be  carefully  propagated  by  a  virtuous  education  of  the 
youth,"  and  although  the  constitution  of  1790  declared  in  favor  of  the 
establishment  of  schools  throughout  the  State  that  the  poor  might  be 
taught  gratis,  yet  it  was  not  until  1809  that  the  Legislature  attempted  to 
obey  this  mandate.  Colleges  and  academies  were,  it  is  true,  sparsely 
inaugurated,  but  they  were  not  for  the  poor.  Education  was  carried  on 
by  voluntary  effort.  The  law  of  1809  simply  provided  that  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners  and  assessors  of  the  townships  to 
ascertain  from  the  parents  the  names  of  all  the  children  between  the  ages 
of  five  and  twelve  years  who  reside  in  each  township,  and  whose  parents 
were  unable  to  pay  for  their  schooling.  These  children  then  had  the 
privilege  of  attending  the  nearest  subscription  school,  under  the  restric- 
tions of  the  committee,  and  the  county  had  to  pay  for  each  pauper 
scholar  by  the  month,  the  same  as  the  subscribers  paid.  This  law  was  in 
existence  for  twenty-five  years.  It  was  despised  by  the  poor  and  hated 
by  the  rich.  The  poor  would  not  accept  it  because  it  declared  them 
paupers.  Its  existence,  however,  kept  up  an  agitation  for  a  better  system, 
which  culminated,  in  1834-36,  in  what  is  known  as  the  common  school 
law. 

"  '  In  1833,  Governor  Wolf  ascertained  by  careful  inquiry  that  under 
this  law  of  1809,  out  °f  f°ur  hundred  thousand  children  in  the  State  be- 
tween the  ages  of  five  and  twelve  years,  only  twenty  thousand  attended 
any  school  whatever. 

"  '  The  pioneer  school-house  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  was 
built  of  logs,  in  the  fall  of  1820,  near  John  Bell's,  a  little  more  than  a 
mile  northeast  of  Perrysville.  It  was  built  after  the  fashion  of  the  first 
school-house  in  the  county, — lighted,  warmed,  and  furnished  in  the  same 
manner.  John  B.  Henderson  taught  the  first  school  in  this  pioneer  house 
in  the  winter  of  1820. 

"  '  Our  oldest  school-master  in  the  county  is  Joseph  Magifnn,  hale  and 
hearty  at  the  age  of  ninety.  He  taught  near  Dowlingville  in  1827.  The 
books  used  in  the  pioneer  schools  were  generally  the  Bible,  Columbian 
Reader,  Murray's  Grammar,  Pike's  Arithmetic,  Catechism,  United 
States  Speller,  and  New  England  Primer.  As  a  matter  of  care  and 
economy  these  books  were  covered  by  the  mothers  with  paper  or  cloth, 
generally  calico  or  bed-ticking.  The  pioneer  school-masters  were  nearly 
all  Irishmen,  and,  as  a  rule,  well-educated.  In  the  winter  they  usually 
wore  a  red  flannel  warmus,  and  sometimes  white  flannel  pants.  They 
4o  617 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

taught  their  scholars  from  the  proverbs  of  the  poets,  from  the  maxims  of 
the  surrounding  forests,  and  from  the  tenets  of  the  blessed  Bible,  whose 
apocalypse  is  love.  Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  the  log  cabin  and  log 
school  house  proved  to  be  the  birthplace  and  nursery  of  mental  giants, 
of  men  who  have  blessed  our  country  as  rulers,  statesmen,  soldiers, 
scholars,  orators,  and  patriots  ?  What  nation,  old  or  new,  has  produced 
the  equal  of  our  Washington?  What  nation  has  equalled  our  Jefferson, 
with  his  declaration  "  that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal"  ?  What 
nation  has  equalled  our  Lincoln,  born  and  reared  in  a  cabin,  one  of  the 
people  and  for  the  people  ?  With  a  heart  alive  to  pity,  like  an  angel  of 
mercy,  he  was  ever  at  home  in  his  office  of  President  to  the  most  humble 
citizen.  This  I  know  by  personal  experience.  What  nation  has  pro- 
duced the  superior  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall  ?  What  orators  have  been 
more  eloquent  than  Clay  or  Webster?  What  nation  has  produced  a 
greater  than  our  military  chieftain,  Grant,  who  commanded  larger  armies, 
fought  more  battles,  and  won  more  victories  than  any  other  general  his- 
tory records?  Napoleon's  career  is  pigmy-like  when  compared  to  Grant's 
successes.  What  nation  has  equalled  our  inventors?  Fulton,  born  in 
Pennsylvania's  woods,  who  harnessed  steam  to  water-craft ;  Whitney, 
who  invented  the  cotton-gin  ;  Morse,  who  sought  out  the  telegraph  ; 
McCormick,  who  made  the  reaper;  Howe,  who  made  the  sewing-ma 
chine,  and  Edison,  the  intellectual  wonder  and  marvel  of  the  world, — 
born  in  Ohio  and  reared  in  the  woods  of  Michigan  ?  Such  a  mental 
genius  as  he  is  could  only  be  the  son  of  an  American  "  school-marm." 

"  '  I  have  not  time  to  recapitulate  the  history  of  our  country  and  its 
achievements.  I  can  only  say  that  what  we  are  to-day  we  owe  to  the  log 
cabin,  the  log  school  house,  and  the  pioneer  school-master. 

"  '  We  live  in  the  age  of  steam  and  railroads,  telegraphs,  telephones, 
and  of  a  free  school  system.  "  We  live  in  an  age  on  ages  telling;  to  be 
living  is  sublime."  Yet  you  are  pioneers,  pioneers  of  a  new  era,  an  era 
of  moral  courage,  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  ; 
an  era  of  honesty,  of  temperance,  of  plenty,  of  virtue,  of  wisdom,  and 
of  peace.  And  you,  teachers,  are  the  leaders  in  this  grand  new  era. 
As  such  we  welcome  you  to  Brookville.  We  welcome  you  most  heartily 
as  friends  and  neighbors.  We  welcome  you  as  citizens  of  our  county, 
whose  hills  and  valleys  are  sacred  to  us.  We  welcome  you  as  the  chil- 
dren of  noble,  courageous,  patient,  toiling  pioneer  heroes  and  heroines, 
who  subdued  the  savage  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  and  reclaimed 
these  lands.  We  welcome  you  as  teachers  under  the  free  school  system 
of  the  great  State  of  Pennsylvania,  made  great  by  her  forests,  her  fertile 
valleys,  her  mountains  of  coal,  rivers  of  oil,  and  the  enterprise  of  her 
sons  and  daughters,  and  whose  free  school  system  is  the  continued  as- 
surance of  American  liberty.  We  welcome  you  as  teachers  in  an  empire 
whose  State  insignia  proclaims  to  the  world  Virtue,  Liberty,  and  Inde- 

618 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

pendence.  We  welcome  each  one  of  you  to  Brookville  for  your  indi- 
vidual worth,  and  we  welcome  you  as  an  aggregation  of  intelligent  force 
assembled  in  our  midst  for  the  public  good.  Finally,  we  welcome  you 
as  teachers  convened  to  learn  more  thoroughly  how  to  impart  intelli- 
gence, teach  virtue,  wisdom,  and  patriotism  under  our  flag,  the  emblem 
of  all  that  is  dear  to  man  and  woman  in  and  for  the  best  government  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.'  " 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    REPUBLICAN    PARTY    IN    JEFFERSON 
COUNTY— THE   PIONEERS   AND   FATHERS. 

On  February  22,  1856,  a  number  of  self-appointed  delegates  from  all 
parts  of  the  republic, — 

Men  of  principle, 

"  Men  who  had  opinions  and  a  will, 
Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  lived  above  the  fog, 
In  public  duty  and  in  private  thought," — 

met  at  Lafayette  Hall,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  organized  the 
National  Republican  party,  the  first  national  convention  of  which  was 
held  that  year  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  There  was  then  in  exist- 
ence two  other  parties, — viz.,  the  Democratic  and  the  American  Na- 
tional. This  gave  the  country  in  the  Presidential  race  of  that  year 
three  candidates  for  the  Presidency, — viz.,  Buchanan,  Democrat,  Fill- 
more,  American,  and  Fremont,  Republican.  The  Democrats  were  suc- 
cessful and  Buchanan  was  elected.  The  Republicans  were  next  strongest, 
and  the  Americans  third  in  the  race.  In  1856  the  Republicans  in  our 
county  had  more  votes  than  the  Americans,  yet  they  had  no  organization. 
In  1857  the  Republicans  of  Jefferson  coalesced  with  the  Americans  and 
swallowed  them  by  organizing  a  party  in  the  county  as  the  American 
Republican.  The  pioneer  primaries  for  this  organization  to  choose  dele- 
gates were  held  on  the  last  Saturday  of  June,  at  each  election  precinct, 
between  the  hours  of  two  and  six  P.M.  The  county  convention  was  held 
in  the  court-house  at  Brookville  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  July  following. 
Each  township  or  borough  was  to  elect  two  delegates,  except  Heath  and 
Polk,  and  they  but  one  each. 

There  were  then  twenty  townships  and  two  boroughs  in  the  county, 
and  at  the  county  convention,  held  July  7,  1857,  the  following  delegates 
were  present, — viz.  : 

Beaver. — G.  Montgomery,  R.  Dinger. 

Barnett* — Not  represented. 

Bell. — John  Grube,  James  Miller. 

Brookville. — A.  B.  McLain,  D.  C.  Gillespie. 

Clover.— £.  McCullough. 

El(tre<t.—Wi\\\a.m  Hall,  J.  B.  Graham. 

619 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Heath. — Not  represented. 

Knox* — M.  E.  Steiner,  William  Davidson. 

McCalmont.—}.  P.  North,  S.  McGhee. 

Oliver.—}.  P.  McKee,  W.  P.  Gastin. 

Porter. — Jacob  Howard. 

Polk* — Not  represented. 

Perry*—  C.  R.  B.  Morris. 

Pine  Creek*— Oliver  Brady,  J.  P.  Black. 

£0sf.*—E.  P.  Cochran,  T.  Witherovv. 

Jtinggold.—'Si.  T.  Perry,  J.  A.  Frees. 

Snyder* — Not  represented. 

Punxsutawney* — J.  R.  Reese,  W.  A.  Dunlap. 

Union.* — John  S.  Barr,  John  Gibson. 

Washington* — John  Crawford,  Robert  Morrison. 

Warsaw*— I.  M.  Temple,  Emory  Bartlett. 

Winslow* — G.  Burrows,  R.  Ross. 

Young. — S.  B.  Hughes,  Thomas  North. 

The  nominees  of  that  convention  were :  Sheriff,  Lawrence  McQuown ; 
Prothonotary,  etc.,  Joseph  Henderson;  Treasurer,  Samuel  Craig;  Com- 
missioner, John  North;  Auditor,  John  Thompson.  The  townships 
marked  thus  *  were  carried  for  the  Republicans  in  1857,  therefore  the 
pioneer  Republican  townships  in  the  county. 

The  election  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October  went  Democratic, 
both  State  and  county.  Our  county  was  carried  by  the  Democrats  by 
majorities  ranging  from  six  to  one  hundred. 

The  campaigns  then  were  educational,  and  conducted  by  oratory 
in  school -houses,  etc.  The  pioneer  "stumpers"  in  the  county  for  the 
Republican  party  were  I.  G.  Gordon,  B.  F.  Lucas,  A.  A.  McKnight, 
A.  P.  Heichhold,  A.  B.  McLain,  D.  C.  Gillespie,  W.  W.  Wise,  L. 
D.  Rogers,  Dr.  W.  J.  McKnight,  and  J.  K.  Coxson.  All  evening 
meetings  were  announced  to  be  held  at  "early  candle-lighting."  In 
stumping  the  speaker  gave  his  own  time  and  furnished  his  own  transpor- 
tation. If  too  poor  to  do  this,  some  Republican  would  convey  him  in  a 
hack,  free  of  charge,  or  a  number  of  workers  would  chip  in  and  hire  a 
team  and  go  along.  There  was  no  campaign  boodle  to  draw  upon.  We 
always  had  a  begging  committee ;  A.  B.  McLain  was  always  on  it,  and 
the  best  beggar  I  ever  knew.  When  we  imported  a  "  foreign  speaker," 
McLain  had  to  hustle  to  get  money  for  the  speaker's  expenses,  and  he 
never  failed.  We  had  a  county  vigilance  committee  of  one  or  two  in 
each  township,  This  committee  was  appointed  at  the  county  convention 
by  the  presiding  officer,  and  was  usually  selected  from  the  delegates 
present. 

State  delegates  were  selected  as  follows:  An  editorial  notice  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Star  that  a  meeting  would  be  held  at  the  court-house  in 

620 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Brookville  on  the  evening  of ,  at  "early  candle-light,"  to  appoint 

a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention.     The  crowd  that  gathered  elected 
him  viva  voce. 


EARLY     HISTORY     OF    RIDGWAY  —  SOME     SKETCHES     ABOUT     THE 
TOWN  AND   VICINITY  FROM    1852   TO    1856.* 

In  the  fall  of  1852  I  made  my  pioneer  trip  as  a  mail-boy  on  the 
''Star  Route"  from  Brookville  to  Ridgway,  Pennsylvania.  In  1852 
this  was  still  a  horseback  service  of  once  a  week,  and  was  to  be  performed 
weekly,  as  follows:  Leave  Brookville  Tuesday  at  five  o'clock  A.M.,  and 
arrive  at  Ridgway  same  day  at  seven  o'clock  P.M.  Leave  Ridgway 
Wednesday  at  five  o'clock  A.M.,  and  arrive  same  day  at  Brookville  at 
seven  o'clock  P.M. 

The  proprietor  of  the  route  was  John  G.  Wilson,  then  keeping  the 
American  Hotel  in  Brookviile.  To  start  the  service  on  schedule  time 
was  easy  enough,  but  to  reach  the  destined  point  in  the  schedule  time  was 
almost  impossible.  The  mail  was  usually  from  one  to  three  hours  late. 
Indeed,  it  could  not  be  otherwise,  for  the  route  was  through  a  wilder- 
ness, over  horrid  roads,  and  about  seven  miles  longer  than  the  direct 
road  between  the  points. 

It  was  too  much  work  in  too  short  a  time  for  one  horse  to  carry  a 
heavy  mail-bag  and  a  boy.  On  my  first  trip  I  left  Brookville  at  five  A.M., 
James  Corbett,  the  postmaster,  placing  the  bag  on  the  horse  for  me.  I 
rode  direct  to  Richardsville,  where  William  R.  Richards,  the  pioneer  of 
that  section,  was  postmaster.  From  Richardsville  I  went  to  Warsaw, 
where  Moses  B.  St.  John  was  postmaster.  He  lived  on  the  Keyes  farm, 
near  the  Warsaw  graveyard.  From  St.  John's  I  rode  by  way  of  what  is 
now  John  Fox's  to  the  Beechwoods  McConnell  farm,  or  Alvan  post- 
office,  Alex.  McConnell,  postmaster.  From  Alvan  I  went  direct  to  what 
is  now  Brockwayville  for  dinner.  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke  was  postmaster,  and 
it  was  at  his  house  I  ate,  to  my  disgust,  salt-rising  bread. 

The  doctor  and  his  father  lived  in  a  large  frame  house  near  where  the 
old  grist-mill  now  stands.  The  old  up  and-down  saw-mill  across  the 
creek  was  then  in  operation.  C.  K.  Huhn,  I  think,  lived  near  it.  The 
old  frame  school-house  stood  on  a  prominence  near  the  junction  of  the 
Brookville  and  Beechwoods  roads.  Henry  Dull,  one  of  the  pioneer 
stage-drivers  in  Jefferson  County,  lived  in  an  old  frame  building  near 
where  D.  D.  Groves  now  resides,  and  John  McLaughlin  lived  in  an  old 
log  house  down  by  the  Rochester  depot. 

With  these  exceptions,  all  west  of  the  creek  in  what  is  now  Brock- 
wayville was  a  wilderness.  East  of  the  creek  the  bottom  land  was 


*  This  "  Early  History  of  Ridgway"  was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  is  re- 
published  here,  revised  and  corrected. 

621 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

cleared,  and  along  the  road   on  each  side  was  a  log  fence.     W.  D. 
Murray  and  the  Ingalls  family  lived  near  the  Pennsylvania  depot. 

There  was  no  other  family  or  store  or  industry,  to  my  recollection, 
in  what  is  now  the  beautiful  town  of  Brockwayville. 

About  five  miles  up  the  Little  Toby,  and  in  Elk  County,  Mrs.  Sarah 
Oyster  kept  a  licensed  hotel,  the  only  licensed  tavern  in  that  year  out- 
side of  or  between  Brookville  and  Ridgway.  Near  this  hotel  Stephen 
Oyster  lived  and  had  erected  a  grist-mill  and  saw-mill.  Oyster  was 
postmaster,  and  the  office  was  named  Hellen  Mills. 

Stephen  Oyster's  house  and  mills  were  alongside  or  on  the  pioneer 
road  to  this  region.  The  road  was  surveyed  and  opened  about  1812, 
and  over  it  the  pioneers  came  to  Brandy  Camp.  Kersey,  and  Little  Toby. 
The  history  of  the  road  is  something  like  this  :  Fox,  Norris  &  Co.  owned 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  acres  of  land  in  this  vicinity,  and, 
being  desirous  to  open  these  lands  for  settlement,  employed  and  sent  a 
surveyor  by  the  name  of  Kersey  to  survey,  open  a  road,  and  build  a  mill 
on  their  lands. 

Kersey  and  his  men  started  the  road  on  the  Susquehanna  River  near 
Luthersburg,  on  the  old  State  road,  crossed  over  Boone's  Mountain, 
reached  Little  Toby  at  what  is  now  Hellen,  went  up  the  creek  seven 
miles  over  what  is  called  "Hog-Back  Hill"  to  a  point  on  Elk  Creek  near 
where  Centreville  now  is,  arod  then  located  and  built  "  Kersey  Mill." 

Kersey  had  an  outfit  and  a  number  of  men,  and  erected  shanties 
wherever  necessary  while  at  his  work.  One  of  these  he  built  on  Brandy 
Camp.  Among  other  necessaries,  Kersey  had  some  choice  brandy  with 
him.  The  men  longed  for  some  of  this  brandy,  but  Kersey  kept  it  for 
himself.  One  day,  in  the  absence  of  Kersey,  the  cabin  burned  down. 

On  Kersey's  return  he  was  chagrined,  but  the  men  told  him  that  the 
Indians  in  the  neighborhood  had  drunk  his  brandy  and  burned  the 
shanty.  This  story  had  to  be  accepted,  and  hence  the  stream  has  ever 
since  been  called  Brandy  Camp.  "  The  Travellers'  Home  Hotel"  was 
on  this  stream.  It  was  famous  for  dancing  parties,  blackberry  pies,  and 
sweet  cake,  but  was  closed  this  year  and  occupied  as  a  private  residence 
by  a  man  named  Brown. 

Night  came  upon  me  at  the  farm  of  Joel  Taylor,  and  through  nine 
miles  of  wilderness  and  darkness  I  rode  on  a  walk.  There  was  a  shanty 
at  Bootjack  occupied  by  a  man  named  McQuone.  From  Taylor's  to 
Ridgway  was  a  long  ride  to  me.  It  was  a  wearisome  time. 

I  reached  Ridgway,  a  small  village  then,  about  nine  o'clock  P.M.  John 
Cobb  was  postmaster,  and  the  office  was  in  his  store,  near  where  Powell's 
store  is  now.  My  horse  knew  the  route  perfectly,  and  I  left  all  details 
to  her. 

Two  hotels  existed  in  the  village, — the  Exchange,  kept  by  David 
Thayer,  near  the  river,  and  the  Cobb  House,  kept  by  John  Cobb,  on 

622 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  ground  where  Messenger's  drug-store  now  is.  Mr.  P.  T.  Brooks  was 
in  charge  that  night.  My  horse  stopped  at  the  Cobb.  For  some  reason 
the  house  was  unusually  full  that  night,  and  after  supper  I  expressed  to 
the  landlord  a  doubt  about  a  bed. 

Mr.  Brooks  patted  me  on  the  back  and  said,  "Never  mind,  my  son, 
I'll  take  care  of  you,  I'll  take  care  of  you."  Bless  his  big  heart,  he  did. 
Boy-like,  my  eyes  and  ears  were  open.  I  took  in  the  town  before  leaving 
it.  The  only  pavement  was  in  front  of  the  Gillis  house.  I  knew  of  the 
judge's  reputation  as  a  Morgan  killer,  and  I  wanted  to  see  where  and 
how  he  lived.  I  had  seen  him  in  Brookville  many  a  time  before 
that. 

There  was  a  board  fence  around  the  public  square.  Charles  Mead 
was  sheriff,  and  lived  in  the  jail.  The  village  had  a  doctor,  one  Chambers. 
The  school-teacher  was  W.  C.  Niver,  afterwards  Dr.  Niver,  of  Brockway- 
ville,  Pennsylvania. 

Of  the  village  inhabitants  then,  I  can  recall  these :  Judge  Gillis,  E. 
C.  Derby,  M.  L.  Ross,  Henry  Souther,  Caleb  Dill,  James  Love,  J.  C. 
Chapin,  Lebbeus  Luther,  a  hunter  and  great  marksman  ;  Lafe  Brigham, 
'Squire  Parsons,  E.  E.  Crandall,  Charles  McVean,  Judge  Dickinson,  J.  S. 
Hyde,  and  Jerome  Powell,  editor  of  the  Advocate. 

I  have  an  old  issue  of  the  Advocate  of  that  date,  from  which  I  copy 
two  advertisements,  one  of  the  coal  industry  of  the  county  then,  and  the 
other  on  stage  and  transportation  facilities  : 

"  GREAT    EXCITEMENT   IN    THE   COAL   REGIONS  ! 

"  Removal  of 'the  Deposits  from  the  Miners1  Bank  of  Fox  Township  ! 

"  Providence  having  in  days  of  yore  deposited  in  the  above  bank  a 
choice  supply  of  coal  for  the  use  of  mankind,  to  be  drawn  as  need  re- 
quires, the  proprietor  is  now  engaged  in  removing  the  funds  from  bank 
to  his  office  adjoining,  where  he  will  always  be  ready  to  distribute  liber- 
ally, at  a  trifling  charge  for  his  services,  to  those  who  call,  whether  Vul- 
cans,  people,  or  common  folks. 

"JESSIE  KYLER. 

"  OFFICE  OF  THE  MINERS'  BANK  OF  Fox  TOWNSHIP, 
November  13,  1851." 

"  NEW  ARRANGEMENT. 

"  Through  and  Back  by  Daylight  / 

"  Having  taken  the  contract  for  carrying  the  mail  from  Bellefonte  to 
Smethport,  the  subscriber  is  happy  to  announce  to  the  travelling  public 
and  the  world  in  general  that  he  is  going  to  '  crack  her  threw'  regularly, 
rain  or  shine,  hot  or  cold,  mud  or  dust,  from  this  time  forth,  leaving 
Smethport  every  Monday  morning,  arriving  at  Ridgway  same  evening, 

623 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

passing  along  so  as  to  reach  Bellefonte  on  Wednesday  night.  On  the 
return  trip  leaves  Bellefonte  on  Thursday  morning,  arrives  at  Ridgway 
Friday  night,  and  Smethport  Saturday  night. 

"  fiST"  Good  horses  and  coaches  and  sober  drivers  will  always  be 
kept  on  this  route. 

"  fi®"  Particular  attention  will  be  paid  to  baggage,  which  will  be 
carried  at  my  risk  where  freight  is  paid.  Also,  all  kinds  of  errands 
promptly  attended  to  along  the  line.  Patronage  is  respectfully  solicited. 

"  TOWNSEND  FALL. 
"  CENTREVILLE,  July  9,  1852." 

I  lived  in  Ridgway  and  worked  on  the  Advocate,  and  afterwards  in 
the  Reporter  office  from  August,  1854,  to  September,  1856.  Ridgway 
was  then  but  a  village,  containing  three  stores, — J.  S.  Hyde's,  George 
Dickinson's,  and  Hall  &  Whitney's;  two  hotels,  the  Exchange  and  the 
Ridgway,  nee  Fountain,  nee  Oyster,  nee  Cobb.  One  grist-mill  and  a 
little  saw-mill  on  Elk  Creek ;  one  shoe  shop,  Parson  &  Crandall ;  one 
gunsmith,  Horace  Warner;  one  blacksmith,  Caleb  Dill;  one  tailor,  M. 
L.  Ross.  Lawyers,  Souther,  Willis,  Chapin,  Mickel,  and  Pattison. 

The  town  was  too  small  and  healthy  for  a  physician  to  remain.  There 
was  a  school-house  near  the  residence  of  Caleb  Dill,  and  the  winter  term 
of  1854-55  was  taught  by  C.  M.  Matson,  of  Brookville,  Pennsylvania; 
also  a  court-house  and  a  stone  jail.  William  N.  Whitney  was  postmaster. 
The  town  and  township  contained  about  eighty-one  voters. 

The  county  officers  were :  President  Judge,  R.  G.  White,  of  Tioga 
County;  Associate  Judges,  George  Dickinson,  of  Ridgway,  and  W.  P. 
Wilcox,  of  Jones  township;  Prothonotary,  etc.,  Charles  Horton  ;  Treas- 
urer, Jerome  Powell ;  Sheriff,  Alvan  H.  Head.  The  commissioners  I  do 
not  remember. 

The  following  lawyers,  afterwards  distinguished,  then  attended  the 
courts:  Brown,  Curtis,  and  Johnson,  of  Warren;  Barrett,  Wallace,  Mc- 
Cullough,  and  Larimer,  of  Clearfield;  J.  G.  Gordon,  W.  P.  Jenks,  Mc- 
Cahon,  and  Lucas,  of  Jefferson  ;  and  Goodrich  and  Eldred,  of  McKean. 

The  merchants  hauled  their  goods  from  Watterson's  Ferry,  on  the 
Allegheny  River,  or  Olean,  New  York.  Minor  Wilcox  drove  on  the 
road  with  Charles  B.  Gillis,  Ben.  McClelland,  and  others.  In  1855-56 
there  was  one  colored  teamster  in  Ridgway, — viz.,  Charles  Matthews. 
He  had  a  wife,  and  drove  for  Sheriff  Healy.  Although  the  town  water 
was  as  pure  as  the  snow  on  the  mountain,  yet  it  did  not  agree  with 
Charles's  stomach.  Like  other  teamsters,  he  had  to  take  ''something  a 
little  warmer  and  stronger." 

There  was  no  church  edifice  of  any  kind  in  the  town,  and  but  few 
church  members.  Sheriff  Mead  tried  to  run  a  Sunday-school,  with  a  few 
scholars.  The  pioneer  Sunday-school  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  R.  L. 

624 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Blackmarr,  April  14,  1850.  The  circuit  riders  of  the  Methodist  church 
that  year  were  Revs.  Shaffer  and  Colburn.  They  preached  in  the  court- 
house, and  service  was  held  once  in  two  or  four  weeks,  I  cannot  recall 
which.  The  elder's  name  was  Poisdell.  All  of  these  gentlemen  were 
appointed  by  the  Baltimore  Conference. 

These  ministers  always  travelled  on  horseback.  The  horse  was 
usually  "bobbed,"  and  you  could  see  that  he  had  a  most  excellent 
skeleton.  These  itinerants  all  wore  leggings,  and  carried  on  the  saddle  a 
large  pair  of  saddle-bags,  which  contained  a  clean  shirt,  a  Bible,  and  a 
hymn-book.  The  sermon  was  on  a  cylinder  in  the  head  of  the  preacher, 
and  was  ready  to  be  graphophoned  at  any  point  or  time. 

Rev.  John  Wray  was  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  to  regularly  "  cry 
aloud"  to  the  people  of  Ridgway,  "  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  at  hand.  Come  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without 
price."  During  my  two  years'  stay  he  preached  regularly  once  in  four 
or  six  weeks.  He  may  have  had  a  few  female  members  in  his  church, 
but  to  my  observation  the  people  generally  preferred  the  "world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil,"  whiskey  and  New  England  rum. 

Rev.  Wray  was  the  pastor  of  the  Beechwoods  church  in  Jefferson 
County,  and  came  to  Ridgway  as  a  missionary.  His  first  advent  was  in 
1850.  He  had  been  a  missionary  in  India  for  seven  years.  He  was  a 
pleasant,  earnest,  good  Irishman,  and  always  stopped  with  Mr.  Luther. 
He  was  small  of  stature,  and  rode  astride  his  horse  and  saddle-bags  as 
stiff  and  upright  as  though  he  were  a  keg  of  nails.  He  died  at  Brock- 
way  ville  in  August,  1883,  aged  eighty-nine  years. 

J.  S  Hyde  was  then  a  young,  active  business  man.  He  came  to 
Ridgway  "as  poor  as  a  church  mouse,"  and  died,  at  a  ripe  old  age,  a 
millionaire.  He  was  ambitious,  an  untiring  worker,  and  an  honorable 
citizen.  In  1855  he  twice  solicited  me  to  enter  his  service  ;  I  was  flattered, 
but  refused,  and  told  him  that  "a  doctor  I  would  be."  Mr.  Hyde  had 
great  force  and  a  habit  of  carrying  his  hands  in  front  of  him  with  the 
"thumbs  up,"  especially  if  he  was  in  earnest  or  excited.  Whenever  his 
thumbs  were  up  in  the  presence  of  any  one,  there  was  sure  to  be  some- 
thing happen, — an  explosion  of  Christian  imagination. 

Elk  County  then  was  one  vast  wilderness,  and  was  so  called  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  herds  of  elks  that  once  roamed  through  those  wilds. 
There  were  no  elks  killed  during  my  residence,  but  Grandpap  Luther 
told  me  that  in  1852  a  drove  of  twelve  or  fifteen  was  found  by  two 
hunters  near  the  village,  and  seven  of  them  were  killed.  Indians  camped 
near  Ridgway  as  late  as  1850  to  hunt  for  elks.  Elks  are  gregarious. 
Where  Portland  now  is  was  a  great  rendezvous  for  the  elks.  It  was  a 
great  wintering-place  for  them.  All  other  wild  animals  were  numerous. 
Erasmus  Morey  told  me  that  in  March,  1853,  he  and  Peter  Smith  killed 
in  one  week  six  full-grown  panthers. 

625 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  total  bounty  paid  by  the  county  in  i8;;4  for  killing  wolves  and 
panthers  in  1853  was  $225.50.  There  lived  on  the  Smethport  pike,  be- 
tween Ridgway  and  Montmorenci,  two  hunters  with  their  families, — 
viz.,  Bill  Easton  and  Nelse  Gardner,  the  latter  the  father  of  James  K. 
Gardner,  who  now  resides  in  Ridgway. 

These  men  were  professionals.  Chasing  the  wild  deer  was  their  daily 
life  and  delight.  They  both  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  agile,  cat-like 
step,  the  keen  eye,  the  cool  nerve,  and  the  woodcraft  of  the  "  still  hunter." 

I  knew  them  well,  but  was  not  intimate  enough  to  learn  the  story  of 
their  encounters  and  adventures.  The  buffaloes  that  once  roamed  in 
great  numbers,  the  beavers  that  built  their  dams,  and  the  stately  elks 
that  once  traversed  the  forests  of  Elk  are  now  extinct,  and  I  believe  the 
screaming  panther  and  the  prowling  wolf  can  now,  too,  be  so  classed. 

The  pioneers  to  settle  where  Ridgway  now  is  were  James  Gallagher 
and  Enos  Gillis.  About  1824  they  built  two  log  houses  and  a  saw-mill. 
Gallagher  was  the  pioneer  tanner,  and  built  a  tannery  there  in  the  early 
thirties.  He  died  February  22,  1850,  aged  seventy  years.  James  L. 
Gillis  christened  the  village  Ridgway.  I  came  to  Ridgway  in  1854  by 
invitation  of  Jerome  Powell,  Esq.,  to  work  for  him  on  the  Advocate.  I 
received  eight  dollars  per  month  and  boarding.  I  made  my  home  with 
Lebbeus  Luther.  His  wife  was  a  most  excellent  cook,  tidy,  kind,  and 
as  neat  in  her  housework  as  a  pink. 

About  the  first  of  August,  1854,  I  left  Brockwayville  for  Ridgway. 
This  was  the  stage  era  for  Ridgway,  and  I  took  passage  in  Murray  & 
Thayer's  stage.  My  fare  was  one  dollar. 

The  Advocate  was  a  five  column  to  the  page  paper,  each  column  about 
eighteen  inches  long.  The  press  was  an  old  Franklin.  We  made  our  own 
rollers  out  of  glue  and  molasses.  The  work  on  the  paper  was  all  done 
by  Mr.  Powell,  Ben.  Dill,  and  myself.  The  composing,  press-work,  and 
sanctum  were  all  in  one  room.  The  paper  was  in  its  fifth  volume.  No. 
i,  vol.  i.,  was  issued  March  9,  1850.  Henry  Souther  was  editor  for 
about  one  year.  Mr.  Powell  was  the  pioneer  publisher  and  father  of  the 
craft  in  Elk  County. 

Some  of  the  happiest  days  of  my  life  I  spent  in  this  old  court-house 
office.  True,  I  was  poor  and  ragged,  but  I  had  the  confidence  of  my 
employer,  I  was  free  from  cares,  and  there  in  that  old  office  in  winter's 
snows  and  summer's  heat,  "  Happy  hearts,  happy  hearts,  with  mine  have 
laughed  in  glee,  the  charms  of  which  time  can  never  efface." 

Mr.  Powell  was  a  polite,  affable,  genial  employer,  and  Ben.  Dill  was  a 
pleasant  associate. 

In  August,  1854,  the  supervisors  let  a  job  to  take  the  great  stumps  out 
of  and  straighten  Main  Street.  The  stumps  were  removed,  and  the 
spring  water  was  brought  to  the  public  grounds.  An  eagle  was  shot 
that  year  near  Ridgway  that  weighed  twenty-four  pounds. 

626 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Elk  County  then  had  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States  a  passed  mid- 
shipman,— viz.,  J-  Henry  Gillis, — who,  by  his  bravery  and  long  service, 
is  now  a  commodore  in  Uncle  Sam's  "  navee. " 

James  L.  Gillis,  who  lived  in  Ridgway,  was  a  man  of  State  celebrity. 
He  was  absent  nearly  all  the  time,  lobbying  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
or  at  Washington.  He  was  a  very  interesting  man  to  talk  with.  I  used 
to  go  over  to  his  house,  when  he  was  at  home,  to  be  entertained  in  an 
evening. 

In  1854  the  bridge  across  Big  Toby  Creek,  now  called  the  Clarion 
River,  was  destroyed.  William  Crawford  had  the  contract  for  that  year 
and  built  a  new  one. 

In  looking  over  old  copies  of  the  Advocate  I  used  to  read  advertise- 
ments something  like  this : 

"  HUNTERS. — Several  young  fawns  are  wanted,  for  which  a  liberal 
price  will  be  given.  Enquire  at  this  office." 

In  some  of  the  old  papers  published  before  1854,  Caleb  Dill,  of  Ridg- 
way, advertised  for  elk,  something  like  this  :  "  For  a  living  male  elk  one 
year  old  I  will  give  $50 ;  two  years  old,  $75  ;  three  years  old,  gioo ;  and 
for  a  calf  three  months  old,  $25."  Elk  were  easily  tamed. 

In  1854  the  principal  part  of  Elk  County  was  covered  with  white 
pine  and  hemlock.  Pine-lands  could  be  bought  from  three  to  five  dol- 
lars an  acre.  Hemlock  had  no  value  only  for  farm  lands.  The  bark 
even  was  not  used  for  tanning.  Pine  was  about  the  only  timber  manu- 
factured. Tall,  straight  "pine  in  lofty  pride  leaned  gloomily  on  every 
hill-side." 

The  streams  were  alive  with  pike,  sunfish,  bass,  chubs,  magnificent 
trout,  and  other  fish.  Every  fall  and  spring  hunters  with  dogs  and 
fishermen  from  the  adjoining  counties  and  from  across  the  line  in  New 
York  State  would  flock  to  these  hills,  valleys,  and  streams  for  recreation 
or  profit.  The  principal  owners  of  all  this  wild  land  in  1854  lived  in 
Philadelphia, — viz.,  Ridgway  estate,  Jones  estate,  Parker  estate,  and 
Fox  and  Norn's  estate. 

I  said  in  a  former  article  that  1854  was  the  beginning  of  Ridgway's 
stage  era.  Prior  to  that  time  isolated  attempts  had  been  made  m  the 
establishment  of  lines,  but  all  the  efforts  in  that  direction,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Smethport  or  Townsend  Fall's  line  were  failures.  I  copy  an 
editorial  from  the  Advocate  of  June  10,  1854,  giving  a  resume  of  the  stage 
in  operation  at  that  time : 

"STAGING. — As  an  evidence  of  the  rapid  increase  of  the  business  of 
this  county  and  of  its  general  prosperity,  it  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to 
every  branch  of  business  that  is  conducted  here,  but  a  reference  to  the 
single  item  of  staging  will  make  it  clear  to  all  that  we  are  a  rising  nation. 

627 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Two  years  ago  there  was  no  mode  of  communication  through  these 
interminable  forests  except  that  only  true  republican  way,  a  '  foot- 
back,'  and  wading  through  the  mud  up  to  your  knees,  at  least,  into  the 
bargain. 

"About  that  time  the  pioneer  stager  of  the  county,  Townsend  Fall, 
coroner  of  Elk  County  and  landlord  in  McKean  County,  commenced 
running  a  one-horse  mud-boat  from  Bellefonte  to  Smethport.  That  was 
considered  a  great  enterprise,  and  everybody  predicted  that  Fall  must  get 
lost  in  the  mud,  and  his  hazardous  undertaking  would  certainly  be  the 
ruination  of  that  visionary  man.  These  predictions  would  probably 
all  have  been  verified  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  Mr.  Fall  is  one  of 
those  live  Yankees  who  is  always  ready  to  whittle  out  a  wooden  nutmeg 
while  waiting  for  his  horse  to  gain  wind  when  stuck  in  the  mnd. 

"  He  added  another  branch  of  trade  to  his  staging  which  served  to 
make  up  the  losses  that  caused  him,  and  assisted  him  in  keeping  body, 
soul,  horse,  and  mud-boat  together.  He  procured  a  quantity  of  steel- 
traps  suitable  for  bears,  wolves,  and  such  animals,  which  he  stationed 
along  at  intervals,  and  while  waiting  for  his  old  horse  to  browse  he  could 
examine  them  and  take  care  of  their  contents  without  losing  any  time. 
The  furs,  skins,  and  scalps  he  thus  procured  soon  enabled  him  to  pur- 
chase another  horse  and  put  by  the  side  of  the  old  veteran  that  had  long 
served  him  so  faithfully. 

"  From  that  day  his  prosperity  and  the  prosperity  of  the  stage  in- 
terests of  this  region  have  been  rapidly  onward.  He  soon  was  enabled 
to  get  a  wagon  with  a  top  to  it.  The  first  trip  was  a  proud  day  for  Elk 
County.  Now  Mr.  Fall  is  running  a  tri  weekly  line  of  splendid  four- 
horse  coaches  between  Smethport  and  Ridgway,  for  particulars  of  which 
see  advertisement  in  this  paper. 

"There  is  also  a  weekly  line  running  regularly  between  here  and 
Bellefonte,  and  a  semi-weekly  line  between  here  and  Brookville,  in 
connection,  by  Murray  &  Thayer,  as  will  be  seen  by  their  advertisement 
in  this  paper.  And  with  all  these  stage  facilities,  we  receive  no  mails 
oftener  than  once  a  week.  Where  is  Uncle  Sam  with  his  daily  mails  ?" 

In,  the  stage  advertisements  of  that  year  each  proprietor  advertised 
"sober  drivers,"  otherwise  the  passenger  would  never  have  dreamed  that 
the  driver  was  in  a  sober  condition.  The  proprietor  occasionally  drove 
over  the  route  himself.  I  do  not  recall  any  of  the  drivers  except  Jim 
Clark,  of  the  Brookville  line. 

One  of  the  pioneers  of  Ridgway  was  David  Thayer.  He  was  an  all- 
round  business  man,  hotel-keeper,  lumberman,  and  stage  man.  He  was 
the  father  of  a  large  family.  Henry  S.  Thayer,  living  in  Ridgway,  is  his 
son.  He  was  the  proprietor  of  the  pioneer  line  of  stages  to  Warren  and 
Brockwayville,  Pennsylvania. 

628 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  following  advertisements  published  at  that  time  speak  for  them- 
selves : 

"ANOTHER  STAGE  LINE. 

"  David  Thayer  announces  to  the  travelling  public  that  he  has  taken 
the  contract  for  carrying  the  mail  between  Ridgwayand  Brookville.  He 
has  put  on  a  line  of  stages,  and  will  run  regularly  between  these  two 
points  named.  Leaving  Brookville  every  Tuesday  morning,  and  leaving 
Ridgway  every  Wednesday  morning. 

"  BROOKVILLE,  January  4,  1854." 

"SEMI-WEEKLY  LINE  TO  BROOKVILLE. 

"  The  undersigned  have  commenced  running  a  line  of  stages  between 
Brookville  and  Ridgway.  Will  leave  Brookville  Tuesday  and  Friday 
mornings,  arrive  at  Ridgway  same  evenings.  Will  leave  Ridgway  Wednes- 
day and  Saturday  mornings,  and  arrive  at  Brookville  same  evenings.  This 
is  a  permanent  arrangement,  and  may  be  relied  upon.  This  line  connects 
at  Brookville  with  daily  lines  east,  south,  and  west ;  and  at  Ridgway 
with  semi-weekly  and  weekly  lines  north  and  northeast.  Good  coaches, 
fast  horses,  and  sober  drivers  will  always  be  kept  on  this  line. 

"  MURRAY  &  THAYER. 

"June  7,  1854." 

David  Thayer  had  opened  a  stage  line  in  1853  through  the  wilderness 
to  Warren.  It  failed,  but  was  revived,  and  a  livery  stable  opened  in 
connection  with  it  in  1854,  as  you  will  see  in  this  advertisement. 

•  "  STAGE  LINE  REVIVED. 

"  The  undersigned,  having  taken  the  contract  for  carrying  the  mail 
between  Ridgway  and  Warren,  will  commence  running  a  stage  on  Satur- 
day, July  8,  and  will  continue  to  run  it  regularly  hereafter,  going  out  on 
Saturdays  and  back  on  Sundays  as  heretofore.  This  line  may  be  de- 
pended on,  as  it  will  go  through  every  time  without  fail.  Good  horses 
and  coaches  and  sober  drivers  will  always  be  kept  on  the  route. 

"  JOSEPH  GRANDPREY. 

WM.  CORLEY. 
"  RIDGWAY,  June  30,  1854. 

"N.  B. — We  will  also  keep  on  hand  Horses  and  Carriages,  so  that 
persons  travelling  thro'  here,  and  others,  can  at  all  times  be  carried  to 
any  point  to  which  they  may  wish  to  go. 

"G.  &  C." 

This  line  failed  also,  and  the  old  horseback  method  had  to  be  resorted 
to.  There  were  too  many  panthers,  bears,  wolves,  etc.,  on  the  route  and 
too  few  people. 

629 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  THREE  TIMES  A  WEEK. 

"Fall  has  commenced  running  his  stages  three  times  a  week  be- 
tween Ridgway  and  Smethport.  He  will  leave  Smethport  every  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday  morning,  and  leave  Ridgway  every  Tuesday, 
Thursday,  and  Saturday. 

"  June  10,  1854." 

In  1854,  Ridgway  by  stage  was  "forty  miles  from  anywhere,"  forty 
miles  from  Brookville,  forty  miles  from  Warren,  and  forty  miles  from 
Smethport.  The  pioneer  coaches  were  neither  rockaways  nor  palaces. 
They  were  the  most  ordinary  hacks,  and  the  horses  could  be  "  seen 
through,"  whether  sick  or  well,  without  the  aid  of  any  X-rays. 

The  roads  in  spring,  summer,  and  fall  were  a  succession  of  mud-holes, 
with  an  occasional  corduroy.  Don't  mention  bad  roads  now.  The  male 
passengers  usually  walked  up  the  hills. 

In  the  year  1855  a  man  by  the  name  of  Nicholas  Collins,  from  the 
Centreville  region,  had  a  contract  to  repaint  the  court-house.  The 
court-house  was  a  frame,  and  was  painted  white.  The  board  fence 
around  the  square  was  white,  too.  He  boarded  with  Mr.  Luther,  and, 
with  true  Christian  patience,  he  and  William  Lahey  painted  on  the  out- 
side of  the  building  one  entire  Sunday. 

However,  the  stores  were  open,  the  shops,  too,  and  some  men  were 
shooting  at  mark.  Our  State  motto  then  was,  "Virtue,  Liberty,  and 
Independence,"  and  evidently  the  latter  part  of  the  motto  was  lived  up 
to  in  Ridgway. 

In  1855  the  county  consisted  of  eight  townships, — viz.,  Benezette, 
Benzinger,  Fox,-  Gibson,  Jay,  Jones,  Ridgway,  and  Spring  Creek,  'con- 
taining a  voting  population  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five.  Lumbering 
was  the  principal  industry. 

In  1784,  the  year  in  which  Pittsburg  was  surveyed  into  building  lots, 
the  privilege  of  mining  coal  in  the  "  great  seam"  opposite  the  town  was 
sold  by  the  Penns,  at  the  rate  of  thirty  pounds  for  each  mining  lot,  ex- 
tending back  to  the  centre  of  the  hill.  This  event  may  be  regarded  as 
forming  the  beginning  of  the  coal-trade  of  Pittsburg.  The  supply  of  the 
towns  and  cities  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  with  Pittsburg  coal 
became  an  established  business  at  an  early  day  in  the  present  century  or 
in  1800.  Pittsburg  coal  was  known  long  before  the  town  became  noted 
as  an  iron  centre. 

Down  to  1845  a^  tne  coal  shipped  westward  from  Pittsburg  was  floated 
down  the  Ohio  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  in  the  spring  and  fall  freshets,  each 
boat  holding  about  fifteen  thousand  bushels  of  coal.  The  boats  were 
usually  lashed  in  pairs,  and  were  sold  and  broken  up  when  their  destina- 
tion was  reached.  In  1845  steam-towboats  were  introduced,  which  took 
coal-barges  down  the  river  and  brought  them  back  empty. 

630 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  mills  in  and  around  Ridgway  were  the  Eagle  Valley  mill,  con- 
ducted by  Isaac  Horton,  Jr. ;  the  Elk  Creek  mill,  owned  by  J.  S.  Hyde ; 
the  Mill  Creek  mill,  owned  by  Yale  &  Healey;  and  the  Dickinson 
mill.  In  1855  there  were  still  some  remnants  of  the  old  boat  scaffold 
at  the  "Red  Mill." 

This  mill  was  erected  by  Judge  Dickinson,  and  painted  red.  The 
boarding-house  was  also  red.  The  boat  scaffold  was  erected  in  the 
spring  of  1844.  The  work  was  done  by  "Brush"  Baxter  for  John  S. 
Barr  and  William  McMahill.  These  men  built  eleven  boats  that  sum- 
mer, each  twenty  feet  wide  and  a  hundred  feet  long.  Lumber  was  car- 
ried to  market  in  them  for  one  dollar  per  thousand,  and  fifteen  thousand 
feet  was  a  load.  In  Pittsburg,  Barr  and  McMahill  sold  their  boats  for 
one  hundred  dollars  each. 

Common  hands  on  the  river  received  one  dollar  per  day  and  board  ; 
pilots,  two  and  three  dollars  per  day  and  board.  Lebbeus  Luther  kept 
the  Red  Mill  boarding-house  in  1843-44.  Then  the  "head"  sawyer  on 
the  Red  Mill  received  twenty-five  dollars  per  month  and  board ;  the 
assistant,  eighteen  dollars  a  month  and  board ;  and  common  hands, 
fifteen  dollars  a  month  and  board. 

Mr.  John  S.  Barr,  who  is  still  living,  informs  me  that  the  usual  re- 
ligious exercises  on  Sunday  at  the  Red  Mill  in  1844  were  wrestling,  fish- 
ing, pitching  quoits,  shooting  at  mark,  running  foot-races,  and  "jumping 
by  the  double  rule  of  three." 

The  Bear  Creek  mill  was  run  by  Alvan  H.  Head,  and  the  Beech  Bot- 
tom mill  by  Cobb  &  Ruloffson.  The  logging  was  conducted  with  cattle. 
Cobb  &  Ruloffson  had  that  year  an  advertisement  in  the  paper  for  hands 
to  drive  oxen.  The  diet  at  these  old  mills  was  bread,  potatoes,  beans, 
flitch,  and  molasses,  brown  sugar,  old-tasted  butter,  coffee  and  tea  with- 
out cream,  and,  for  dessert,  dried  apple-sauce  or  pie.  Labor  was  cheap. 
Pine  boards  of  the  finest  quality  sold  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  at  seven 
and  nine  dollars  per  thousand.  If  the  operator  cleared  twenty-five  or 
fifty  cents  on  a  thousand  feet  he  was  thankful. 

What  pilots  and  hands  on  the  river  received,  I  cannot  recall.  All 
goods  and  groceries  were  dear ;  they  had  to  be  hauled  from  Olean,  New 
York,  or  Watterson  Ferry,  on  the  Allegheny  River.  Money  was  scarce, 
the  people  social  and  kind.  Whiskey  and  New  England  rum  were  three 
cents  a  drink.  The  landlords,  being  generally  hard  up,  were  always  a 
little  short,  but  managed  to  get  a  fresh  supply  of  whiskey  for  court 
week, — I  suppose  for  the  judges. 

In  1855  the  township  officers  were  : 

Assessor. — Horace  Warner. 

Assistant  Assessors. — M.  L.  Ross,  D.  S.  Luther. 

School  Directors. — H.  A.  Pattison  and  H.  Souther  for  three  years 
each,  and  Isaiah  Cobb  for  two  years. 

631 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Supervisors. — P.  T.  Brooks  and  Harvey  Henry. 

Auditor. — H.  A.  Pattison. 

Justice  of  the  Peace. — Matthew  L.  Ross. 

Judge  of  Election. — Caleb  Dill. 

Inspectors  of  Election. — H.  A.  Parsons,  R.  Maginnis. 

Overseers  of  the  Poor. — Horace  J.  Thayer,  Charles  McVean. 

Town  Clerk. — M.  L.  Ross. 

Constable.—^.  H.  Head. 

In  this  year  the  first  Protestant  church  was  commenced  in  the  county. 
All  I  know  about  that  is  this  :  One  day  a  large,  fine- looking,  well-dressed 
man  came  into  the  office  and  requested  Mr.  Powell  to-  subscribe  some- 
thing for  a  church.  Mr.  Powell  was  poor,  and  demurred.  The  man  per- 
sisted, but  Mr.  Powell  further  objected,  whereupon  the  stranger  became 
indignant,  and  vehemently  declared,  "It  is  a  God  damn  shame  there 
isn't  a  Protestant  church  in  the  county,  and  I'll  be  God  damned  if  I 
stop  till  there  is  one!"  At  the  end  of  this  Christian  exhortation  Mr. 
Powell  subscribed  five  dollars.  The  scene  was  so  dramatic  and  ridiculous, 
I  inquired  who  the  stranger  was,  and  Mr.  Powell  told  me  he  was  Alfred 
Pearsall,  from  Jay  township.  I  understood  afterwards  Mr.  Pearsall  suc- 
ceeded and  erected  his  church,  called  Mount  Zion  Methodist  Church. 

FOURTH   OF  JULY   IN    RIDGWAY   IN    1854.* 

"As  usual,  the  Fourth  was  a  happy  day  in  Ridgway,  on  Tuesday  last. 
The  old  baby-waker  proclaimed  about  eleven  o'clock  the  night  previ- 
ously that  the  Fourth  was  coming,  but  it  did  not  actually  arrive  till  about 
twelve  o'clock,  when  it  caught  some  of  us  napping.  The  'wind-fall' 
boys  say  the  Fourth  arrived  there  about  eleven  o'clock;  but  we  don't 
believe  it,  for  it  generally  gets  here  about  as  quick  as  anywhere  else. 

"  When  it  had  become  light  enough  to  see,  and  the  smoke  from  the 
thousand  battle-fields  of  the  Revolution  had  cleared  away,  the  patriotic 
old  Fourth  was  seen,  sweating  and  foaming  with  heat,  smoking  with  the 
fires  of  '76,  and  roaring  like  a  lion,  seeking  a  Britisher  whom  he  might 
devour.  General  Frank  Dill  had  charge  of  the  flying  artillery,  and 
Clark,  the  judge,  and  Hank  controlled  the  small  arms,  such  as  fire- 
crackers and  torpedoes,  making  in  all  an  effective  force,  which,  under 
charge  of  Field  Marshal  Maginnis,  might  well  spread  panic  and  confusion 
among  the  enemies  of  the  '  glorious  Fourth.' 

"  Soon  after  daylight  the  people  from  the  surrounding  country  began 
to  flock  in,  and  long  before  noon  the  streets  were  thronged  with  an  in- 
telligent and  happy  people.  At  eleven  o'clock  the  citizens  assembled  at 
the  court-house,  where  the  exercises  were  as  follows  :  Hon.  James  L. 
Gillis  was  chosen  president  of  the  day.  The  chaplain,  Charles  Mead, 

*  By  Jerome  Powell. 
632 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

Esq.,  offered  up  a  fervent  prayer  to  the  throne  of  grace.  The  audience 
were  for  a  few  moments  highly  entertained  by  a  few  patriotic  songs  by 
the  choir.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  then  read  by  William 
B.  Gillis.  Albert  Willis,  Esq.,  was  then  introduced  as  the  orator  of  the 
day,  who  entertained  the  audience  with  a  highly  instructive  and  interest- 
ing address,  which  was  listened  to  with  marked  attention  by  all  present. 

"After  the  oration  was  concluded,  Henry  Souther,  Esq.,  was  called 
upon,  who  made  a  few  remarks. 

"  H.  A.  Pattison,  Esq.,  and  others  also  were  called  upon,  and  enter- 
tained the  audience  with  interesting,  pointed,  and  appropriate  speeches. 

"After  the  performance  at  the  court-house  was  closed,  a  procession 
was  formed,  under  the  direction  of  Major  Maginnis,  marshal  of  the  day, 
and  marched  to  the  Bowery  prepared  by  Joseph  Grandprey,  Esq.,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Exchange,  where  a  dinner  was  served  up  that  did  honor  to 
Mr.  Grandprey  and  his  excellent  lady,  and  to  which  the  company  did 
ample  justice.  The  table  fairly  groaned  under  the  weight  of  good  things 
that  were  spread  before  the  hungry  multitude. 

"After  the  removal  of  the  cloth,  the  following  regular  toasts,  which 
had  been  previously  prepared  by  the  committee,  were  announced  by  the 
president  of  the  day  : 

"REGULAR    TOASTS. 

"  i.  The  day  we  celebrate:  a  day  around  which  will  cluster  sacred 
memories,  while  liberty  has  a  resting-place  in  a  single  human  heart. 
(Three  cheers  and  three  guns.) 

"2.   George  Washington.     (Drunk  standing  and  in  silence.) 

"  3.  The  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  :  men  who  had 
the  heart  to  desire,  the  mind  to  conceive,  and  the  nerve  to  execute. 
Their  memory  will  ever  be  cherished. 

"  4.  The  heroes  of  '76  :  they  will  soon  all  be  in  heaven. 

"5.  The  Star-Spangled  Banner:  may  it  continue  to  wave  until  its 
ample  folds  encircle  the  world. 

"  6.  The  Constitution  and  the  Union  :  the  Gibraltar  of  strength  and 
national  glory. 

"7.  The  President  of  the  United  States:  President  of  the  whole 
Union. 

"8.  The  governor  of  Pennsylvania:  a  Pennsylvanian  all  over. 

"  9.  The  citizen  soldiery  :  the  right  arm  of  our  nation's  defence. 

"  (Major  Maginnis,  being  called  upon,  responded  to  this  toast,  in  a 
few  appropriate  and  timely  remarks.) 

"  10.  The  ladies :   '  God  bless  them.' 

"  ii.  The  orator  of  the  day  :  may  he  live  to  a  good  old  age,  and  in 
the  evening  of  his  days  may  the  fires  of  patriotism  burn  in  his  bosom  as 
brightly  as  now  in  the  morning  of  his  life. 
41  633 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  (Mr.  Willis  returned  his  thanks  to  the  audience  in  a  very  neat  and 
appropriate  manner.) 

"  12.  The  reader  of  the  Declaration  :  may  he  ever  be  guided  by  the 
immortal  principles  set  forth  in  the  Declaration  he  has  read  to  us  to-day. 

"  13.  Mine  host :  we  seldom  meet  with  as  good  fare. 

"  The  toasts  were  received  with  cheers  and  guns.  The  aged  seemed 
to  have  their  youth  renewed  by  memories  of  the  past,  the  young  were 
fired  with  the  spirit  of  '76.  All  seemed  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
day  and  the  occasion.  Even  the  old  gun,  which  has  stood  the  test  of 
'  five  hundred  Fourths  of  July,'  felt  as  young  as  on  the  day  it  came  from 
its  maker's  hands,  and  spoke  in  eloquent  tones  of  the  times  that  tried 
men's  souls,  until  patriotism  got  so  thick  throughout  this  whole  valley 
that  it  could  hardly  be  cut  with  a  two-edged  sword. 

"  A  number  of  volunteer  toasts  were  then  announced,  only  a  part  of 
which  we  can  now  remember.  The  following  were  among  them  : 

"  By  William  B.  Gillis.  The  Elk  Advocate  and  its  editor.  The  Elk 
being  called  upon,  responded  in  '  his  usual  happy  style.' 

"By  a  young  lady.  The  gentlemen:  may  the  ladies  bless  them. 
(Cheers  and  guns.) 

"  There  was  no  response  to  this,  but  it  is  hoped  they  will  all  respond 
by  giving  the  ladies  a  chance  to — '  bless  them.' 

"Judge  Gillis  was  toasted  by  some  one,  and  responded  only  as  he 
can  respond  to  a  Fourth  of  July  sentiment.  Each  returning  '  Fourth' 
finds  the  judge  '  at  home'  and  on  hand  with  any  quantity  of  patriotic 
speeches.  He  is  worth  a  whole  regiment  of  ordinary  men  at  a  Fourth  of 
July  celebration. 

"By  H.  A.  Pattison.  Thomas  Jefferson  :  the  author  of  liberal  prin- 
ciples, as  embodied  in  the  Constitution  and  government  of  the  United 
States.  (Cheers  and  guns.) 

"By  a  lady.  The  young  gentlemen  of  Ridgway :  may  they  be 
blessed  with  good  wives  and  fat  babies.  (A  '  fat  baby'  eloquently 
responded.) 

"  By  J.  Powell.  The  Fourth  of  July :  may  it  be  celebrated  five 
hundred  million  years  from  now  by  a  free  and  happy  people. 

"The  president  announced  five  hundred  million  cheers  and  a  like 
number  of  guns  for  this  toast. 

"  By  a  guest.  The  gunner  :  may  rejoicings  always  attend  his  labors. 
(The  gun  responded  in  a  very  eloquent  speech.) 

"  There  were  many  other  volunteer  toasts  offered,  which  were  lost  to 
our  reporter,  and  we  are  consequently  compelled  to  omit  them. 

"After  the  toasts  were  concluded,  those  who  enjoy  such  recreations 
adjourned  to  the  ball-room  of  the  Exchange,  where,  we  are  told,  they 
had  a  very  happy  time.  It  is  suspected  that  they  '  ran  all  night. ' 

"  The  day  was  pleasant,  and  the  celebration,  from  beginning  to  end, 

634 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

passed  off  in  an  unexceptional  manner.     The  celebration  was  a  sober 
one,  no  intoxicating  liquors  being  used. 

"The  fireworks,  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Souther,  went  off 
admirably." 

In  1854,  Dr.  C.  R.  Earley  lived  at  Kersey.  The  year  he  came  to  Elk 
I  do  not  know.  He  was  energetic,  kind,  and  industrious.  He  had  to 
keep  himself  busy,  and  for  some  time  he  and  Jesse  Kyler,  rival  pioneers, 
were  the  baron  soft  coal  kings  of  the  county.  The  following  is  Barley's 
card  as  it  appeared  in  the  Advocate  : 

'•  IMPORTANT  FROM  THE  MINES. 

"  Having  recently  commenced  operations  at  the  new  'placer'  in  the 
'  San  Francisco'  coal-mine,  the  subscriber  wishes  to  inform  the  public 
that  he  is  prepared  to  furnish  those  wishing  it  an  article  of  coal  far  supe- 
rior to  any  ever  before  offered  in  Elk  County  at  his  mines  in  Fox  town- 
ship. He  would  also  say  that  he  has  a  lime-kiln  in  full  blast  at  the 
mines  aforesaid,  and  will  keep  constantly  on  hand  a  superior  article  of 
lime.  All  of  which  will  be  sold  on  reasonable  terms. 

"C.  R.  EARLEY. 
"  SAN  FRANCISCO,  February  8,  1851." 

The  following  is  Kyler's  announcement  as  it  appeared  in  the  Advo- 
cate. He  was  the  pioneer  dealer. 

"  COAL. 

"The  subscriber,  thankful  for  the  very  liberal  patronage  he  has 
hitherto  and  is  still  receiving,  takes  this  opportunity  to  inform  his  friends 
and  the  public  generally  that  he  still  continues  the  mining  and  sale  of 
coal  at  his  old  establishment,  being  the  centre  of  the  coal  basin,  and 
the  identical  bed  recently  opened  in  another  place.  He  is  unwilling 
to  admit  inferiority,  nor  is  he  bombastic  enough  to  claim  superiority, 
where  neither  one  nor  the  other  can  possibly  exist.  In  respect  to  the 
quality  of  coal,  it  is  true,  by  removing  the  dirt  from  the  top  of  the  out- 
crop coal  may  be  got  in  larger  chunks  and  will  seem  to  burn  more  free, 
because  the  air  circulates  through  it  better.  But  he  that  buys  a  bushel  of 
coal  by  measure,  mixed  fine  and  coarse  together,  gets  more  for  the  same 
money  in  mining  under.  However,  no  section  of  the  country  has  an 
advantage  over  another,  and  but  little  can  be  obtained  without.  He 
will  therefore  furnish  coal  as  usual  in  quality  and  price,  and  abide  the 
judgment  of  a  discerning  public. 

"  JESSE  KYLER. 

"Fox,  February  10,  1851." 

In  1854  there  lived  in  Ridgway  one  Major  Robert  Maginnis.    He  was 
full  of  military  enthusiasm,  and  through  his  exertion  a  military  company 

635 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

was  organized  in  August, — viz.,  the  Elk  County  Guards.  Captain,  R. 
Maginnis  ;  first  lieutenant,  Harvey  Henry ;  second  lieutenant,  William 
N.  Whitney;  ensign,  J.  F.  Dill.  I  think  its  life  was  of  short  duration,  if 
it  ever  mustered.  Maginnis,  failing  in  war,  bought  a  few  medical  books 
from  Dr.  Farwell,  and  left  town  in  the  spring  of  1855  to  practise  the 
healing  or  killing  art  somewhere  in  the  West. 

The  result  of  the  election  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  October,  1854, 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  following  county  officers :  Prothonotary, 
Charles  McVean  ;  Commissioner,  Wm.  A.  Ely  ;  Auditor,  W.  N.  Whitney. 

In  the  winter  of  1854-55, — 

"There  was  snow,  snow  everywhere, 
On  the  ground  and  in  the  air, 
On  the  streets  and  in  the  lane, 
On  the  roof  and  window-pane." 

It  snowed  every  day  for  thirty  days, — 

"  Until  over  the  highways. 
And  over  the  byways 
The  snowdrifts  were  ever  so  high." 

The  supervisors  had  to  shovel  turnouts  along  the  public  roads  so  that 
teams  could  pass. 

In  December,  Mr.  Powell  wrote  an  editorial  on  the  weather,  a  part  of 
which  I  reproduce : 

"  Yes,  winter  is  here*  The  season  for  the  hunter  to  don  his  white  cap 
and  shirt  and,  properly  armed  and  equipped,  hie  to  the  woods  away, 
intent  on  depriving  the  innocent  denizens  of  the  forest  of  '  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.'  Our  hunters  are  now  reaping  their  har- 
vest. The  '  tracking  snow'  never  was  better,  and  it  is  too  early  in  the 
season  for  the  rascally  York  State  hunters  to  molest  the  deer  or  make 
them  afraid.  Crack  !  crack  !  goes  the  rifle,  and  at  every  flash  down 
comes  an  antlered  monarch,  which  is  soon  '  hung  up,'  and  off  goes  the 
hunter  in  search  of  another.  Fine  sport  to  the  hunter,  but  death  to  the 
deer.  So  goes  the  world, — the  weaker  must  ever  fall  a  victim  to  the 
rapacity  of  the  stronger.  In  vulgar  parlance,  the  '  big  fish  always  eat 
the  little  ones.' 

"  In  this  country  winter  is  the  season.  As  we  are  seated  in  our  sanc- 
tum, made  comfortable  and  cheerful  by  the  glowing  heat  of  McCready's 
black  diamonds,  listening  to  the  wind  as  it  whistles  through  the  old 
court  hall  and  moans  dismally  for  admission,  and  as  the  space  between 
the  brick  fire-proofs  is  turned  into  an  eddy  of  snow-flakes,  the  feathery 
rafts  floating  about  in  such  beautiful  confusion  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell 
whether  the  current  runs  up-stream  or  down,  we  are  almost  inclined  to 
become  poetical,  but  will  endeavor  to  keep  cool.  We  once  read  some 

636 


PIONEER    HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

I 

poetry  written  by  a  love-sick  swain,  upon  seeing  a  snow-flake  fall  upon 
the  bosom  of  his  lady-love.  It  seemed  by  his  description  that  a  snow- 
flake  couldn't  begin  to  compare  with  '  that  whiter  skin  of  hers  than  snow, 
and  smooth  as  monumental  alabaster,'  yet  it  had  the  temerity  to  place  its 
charms  in  competition  with  the  lady's,  with  the  most  disastrous  result,  for 
the  snow-flake  had  no  sooner  laid  itself  upon  the  more  than  snowy  breast 
than  it  saw  that  its  own  charms  were  suffering  by  the  comparison,  when, 
'  grieved  to  see  itself  surpassed,  melted  into  a  tear.'  Served  the  snow- 
flake  right.  It  had  no  business  there.  Another  chap,  less  poetical  and 
more  practical,  perpetrated  a  similar  one  upon  his  '  gal'  and  snow-flakes. 
He  said  the  snow  kept  falling  upon  her  bosom  and  melting,  '  until  at  last, 
at  last,  oh,  dear,  her  shirt  was  wet  as  water  !'  ' 

One  of  the  modes  of  Mike  Long  and  other  pioneer  hunters  on  the 
Clarion  River  was  to  ride  a  horse  with  a  cow-bell  on  through  the  woods 
over  the  deer-paths.  The  deer  were  used  to  cow-bells  and  would  allow 
the  horse  to  come  in  full  view.  While  the  deer  was  looking  at  the  horse 
the  hunter  usually  shot  one  or  two.  I  don't  know  whether  Daniel  Da- 
vison,  of  Portland,  ever  practised  this  or  not. 

In  November  the  following-named  physician  located  in  Ridgway,  and 
published  his  card  in  the  Advocate : 

"  DR.   S.   S.   FARWELL, 

"  Having  changed  his  residence  from  Second  Fork  to  Ridgway,  ten- 
ders his  professional  services  to  the  citizens  of  the  town  and  vicinity. 
Office  in  the  Oyster  House,  where  he  can  be  found  at  all  times,  unless 
professionally  absent. 

"November  13,  1854." 

The  doctor  was  a  good-looking  little  man  ;  he  stuttered  and  stam- 
mered and  received  no  encouragement  from  the  people.  He  had  a  good 
medical  library.  There  were  but  few  people  sick,  and  nearly  everybody 
employed  either  Dr.  Earley,  Dr.  A.  M.  Clarke,  or  Dr.  W.  C.  Niver.  In 
January,  1855,  Dr.  Farwell  brought  into  the  office  this  poem.  It  was 
given  to  me  to  "  set  up."  Here  it  is  : 

"  SAY  NOT  MY  HEART  IS  COLD. 
"  BY  DR.  S.   S.  FARWELL. 

"  Say  not  my  heart  is  cold, 

Because  of  a  silent  tongue ; 
The  lute  of  faultless  mould 
In  silence  oft  hath  hung. 
The  fountain  soonest  spent 

Doth  babble  down  the  steep  ; 
But  the  stream  that  ever  went 
Is  silent,  strong,  and  deep. 
637 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  The  charm  of  a  secret  life 

Is  given  to  choicest  things; 
Of  flowers,  the  fragrance  rite 

Is  wafted  on  viewless  wings. 
We  see  not  the  charmed  air 

Beating  some  witching  sound  ; 
And  ocean  deep  is  where 

The  pearl  of  pi  ice  is  found. 

"  Where  are  the  stars  by  day  ? 

They  burn,-  though  all  unseen, 
And  love  of  purest  ray 

Is  like  the  stars,  I  ween. 
Unmarked  is  the  gentle  light, 

When  the  sunshine  of  joy  appears ; 
But  even  in  sorrow's  night 

'Twill  glitter  upon  thy  tears." 

A  few  weeks  after  notifying  the  people  in  this  poetry  that  he  had  a 
warm  heart  the  doctor  left  for  parts  to  me  unknown. 

In  1854  or  1856,  Elk  County  had  no  medical  society,  but  they  had  an 
adopted  fee-bill,  which  I  here  reproduce  : 


"  TO  ALL  CONCERNED. 

"We,  the  undersigned,  physicians  of  the  county  of  Elk,  would  re- 
spectfully announce  the  following  as  our  lowest  fee-bill, — to  wit : 

1.  Call  and  medicine  near  residence,  or  medicine  in  office  .    .    .  $  .50 

2.  At  night i.oo 

3.  Visit  in  country  one  mile i.oo 

4.  Each  subsequent  mile  under  12 25 

5.  Visit  of  12  miles 5  02 

6.  do.        20  miles 10.00 

7.  do.  at  night,  fifty  per  cent,  to  be  added  to  the  ordinary  charge 

above. 

8.  All  necessary  medicine  to  be  included  in  the  above. 

9.  Consultation  with  additional  mileage  (as  above) 5.00 

10.  Obstetrics,  natural  labor  (with  additional  mileage) 5-OO 

11.  Instrumental,  or  by  turning 7.00 

12.  Cupping  in  office i.oo 

13.  Vaccination  (including  after  attendance) i.oo 

14.  Reducing  fractures  and  dislocation  of  the  femur  (with  mileage 

as  above) 10.00 

15.  All  other  fractures  and  dislocations      5.00 

1 6.  Amputation  of  inferior  extremities       40.00 

17.  Amputation  of  superior  extremities 30.00 

18.  Operation  for  strabismus 25.00 

19.  Strangulated  hernia _ 30.00 

20.  Hydrocele 10.00 

21.  Single  hairlip 2000 

22.  Double     do 30.00 

638 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,   PENNA. 


23.  Paracentesis  abdominis 

24.  Excising  enlarged  tonsils  ...............     10.00 

All  necessary  after  attendance,  surgical  and  obstetrical  cases, 

to  be  charged  for  at  the  usual  rates. 

25.  Examination  of  persons  for  certificates  to  exempt  from  mili- 

tary duty     .....................       i.oo 

"C.  R.  BARLEY. 
A.  B.  PULLING. 
LEWIS  IDDINGS. 
"May,  1851."  G.  BACHMANN. 

Dr.  Fuller,  a  root  and  herb  doctor,  lived  in  Jones  township,  and  in 
1855  came  to  Ridgway,  boarded  at  the  hotel,  and  practised  medicine. 
His  panacea  for  every  ill  was  lobelia  and  capsicum.  He  was  there,  I 
think,  when  I  left  in  1856.  He  "called"  for  the  cotillon  parties,  and 
was  himself  a  fiddler.  Jim  Harm  and  Frank  Dill  composed  the  orchestra 
for  all  dancing  parties.  Dr.  Fuller  was  a  genial,  pleasant  old  gentleman, 
and  if  his  remedies  were  not  compounded  with  the  highest  skill  or  pre- 
scribed accurately,  his  intentions  were  good. 

Like  a  great  many  men  of  that  time,  he  never  permitted  himself  to 
get  too  dry.  I  have  only  kind  words  for  him. 

"  Let  us  speak  of  a  man  as  we  find  him, 

And  heed  not  what  others  may  say, 
And  if  a  man  is  to  blame  let  us  remind  him 

That  from  faults  there  are  none  of  us  free. 
If  the  veil  from  the  heart  could  be  torn, 

And  the  mind  could  be  read  on  the  brow, 
There  are  many  we've  passed  by  in  scorn 

We  would  load  with  high  honors  now." 

In  January,  1855,  I  carried  the  mail  one  trip  on  horseback  to  Warren 
from  Ridgway.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Lewis  was  the  proprietor,  and 
he  boarded  at  Luther's.  I  performed  this  service  free,  as  I  was  anxious 
to  see  Warren. 

I  had  to  start  from  Ridgway  on  Friday  night  at  nine  P.M.,  ride  to 
Montmorenci,  and  stop  all  night.  A  family  by  the  name  of  Burrows 
lived  there.  I  stopped  on  Saturday  in  Highland  for  dinner  with  Town- 
ley's.  There  were  living  in  that  township  then  Wells,  Ellithorpe,  Camp- 
bell, and  Townley.  I  arrived  in  Warren  Saturday  after  dark,  and  stayed 
over  night  at  the  Carter  House.  I  returned  on  Sunday  from  Warren  to 
Ridgway,  and,  the  weather  being  intensely  cold,  "  I  paid  too  dear  for 
my  whistle." 

In  1855-56,  Ben.  McClelland,  then  a  young  man,  was  driving  team 
for  Sheriff  Healey.  In  the  winter  he  was  sent  to  Warren  with  two  horses 
and  a  sled.  On  his  way  home  he  expected  to  stop  over  night  at  High- 
land. Before  Ben.  reached  "Panther  Hollow"  —  a  few  miles  north  of 
Townley's  —  it  became  quite  dark. 

639 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

At  the  hollow  Ben.'s  horses  snorted,  frightened,  and  ran.  In  the 
dark  Ben.  quickly  recognized  the  form  of  a  panther  after  him.  The 
horses  had  the  beaten  track,  the  panther  the  deep  snow  alongside,  and 
afraid  to  attack  the  heels  of  the  horses  on  account  of  the  sled,  the  horses 
crazy  and  furious. 

It  was  a  neck-to-neck  race  for  Highland.  The  panther  never  gave  up 
the  race  until  the  cleared  land  was  reached.  Ben.  was  a  hunter,  but  was 
unarmed  and  almost  dead  from  fright.  When  Townley's  farm  was  reached 
the  horses  were  all  in  a  lather  of  sweat  and  nearly  exhausted.  A  posse 
of  hunters  started  in  the  early  morning,  and  found  the  big  brute  near  the 
hollow  and  killed  him. 

This  was  Ben.'s  ride,  not  Sheridan's.  Had  Ben.  been  on  a  horse  he 
would  never  have  seen  Highland. 

Lebbeus  Luther,  with  whom  I  boarded,  was  a  great  old  joker.  He 
was  president  of  the  school  board  in  1854.  I  spent  many  an  hour  hear- 
ing his  reminiscences.  He  migrated  in  1820  to  Clearfield  County  from 
Massachusetts  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Luthersburg.  Luthersburg 
took  its  name  from  him. 

In  what  year  he  moved  to  Ridgway  I  cannot  exactly  recall.  He  was 
appointed  postmaster  in  1855,  and  lived  where  P.  T.  Brooks  now  re- 
sides. Lebbeus  Luther,  Sr.,  kept  a  hotel  while  in  Luthersburg,  and  was  an 
active  proprietor.  In  addition  to  his  jovial  good  qualities,  he  was  a  great 
marksman.  Bill  Long,  the  king  hunter  of  Jefferson  County,  visited  this 
hotel  frequently  for  pure  air  and  when  he  had  a  dryness  in  his  throat. 
On  these  occasions  he  used  to  try  his  hand  with  Grandpap  Luther  shoot- 
ing at  target.  Luther's  coolness  always  counted. 

D.  S.  Luther,  a  son,  and  Jim  Harm,  a  grandson  of  'Squire  Luther, 
were  hunters,  killing  wolves  and  a  great  many  deer.  Jim  lived  with  his 
grandparents,  and  used  to  furnish  us  venison. 

In  1854,  William  B.  Gillis  was  elected  county  superintendent.  He 
was  the  pioneer.  Pennsylvania  in  school  matters  was  behind  New  York 
and  some  of  the  Western  States,  and  in  that  year  adopted  the  county 
superintendent  idea  from  these  States.  The  foreign  population  of  the 
State  was  bitterly  opposed  to  this  change,  to  this  advance.  The  law  of 
1854  also  required  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English  grammer, 
geography,  and  arithmetic  to  be  taught  in  every  district.  The  State 
superintendent  also  recommended  the  adoption  of  uniformity  in  books. 

The  law  of  1854  was  a  dreadful  blow  to  the  old  log  school-house, 
with  its  poor  light,  high  boards  around  the  walls  for  writing-desks,  un- 
qualified and  incompetent  teachers,  short  terms,  and  diversity  of  books. 
The  appropriation  from  the  State  to  the  township  in  that  year  was  forty- 
two  dollars  and  eighty-four  cents. 

W.  C.  Niver  taught  the  summer  and  winter  terms  of  1850,  "51,  '52, '53. 
Miss  Statira  Brown,  now  Chapin,  a  summer  term  in  1853.  A  Mr.  Buck- 

640 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

ley,  from  New  York  State,  a  winter  term  in  1853-54.  C.  M.  Matson, 
from  Brookville,  a  winter  term  in  1854-55.  S.  J.  Willis,  from  New  York 
State,  summer  and  winter  term  in  1855-56.  I  give  below  a  roll  of  the 
scholars  who  attended  the  summer  term  of  the  Ridgway  school,  com- 
mencing May  6,  1850,  W.  C.  Niver,  teacher. 

Males. — James  Harm,  Barrett  Cobb,  Roland  Cobb,  John  Ross,  George 
F.  Dickinson,  Benezette  Dill,  Robert  Gillis,  Ezra  Dickinson,  George  W. 
Connor,  Patrick  Cline,  Calvin  Luther,  Claudius  Gillis,  Joseph  Fost, 
Franklin  Dill,  Bosanquet  Gillis. 

Females. — Esther  J.  Thayer,  Augusta  Gillis,  Clarissa  D.  Thayer, 
Mary  E.  Thayer,  Mary  Weaver,  Sarah  Ann  Thayer,  Albina  E.  Thayer, 
Ellen  C.  Gillis,  Lovina  Harm,  Angeline  Wilcox,  Clementine  Harm, 
Phoebe  M.  Wilcox,  Anna  E.  Connor,  Sarah  Weaver,  Alzinah  Weaver, 
Semiramis  Brown,  Louisa  V.  Brooks,  Mary  M.  Meddock,  Ann  Eliza 
Goff,  Ardissa  Wilcox,  Elizabeth  Luce,  Martha  Dill,  Amanda  Mead, 
Elizabeth  Winslow,  Laura  Cook,  Emily  Cook. 

The  winter  term  commenced  October  14,  1850,  under  W.  C.  Niver, 
teacher,  and  had  on  the  roll,  in  addition  to  the  above  enumerated 
scholars,  the  names  of, — 

Males. — George  Ellithorpe,  Henry  Thayer,  W.  P.  Luce,  Edward 
Derby,  Melville  Gardiner,  J.  P.  Pearce,  J.  W.  Pearce. 

Females. — Malonia  Ely,  Statira  Brown,  Christina  Gray,  Eliza  A. 
Hyde,  Caroline  Pearsall,  Rosamund  Jackson,  Margaret  Mohen,  Emily 
Clark,  Elizabeth  Wescott,  Maria  Cobb,  Emeline  King. 

William  B.  Gillis  resigned  the  superintendency  in  the  winter  of  1855. 
His  salary  was  three  hundred  dollars.  Dr.  C.  R.  Earley,  of  Kersey,  was 
appointed  to  the  position.  His  salary  was  four  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
The  doctor  made  an  efficient  superintendent.  He  held  the  pioneer 
county  institute  in  the  court-house  in  June,  1856.  I  reproduce  the  full 
p-oceedings  of  that  institute,  as  taken  from  an  issue  of  the  Reporter  of 
June  22,  1856  : 

"TEACHERS'  INSTITUTE. 
"  First  Day. 

"Monday,  June  2,  1856,  pursuant  to  previous  call,  the  Elk  County 
Teachers'  Institute  met  at  the  Academy  at  three  o'clock  P.M.,  and  organ- 
ized by  appointing  the  following  persons  as  permanent  officers  during 
the  session  :  Dr.  C.  R.  Earley,  president;  S.  J.  Willis  and  Miss  Olive  J. 
Brown,  vice  presidents  ;  and  H.  A.  Pattison,  secretary. 

"  On  motion,  the  chair  appointed  the  following  business  committee  : 
E.  F.  Taylor,  S.  S.  Buckley,  Miss  Mary  Warner,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Thurston, 
and  H.  A.  Pattison,  who  are  to  report  the  business  of  each  day  every 
morning. 

641 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"On  motion,  the  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  committee 
on  resolutions:  Albert  Willis,  H.  Souther,  H.  A.  Pattison,  J.  L.  Brown, 
and  E.  F.  Taylor,  who  are  to  report  at  the  close  of  the  session. 

"  On  motion,  it  was  resolved  that  the  institute  hold  its  sessions  in  the 
court-house. 

"  On  motion,  adjourned,  to  meet  to  morrow  morning,  June  3,  in  the 
court-house. 

"  The  second  day  was  occupied  with  exercises  in  the  several  branches 
taught  in  the  common  schools,  conducted  by  Dr.  William  C.  Niver,  of 
Jefferson  County,  Pennsylvania.  D.  F.  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  delivered  a  very  interesting  and  instructive  lecture  on  penmanship. 

"Third  day's  proceedings  same  as  above,  with  a  lecture  on  alpha- 
betical characters,  by  H.  A.  Pattison. 

"  The  sessions  of  the  institute  were  occupied  in  reviewing  the  branches 
taught  in  the  common  schools,  each  teacher  giving  his  or  her  method  of 
teaching.  The  evening  sessions  were  devoted  exclusively  to  penman- 
ship, under  D.  F.  Brown,  Esq. 

' '  Second  Week. 

"  Monday,  June  9.  The  usual  exercises  omitted,  for  discussion  on 
the  best  method  of  school  government. 

"On  Tuesday  morning,  F.  A.  Allen,  county  superintendent  of  Mc- 
Kean  County,  made  his  appearance  in  the  institute.  Mr.  Allen,  by  re- 
quest, took  charge  of  the  exercises,  and  gave  instructions  of  the  most 
interesting  character  in  the  several  branches  under  review. 

"  The  exercises  in  penmanship  closed  on  Tuesday  evening.  On 
Wednesday  the  usual  exercises  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Allen  and  Dr. 
Niver. 

"  During  the  evening  session  Mr.  Allen  delivered  a  very  interesting 
lecture  on  the  subject  of  education  generally. 

"The  exercises  of  Thursday  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Allen  and 
Samuel  Earley,  Esq. 

"The  evening  session  was  devoted  to  instruction  on  mathematical 
geography,  by  Mr.  Allen. 

"  Friday  was  devoted  to  the  usual  exercises,  accompanied  by  remarks 
on  the  general  character  of  institutes,  by  Mr.  Allen.  After  some  remarks 
by  Dr.  Earley,  A.  Willis,  and  H.  A.  Pattison,  A.  Willis,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  made,  on  behalf  of  the  committee,  the  fol- 
lowing report : 

"  '  WHEREAS,  We  regard  a  system  of  common  school  education  as  one 
of  paramount  importance,  lying  at  the  foundation  of  all  truly  free  and 
enlightened  governments,  and  especially  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  safe- 
guard of  our  own,  whose  very  existence  depends  upon  the  virtue  and 
intelligence  of  its  citizens ;  therefore, 

642 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  present  law  creating  the  county 
superintendent  as  giving  a  new  impetus  to  the  cause  of  education,  and 
look  upon  its  continuance  as  essential  to  the  efficiency  and  well-being  of 
the  common  school  system. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  our  worthy  county  superintendent, 
Dr.  C.  R.  Earley,  an  efficient  and  zealous  laborer  in  the  educational  field, 
and  that  we  look  with  feelings  of  pride  upon  the  changes  that  are  now 
taking  place  in  our  county  with  regard  to  our  common  schools  through 
his  labors,  and  that  we  most  cordially  invite  the  co-operation  of  all 
friends  of  the  people's  college — the  common  schools — to  aid  him  in  the 
good  work  begun. 

"'Resolved,  That  we,  as  members  of  the  institute,  hereby  express 
our  heartfelt  thanks  to  Mr.  Allen,  the  able  county  superintendent  of 
McKean  County,  Dr.  William  C.  Niver,  and  Samuel  Earley,  who,  by 
their  disinterested  and  most  valuable  services,  have  made  the  exercises  of 
the  institute  interesting  and  instructive. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  as  an  institute  will  most  heartily  co-operate 
with  organizations  of  a  similar  character  throughout  the  State  in  advancing 
the  interests  of  education  by  the  common  school  system. 

" '  Resolved,  That  teaching  should  be  considered  a  profession  equal 
in  importance  with  that  of  any  other,  and  that  the  compensation  ought 
to  correspond  with  that  importance. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  teacher  while  teaching  ought  not  to  study  any 
other  profession  than  that  of  teaching. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  females  ought  to  receive  equal  compensation  with 
the  males  for  equal  services  rendered. 

' ' '  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  our  State  Legislature  to  grant  a 
State  appropriation,  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  a  County  Teachers' 
Institute  in  each  and  every  county  in  the  Commonwealth. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  our  County  Superintendent  the 
propriety  of  calling  another  institute  as  soon  as  he  may  think  prac- 
ticable. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  a  synopsis  of  the  proceedings  of  this  institute  be 
published  in  the  Elk  Reporter,  McKean  Citizen,  and  the  Pennsylvania 
School  Journal. 

"  '  On  motion,  the  institute  adjourned  sine  die. 

"  '  C.  R.  EARLEY, 

President. 
H.  A.  PATTISON, 

Secretary. 

"  '  RIDGWAY,  June  13,  1856." 

Colonel  Corbett,  who  clerked  for  Gillis  in  1845,  informs  me  that  the 
court-house  was  built  in  the  summer  of  that  year.  The  contractors  were 

643 


PIONEER  HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

General  Levi  G.  Clover  and  Edward  H.  Derby.  The  supplies  for  trie 
men  were  furnished  through  the  store  of  James  L.  Gillis.  S.  M.  Burson 
was  the  first  lawyer  to  locate  in  Ridgway.  In  1854  the  court  crier  was 
M.  L.  Ross.  On  public  occasions  he  wore  a  blue  broadcloth  swallow- 
tailed  coat,  with  brass  buttons  in  front.  "  This  coat  had  pocket-holes 
behind  for  30  years  or  more."  The  commissioners  were  E.  C.  Schultze, 
C.  F.  Luce,  L.  Luther. 

John  C.  McAllister,  Esq.,  of  Brandy  Camp,  was  clerk  to  the  com- 
missioners in  1855.  He  would  walk  over  and  back  home,  and  take  his 
meals  while  in  Ridgway  with  Mr.  Luther.  The  'squire  was  a  red-hot 
Democrat  then.  In  looking  over  the  records  of  Jefferson  County  I  find 
that  Enos  Gillis,  of  Ridgway  township,  was  assessed  first  in  1830  with 
one  grist-mill  and  one  tannery,  and  James  Gallagher  was  assessed  with 
an  occupation  tax  of  tanner.  This  tannery  was  on  Elk  Creek,  nearly 
opposite  Powell's  store. 

Gallagher  tanned  with  both  hemlock  and  oak  bark,  and  made  a  dif- 
ference in  the  price  of  his  leather  of  six  cents  per  pound  between  cash 
and  trade.  He  ground  bark  in  a  mill  made  on  a  large  scale,  something 
like  an  old-fashioned  coffee-mill. 

I  venture  the  assertion  that  W.  H.  Osterhout,  with  all  his  experience 
and  ability,  could  not  to-day  run  this  pioneer  tannery  successfully.  Sole 
leather  sold  per  pound  for  about  thirty  cents.  Gallagher  kept  the  pioneer 
hotel.  He  never  had  license.  His  wife  would  not  permit  him  to  have 
liquor  about  the  house.  Whiskey  or  its  odor  always  made  Mr.  Gallagher 
very  sleepy. 

Powell  sold  the  Advocate  to  J.  L.  Brown,  of  Jones  township,  I  think 
about  September,  1855.  Mr.  Brown  was  a  promising  poor  young  man, 
but  knew  nothing  about  the  "art  preservative."  He  changed  the  name 
of  the  paper  to  Reporter,  and  continued  the  terms  about  as  they  had 
been.  He  and  I  ran  the  paper ;  he  was  the  editor,  of  course.  During 
the  ten  or  eleven  months  that  Mr.  Brown  published  the  Reporter  he  lived 
in  a  little  frame  house  on  the  rear  of  a  lot  along  an  alley  near  the  resi- 
dence of  W.  C.  Healey.  The  house  was  set  on  blocks.  It  was  well  ven- 
tilated, for  it  was  neither  painted,  weather-boarded,  lined,  nor  plastered. 
Mr.  Brown  had  been  newly  married,  and  commenced  house-keeping  here. 
I  boarded  with  him.  Notwithstanding  the  little  deficiencies  mentioned, 
we  enjoyed  ourselves.  It  was  home,  and  "be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  is 
no  place  like  home." 

Mr.  Brown  had  two  brothers,  W.  W.  and  I.  B.  Brown.  W.  W.  lived 
in  Ridgway  that  year  awhile  and  clerked  in  a  store.  I.  B.  used  to  come 
down  on  a  visit,  and  then  the  three  Browns  and  myself  would  all  be 
seated  at  a  "sumptuous  repast"  within  those  "palace  walls."  Who 
owned  the  shanty  I  do  not  know.  Strange  to  say,  these  three  Browns 
and  myself  were  all  in  public  life  at  the  same  time.  We  met  in  Harris- 

644 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

burg  in  1881,  W.  W.  as  a  Congressman,  J.  L.  as  Elk's  representative, 
I.  B.  as  an  Erie  County  representative,  and  myself  as  a  State  senator. 
The  three  Brown  boys  deserve  great  credit.  They  had  a  superior 
mother. 

Mr.  Brown,  having  tired  of  newspaper  life,  advertised  the  plant  for 
sale,  and  a  Methodist  minister  from  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Rev. 
J.  A.  Boyle,  came  out  into  the  wilderness  and  bought  the  Reporter.  He 
had  a  wife,  five  boys, — Richard,  Melville,  Olin,  Samuel,  and  Harlow, 
the  latter  born  in  December,  1856,  in  the  Brown  "palace"  which  I  have 
just  described, — and  two  daughters, — Harriet  and  Jennie.  I  boarded 
with  him.  He  lived  later  near  the  Gillis  house.  Two  of  his  boys 
worked  on  the  paper  with  me.  I  remained  in  his  employ  until  about  the 
last  of  September,  1856. 

Mr.  Boyle  was  a  man  of  intellectual  power  and  an  eloquent  orator, 
but  in  rather  feeble  health.  He  changed  his  residence  and  occupation 
for  the  mountain  air  and  rest.  When  the  Rebellion  broke  out  Mr.  Boyle 
enlisted,  was  commissioned  a  captain,  and  was  killed  at  Wauhatchie, 
Tennessee,  October  29,  1863,  having  been  promoted  to  major  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  Elk  County  lost  in 
him  a  good  citizen,  an  able  man,  and  the  country  a  brave  soldier.  His 
wife  was  one  of  the  dearest  motherly  women  I  ever  met.  After  the 
major's  death  the  family  returned  to  Philadelphia. 

In  the  issue  of  September  27,  1856,  a  week  after  I  left  Ridgway,  Mr. 
Boyle  paid  me  this  compliment  in  the  Reporter : 

"  MR.  W.  J.  M' KNIGHT. 

"  This  young  gentleman,  who  has  been  at  work  in  the  Reporter  office 
for  some  time  past,  has  just  left  us.  It  is  seldom  we  meet  a  young  man 
who  seems  to  us  to  have  in  view  the  great  object  of  life,  but  when  we  do 
our  heart  rejoices  and  our  hopes  for  humanity  and  the  world  are  enlarged. 
Self-culture  is  our  highest  duty.  To  produce  a  harmony  between  the 
intellectual  and  moral  of  our  nature,  and  have  both  striving  for  the 
highest  development,  is  the  true  road  to  usefulness  and  respectability. 
Mr.  McKnight  has  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  a  useful  profession,  and 
to  do  this  he  has  determined  to  lay  a  foundation  of  thorough  training. 
Self-reliant,  with  a  good  constitution  and  a  well-developed  intellect,  he 
is  about  to  commence  a  regular  course  of  medical  lectures.  He  has  suf- 
ficient enthusiasm  to  impel  him  forward  in  the  arduous  toil  required  to 
master  the  science,  and  we  trust  he  has  too  high  an  ambition  to  stop  at 
any  of  the  resting-places  of  Quackery,  but  will  push  forward  until  he 
reaches  the  highest  pinnacle  in  the  temple  of  /Esculapius. 

"  One  of  the  grandest  sights  presented  in  this  working  world  of  ours 
is  to  see  a  young  man,  unaided  by  wealth,  pushing  his  way  through  un- 

645 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

toward  circumstances  to  a  useful  position  in  society  and  an  honorable 
post.  Go  forward,  Mac,  and  may  the  blessing  of  a  thousand  hearts 
cheer  you  in  your  labors  !." 


THE   TOWNSHIP   OF   RIDGWAY. 

Ridgway  township  was  originally  formed  as  a  part  of  Jefferson  County 
in  1826,  and  remained  there  until  1843,  when  it  was  taken  from  that 
county  by  the  following  act  of  Assembly  to  create  the  county  of 
Elk: 


"AN  ACT  ERECTING  PARTS  OF  JEFFERSON,   CLEARFIELD,  AND   McKEAN 
COUNTIES  INTO  A  SEPARATE  COUNTY,  TO  BE  CALLED  ELK. 

"  SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  all  those  parts  of  the 
counties  of  Jefferson,  Clearfield,  and  McKean  lying  between  the  follow- 
ing boundaries, — viz. :  Beginning  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Jefferson 
County ;  thence  due  east  about  nine  miles  to  the  northeast  corner  of  lot 
number  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight;  thence  due  south 
to  Clearfield  County  ;  thence  east  along  said  line  to  the  east  line  of  Gib- 
son township  ;  and  thence  south  so  far  that  a  westwardly  line  to  the 
mouth  of  Mead's  Run  shall  pass  within  not  less  than  fifteen  miles  of  the 
town  of  Clearfield  ;  and  thence  westwardly  to  Little  Toby's  Creek,  along 
said  line  to  the  mouth  of  Mead's  Run  ;  thence  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion to  where  the  west  line  of  Ridgway  township  crosses  the  Clarion 
River ;  thence  so  far  in  the  same  direction  to  a  point  from  whence  a  due 
north  line  will  strike  the  southwest  corner  of  McKean  County ;  thence 
along  said  line  to  the  southwest  corner  of  McKean  County ;  and  thence 
east  along  the  south  line  of  McKean  County  to  the  place  of  beginning, 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into  a  separate  county,  to  be  hence- 
forth called  Elk. 

"SECTION  2.  That  Timothy  Ives,  Jr.,  of  Potter  County,  James  W. 
Guthrie,  of  Clarion  County,  and  Zachariah  H.  Eddy,  of  Warren  County, 
are  hereby  appointed  commissioners,  who,  or  any  two  of  whom,  shall 
ascertain  and  plainly  mark  the  boundary  lines  of  said  county  of  Elk  ;  and 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  commissioners  to  receive  proposals,  make 
purchase,  or  accept  donation  land  in  the  eligible  situations  for  a  seat  of 
justice  in  the  said  county  of  Elk,  by  grant,  bargain,  or  otherwise,  all  such 
assurances  for  payment  of  money  and  grants  of  land  that  may  be  offered 
to  them,  or  their  survivors,  in  trust  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  said 
county  of  Elk;  and  to  lay  out,  sell,  and  convey  such  part  thereof,  either 
in  town  lots  or  otherwise,  as  to  them,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  appear 

646 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

advantageous  and  proper,  and  to  apply  the  proceeds  thereof  in  aid  of  the 
county  :  Provided,  That  before  the  commissioners  aforesaid  shall  proceed 
to  perform  the  duties  enjoined  on  them  by  this  act,  they  shall  take  an 
oath  or  affirmation  before  some  judge  or  justice  of  the  peace,  well  and 
truly  and  with  fidelity  to  perform  said  duties  according  to  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  of  this  act :  Provided  also,  That  as  soon  as  the  county  com- 
missioners are  elected  and  qualified,  the  duties  enjoined  on  the  said  com- 
missioners shall  cease  and  determine,  and  shall  be  performed  by  the 
county  commissioners  so  chosen  and  elected. 

"SECTION  10.  That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  commissioners  of  the 
county  of  Elk,  who  shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  election  in  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  forty-three,  to  take  assurances  to  them  and  their 
successors  in  office  of  such  lot  or  lots,  or  piece  of  ground  as  shall  have 
been  approved  of  by  the  trustees  appointed  as  aforesaid,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  thereon  a  court-house,  jail,  and  offices 
for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  records. 

"SECTION  n.  That  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  like 
powers,  jurisdictions,  and  authorities  within  the  said  county  of  Elk  as  by 
law  they  are  vested  with,  and  entitled  to  have  and  exercise  in  other 
counties  of  this  State ;  and  said  county  is  hereby  annexed  to  the  western 
district  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

"SECTION  12.  The  county  of  Elk  shall  be  annexed  to  and  compose 
part  of  the  eighteenth  judicial  district  of  this  Commonwealth ;  and  the 
courts  in  the  said  county  of  Elk  shall  be  held  on  the  third  Monday  of 
February,  May,  September,  and  December  in  each  and  every  year,  and 
continue  one  week  at  each  term,  if  necessary. 

"  Approved — the  eighteenth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-three." 

POST-OFFICES   AND   POST-ROADS. 

From  1854  to  1856  there  was  a  continual  agitation  over  railroads, 
frequent  public  meetings,  addresses  made,  and  resolutions  passed.  These 
three  were  the  most  favored  :  the  Allegheny  Valley,  the  Pittsburg  and 
Rochester,  and  the  Sunbury  and  Erie. 

All  State  elections  were  then  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October 
each  year.  The  city  papers  always  published  the  result  in  full,  with  this 
note,  "  Potter,  McKean,  Elk,  Forest,  and  Jefferson  to  hear  from." 

The  bridge  over  the  Clarion  up  to  1854  was  a  toll-bridge.  The 
pioneer  jewelry-store,  etc.,  was  started  west  of  the  bridge  by  Ed.  Gillis, 
April  23,  1853.  The  pioneer  dentist  to  visit  Ridgway  was  Dr.  A.  Blake, 
of  Albion,  New  York,  in  May,  1853. 

The  pioneer  tin  and  hardware  store  was  opened  by  George  Gillis  in 
June,  1853.  The  pioneer  millinery-store  was  opened  by  Caroline  Gillis 
in  1856. 

647 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

It  was  a  custom  in  1854  to  send  to  the  printer  with  the  wedding- 
notice  a  piece  of  the  bride's  cake  or  a  gold  dollar. 

Rattlesnakes  were  occasionally  killed  on  the  streets  as  late  as  1854. 
A  paper  of  June,  1853,  said  in  an  issue  that  "  this  is  a  great  country  for 
timber.  A  man  over  on  the  Sinnemahoning  has  got  a  tract  of  land  con- 
taining two  acres,  on  which  there  is  timber  enough  to  make  twenty-five 
canoes,  forty  timber  rafts,  fifty  spars,  forty  thousand  rattlesnakes,  and 
one  hundred  thousand  porcupines." 

H.  S.  Jaquish  was  the  pioneer  daguerrian  artist,  who  visited  the  town 
in  1850. 

The  names  of  post-offices  and  the  postmasters  supplied  on  the  route 
from  Warren  to  Ridgway  in  the  year  1855,  and  the  name  of  the  con- 
tractor for  such  service,  were  as  follows  : 

Warren. — C.  Masten  and  S.  J.  Goodrich. 

Mead. — Jonathan  Mott. 

West  Sheffield.— -J.  P.  Blanchard. 

Sheffield. — John  Gilson. 

New  Highland. — Charles  Stubbs. 

Ridgway. — William  N.  Whitney. 

The  contractor  was  David  Thayer,  of  Ridgway,  and  his  compensa- 
tion was  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  annum. 

THE   COUNTY   SEAT   FIGHT. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Elk  County,  held  at  the  court-house 
in  Ridgway  on  the  2oth  day  of  January,  1849,  f°r  tne  purpose  of  taking 
into  consideration  the  best  means  to  prevent  the  removal  of  the  county 
seat  of  said  county  from  Ridgway  to  St.  Mary's,  as  the  question  was  about 
being  agitated  in  the  State  Legislature,  Hon.  George  Dickinson  was  called 
to  the  chair,  Joseph  S.  Hyde  and  James  Gallagher,  Esqs.,  were  chosen 
vice-presidents,  and  Henry  Souther  and  Caleb  S.  Dill,  Esqs.,  secretaries. 

"On  motion,  a  committee  of  six  were  appointed  to  draft  and  report 
resolutions  to  the  meeting,  who  reported  the  following,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted : 

"  'WHEREAS,  We  are  apprised  that  secret  movements  are  in  progress 
to  effect  a  removal  of  the  county  seat  in  Elk  County,  by  privately  circu- 
lating petitions  in  certain  sections  of  the  county,  and  simultaneous  efforts 
by  one  or  more  individuals  at  Harrisburg  (who  are  personally  and  pecu- 
liarly interested)  to  procure  hasty  and  (of  course)  unfair  legislation,  to 
effect  their  object,  that  as  citizens  of  Elk  County,  we  regard  such  a  course 
as  an  attempt  to  forestall  and  coerce  legislation  as  impolitic,  unfair,  and 
mischievous.  Impolitic,  as  the  county  is  yet  new,  population  sparse,  and 
the  county  buildings  already  erected  and  finished,  the  location  con- 
venient, and  fixed  by  commissioners  appointed  by  a  former  Legislature. 
Unfair,  as  the  grounds  were  conveyed  and  the  buildings  constructed 

648 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

principally  by  private  donations,  insuring  but  little  expense  compara- 
tively to  the  county.  Mischievous,  inasmuch  as  changing  the  county 
seat,  when  judiciously  and  legally  located  with  regard  to  present  and 
future  conveniences,  would  be  establishing  a  precedent  which  in  a  few 
years  may  again  agitate  the  citizens  of  the  county  whenever  aspiring  and 
interested  land-holders,  or  the  more  subtle  and  private  intriguing  of  the 
temporary  sojourn  may  see  fit  again  to  disturb  its  location,  its  prospects, 
or  permanency.  With  these  views  we  do,  as  citizens  of  Elk  County, 

"  '  Resolve,  That  we  will  use  our  best  endeavors  to  defeat  any  and 
every  attempt  to  remove  the  seat  of  justice  of  Elk  County  from  its  present 
location ;  and  that  our  representatives  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly  are 
earnestly  requested  to  interpose  their  influence  in  exposing  its  nature  and 
injustice. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  Hon.  Timothy  Ives,  of  the  Senate,  and  A.  I.  Wilcox, 
Esq.,  of  the  Assembly,  and  the  proceedings  published  in  the  Union  at 
Harrisburg,  and  in  the  Jefferson  Democrat  and  Elk  County  Advertiser,  of 
Brookville. 

"  '  Signed  by  the  officers. 

"  '  February  6,  1849.' 

"At  a  very  large  and  general  meeting  of  the  people  of  Elk  County, 
held  on  the  nth  of  February,  1849,  during  court  week,  in  the  court- 
house at  Ridgway,  Hon.  E.  C.  Winslow  was  called  to  the  chair,  and 
John  Johnston  and  Edward  McQuone  were  appointed  secretaries. 

"  On  motion  of  George  Weis,  Esq.,  a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed 
by  the  chair  to  prepare  resolutions  in  regard  to  the  expediency  of  re- 
moving the  county  seat. 

"The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  as  the  committee, — viz., 
Joseph  F.  Comely,  C.  F.  Law,  Bob  Weed,  Patrick  Malone,  Rasselas  W. 
Brown,  James  Mclntosh,  and  Alfred  Pearsall,  who  reported  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions : 

"'WHEREAS,  A  few  persons,  mostly  inhabitants  of  or  visitors  to 
Ridgway,  met  in  the  court-house  on  the  2oth  of  January,  and  without 
notice  to  the  citizens  at  large,  passed  resolutions  in  favor  of  retaining 
the  county  seat  at  Ridgway,  in  the  name  of  the  citizens  of  the  county, 
but  without  their  knowledge,  presence,  or  authority,  which  resolutions 
have  been  published  in  the  newspapers,  and  are  circulated  to  deceive  the 
Legislature  ; 

"'AND  WHEREAS,  The  settled  and  permanent  inhabitants  of  Elk 
County  are  almost  unanimous  in  desiring  the  removal  of  the  county 
seat,  aware  that  it  was  located  at  Ridgway  by  unfair  means  and  improper 
influence,  and  that  its  continuance  there  is  burthensome,  expensive,  in- 
convenient, and  unjust ; 

42  649 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENXA. 

"  '  AND  WHEREAS,  The  borough  of  St.  Mary's  offers  a  location  proper 
and  convenient  in  all  respects  for  the  county  seat ;  therefore  we,  the 
people  of  Elk  County,  assembled  during  court  from  township,  and  em- 
bracing most  of  the  citizens  of  the  county,  without  distinction  of 
party,  do 

"  '  Resolve,  That  we  repudiate  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  above 
referred  to,  and  repel  the  insult  offered  us  by  persons  whose  only  power 
lies  in  their  presumption,  pretending  to  speak  in  our  names,  but  without 
our  knowledge  or  authority,  and  in  direct  opposition  to  our  views,  wishes, 
and  interests ;  and  especially  do  we  disown  the  acts  of  strangers  and  tem- 
porary sojourners  who  have  participated  in  these  proceedings. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  have  carefully  examined  and  thoroughly  approve 
the  bill  for  removing  the  county  seat  from  Ridgway  to  St.  Mary's,  with- 
out expense  to  the  county,  because  Ridgway  is  near  the  western  limits  of 
the  county,  distant  many  miles  from  the  mass  of  the  population,  a  place 
having  no  agricultural  country  to  support  it,  without  trade  or  manufac- 
tures, containing  no  internal  means  of  increase,  affording  only  the  most 
insufficient  accommodations  for  visitors,  and  in  all  respects  improper,  in- 
convenient, and  expensive.  While  St.  Mary's  is  a  large  and  growing 
town,  surrounded  by  a  large  and  flourishing  country,  central  both  geo- 
graphically, and,  in  reference  to  population,  convenient,  easy  of  access, 
having  excellent  hotels,  stores,  mechanics  of  all  kinds,  and  is  in  all 
respects  the  only  fit  and  proper  place  for  the  county  seat. 

' ' '  Resolved,  That  we  call  on  the  representatives  of  the  people  in  the 
Senate  and  House  to  respect  the  popular  will  and  to  use  their  best  exer- 
tion to  procure  forthwith  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  its  present 
improper  location  to  the  borough  of  St.  Mary's. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  these  proceedings  be  laid  before  both  branches  of 
the  Legislature  by  their  respective  speakers  and  published  in  \h&  Jeffer- 
sonian,  McKean  Yeoman,  Democratic  Union,  Keystone,  and  Intelligencer 
at  Harrisburg.' 

"  The  resolutions  and  the  question  of  the  removal  of  the  county  seat 
were  debated  at  length  by  William  A.  Stokes,  Esq.,  and  Reuben  Wins- 
low,  Esq.,  in  favor  of,  and  Hon.  James  L.  Gillis,  and  Henry  Souther, 
Esq. ,  against  the  removal. 

"  The  question  being  taken,  the  resolutions  and  preamble  were 
adopted  by  a  large  majority. 

"E.  C.  WINSLOW, 

"Chairman." 

"A    NIGHT    IN    THE   NORTH. 

"  Mr.  Brady :  Having  occasion  to  visit  Ridgway,  the  county  seat  of 
Elk  County,  this  week,  I  was  so  amused  with  some  of  the  performances 
which  were  transacted  during  my  stay  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  giving 
you  a  report  for  the  columns  of  your  paper.  The  scenes  were  rich,  and 

650 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

if  I  should  rub  rather  close  on  some  individuals  I  hope  they  will  excuse 
me.     But  to  my  story. 

"  It  was  court  week,  or  rather  the  week  appointed  for  court  ;  but,  as 
there  was  no  president  judge,  and  only  one  associate  in  attendance,  no 
business  could  be  transacted.  I  observed  that  a  general  feeling  of  dis- 
satisfaction prevailed,  and  many,  indeed,  were  the  imprecations  heaped 
upon  the  president  judge.  But  I  shall  leave  those  interested  to  settle 
this  matter  among  themselves  and  pass  on  to  something  more  interesting. 

"  About  two  or  three  o'clock  on  Monday  afternoon  I  observed  a  num- 
ber of  sleds  and  sleighs  coming  into  town,  loaded  with  Germans ;  my 
first  impression  was  that  an  emigrant  vessel  had  just  landed,  but  on  in- 
quiry I  was  informed  that  it  was  '  Gulliver  and  the  Lilliputians'  coming 
to  remove  the  county  seat,  and  that  they  were  going  to  have  a  meeting 
in  the  court-house  that  evening  for  the  purpose. 

"After  supper,  in  company  with  several  others,  I  went  to  the  court- 
house, anticipating  some  fun,  as  I  had  learned  that  several  '  big  guns' 
would  be  there ;  and  sure  enough,  there  they  were,  ready  primed,  and 
only  waiting  the  application  of  the  torch  to  send  forth  their  powerful 
discharges. 

"As  we  entered  we  found  that  the  meeting  had  already  been  organ- 
ized, although  it  was  quite  early  ;  and  after  a  few  minutes'  conversation 
among  those  gathered  in  the  centre  of  the  bar,  a  motion  was  made  that 
a  committee  of  six  be  appointed  to  draft  a  preamble  and  resolutions 
expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting,  etc. 

"  I  observed  the  president  reach  out  his  hand  and  receive  a  small  slip 
of  paper,  from  which  he  read  the  names  of  the  committee.  He  then 
handed  the  paper  to  one  of  the  committee,  who  took  a  candle  and  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  jury-room  ;  on  arriving  at  the  door  which  led  into  the 
hall  he  called  over  the  names,  but  from  the  slow  and  reluctant  response 
it  was  evident  that  the  committee  had  been  selected  before  the  meeting 
had  been  opened. 

"  In  the  absence  of  the  committee  a  motion  was  made  that  William 
A.  Stokes,  Esq.,  of  St.  Mary's,  address  the  meeting.  Mr.  S.  responded 
to  the  call,  and  then  the  '  bear-dance'  commenced  ;  the  ball  was  opened. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  commenced  by  referring  to  the  preamble  and  resolutions 
of  the  meeting  held  at  Ridgway  on  the  2oth  of  January,  ult.,  asserting 
that  an  unprovoked  and  wanton  attack  had  been  made  by  that  meeting 
on  an  absent  citizen  ;  he  believed  it  was  intended  for  him,  and  if  so 
he  hurled  back  the  charges  to  those  who  made  them  as  false. 

"  He  appeared  ready  to  defend  himself,  and  called  upon  the  six  per- 
sons who  framed  those  resolutions  to  meet  him,  as  he  was  prepared  to 
meet  his  accusers  face  to  face.  He  hoped  the  opportunity  would  be 
afforded  to  any  of  the  opposite  party  to  reply  to  his  remarks ;  he  desired 
them  to  do  so,  and  he  would  claim  the  privilege  of  answering  them. 

651 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Mr.  Souther :  Mr.  President,  I  was  one  of  those  who  held  that  meet- 
ing, and  I  hurl  back  the  charges  of  the  gentleman  who  has  just  addressed 
you  with  as  much  fury  as  they  were  given.  (Tremendous  cheers.) 

"  Here  such  an  excitement  was  created  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  proceed. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  hoped  the  audience  would  hear  Mr.  Souther  ;  he  had 
called  upon  him  to  speak,  and  he  wanted  to  hear  him.  The  Ridgway 
people  had  paid  attention  to  him  while  speaking,  and  he  thought  those 
from  St.  Mary's  would  be  as  liberal. 

"  Mr.  Souther :  Mr.  President,  I  am  not  going  to  be  gagged.  I  have 
been  called  upon  to  speak,  and  I  am  going  to  do  it.  Just  grounds  were 
had  for  holding  the  meeting  on  the  2oth.  Letters  received  from  Harris- 
burg  informed  them  that  a  strong  effort  would  be  made  at  the  present 
session  to  remove  the  county  seat  to  St.  Mary's,  and  urged  the  propriety 
of  holding  meetings  and  sending  on  remonstrances  immediately. 

"  He  thought  this  looked  very  much  like  forming  legislation  without 
giving  the  citizens  of  the  county  an  opportunity  to  canvass  the  subject. 
He  could  prove  by  documents  that  Mr.  Stokes  had  been  at  Harrisburg 
boring  for  the  passage  of  the  bill ;  while  there  he  called  upon  Messrs. 
Wilcox,  Hastings,  McCalmont,  and  others,  asking  their  support  and  in- 
fluence in  the  measure. 

"  He  (Mr.  Stokes)  had  called  upon  Mr.  Wilcox,  and  had  told  him  he 
could  vote  as  he  pleased ;  the  bill  could  be  passed  without  him.  Con- 
siderable excitement  ensued,  which  prevented  our  hearing  his  further 
remarks. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  admitted  that  he  had  been  at  Harrisburg,  and  proceeded 
to  read  a  bill  which  had  been  read  in  Senate  on  the  yth  of  February  by 
Hon.  Timothy  Ives. 

"The  bill  provided  that  the  citizens  of  St.  Mary's  should  procure  a 
suitable  lot  of  ground  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings ;  they  should 
erect  a  good  and  sufficient  court-house  and  public  offices,  under  the 
supervision  of  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  should  also 
erect  a  suitable  county  prison,  to  be  built  by  direction  of  the  county 
commissioners,  by  donation,  etc. ;  and  after  said  buildings  were  completed 
and  accepted  the  seat  of  justice  of  Elk  County  should  cease  to  be  at 
Ridgway,  and  the  public  records  should  be  removed  and  safely  deposited 
in  the  buildings  erected  for  their  reception. 

"  The  same  bill  also  provides  that  so  soon  as  the  county  seat  shall  be 
removed  from  Ridgway  the  present  public  buildings  shall  be  sold  and  the 
proceeds  thereof  placed  in  the  county  treasury ;  and  that  the  commis- 
sioners of  Elk  County  shall  not  pay  out  any  moneys  for  the  erection  of 
the  new  buildings  at  St.  Mary's. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  further  said  that  the  population  of  the  county  was  nearly 
all  east  of  St.  Mary's,  therefore  justice  to  the  citizens  demanded  a  removal. 

652 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

While  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ridgway  was  one  unbroken 
forest,  that  about  St.  Mary's  was  fertile  and  thickly  settled. 

"  Four  hundred  farms  were  already  opened  and  being  improved.  One 
man  on  the  Driftwood  Branch  had  to  travel  sixty- one  miles  to  Ridgway 
when  he  came  to  court ;  but  if  the  county  seat  were  removed  to  St.  Mary's 
no  person  would  have  to  travel  more  than  twenty  miles.  Ridgway,  he 
humorously  remarked,  was  twenty  one  years  old, — just  of  age, — conse- 
sequently  full  grown,  as  large  as  she  ever  would  be;  but  St.  Mary's,  yet 
in  her  infancy,  being  only  six  years  old,  beat  her  two  hundred  to 
one.  Petitions  had  been  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  county  relative  to 
removal. 

"  Mr.  Souther  (interrupting)  asked  if  any  petitions  were  at  Harris- 
burg  previous  to  the  reading  of  the  bill  in  the  Senate. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  said  he  could  not  tell,  but  presumed  there  were,  as  they 
were  sent  through  the  county  on  the  27th  of  January,  and  ample  time 
had  passed  between  that  and  the  yth  of  February  to  have  them  signed 
and  forwarded.  After  various  other  remarks,  which  were  not  distinctly 
heard,  he  resumed  his  seat. 

"  Mr.  Souther  obtained  the  floor,  and  dwelt  chiefly  on  the  injustice  of 
the  proposed  removal.  The  question,  he  said,  should  be  submitted  to 
the  people ;  they  ought  to  have  an  opportunity  of  deciding  upon  its 
merits  by  ballot.  He  entered  into  a  detail  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
public  buildings  at  Ridgway  had  been  erected.  They  cost  five  thousand 
four  hundred  and  thirty-two  dollars  and  thirty-two  cents. 

"  Of  this  sum,  John  J.  Ridgway  donated  three  thousand  dollars,  Dick- 
inson and  Wilmarth  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  James  L.  Gillis  two  hun- 
dred dollars.  John  J.  Ridgway  advanced  to  the  county  one  thousand 
dollars  in  payment  of  his  taxes. 

"  Mr.  Souther  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  if  the  public  buildings  were 
sold  and  the  proceeds  placed  in  the  county  treasury,  the  donors  could 
bring  an  action  for  the  recovery  of  the  money,  and  any  panel  of  jurors 
would  decide  that  it  should  be  refunded.  The  use  of  it  by  the  county 
would  be  nothing  less  than  a  bold  attempt  to  rob  the  givers  of  the  amount 
subscribed.  He  referred  to  the  project  of  annexing  Shippen  township, 
McKean  County,  to  Elk,  for  the  purpose  of  making  St.  Mary's  a  more 
central  point,  and  unfolded  a  scheme  which,  if  carried  into  effect,  would 
ultimately  create  disturbance  in  parts  then  uninterested. 

"The  noise  again  commencing,  his  concluding  remarks  could  not  be 
heard,  but,  quiet  being  again  in  a  manner  restored,  Mr.  Stokes  obtained 
the  floor. 

"  He  said  that  Mr.  Souther  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that,  suits  being 
brought,  the  money  donated  for  the  present  public  could  be  recovered. 

"  Mr.  Souther  :  I  did,  and  I  don't  charge  anything  for  it. 

"  Mr.  Stokes :  Well,  there  is  one  thing,  and  every  lawyer  present  will 

653 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

bear  me  out  in  it,  that  a  lawyer's  opinion  which  he  charges  nothing  for  is 
not  worth  much.  (Great  cheering).  But  I  will  give  my  opinion,  and  if 
any  one  tenders  a  fee,  I  will  take  it.  If  suits  are  brought,  they  will  not 
lay,  and  the  donors  cannot  recover  a  cent.  This  is  my  opinion,  and  I 
will  take  a  fee  in  order  to  make  it  good. 

"Mr.  Souther  (interrupting,  and  handing  him  a  copper  coin)  said, 
'  Mr.  Stokes,  here  is  a  fee  some  gentleman  requested  me  to  give  you.' 

"  The  applause  elicited  by  this  sally  was  so  loud  and  continued  so  long 
that  the  further  remarks  of  Mr.  Souther  were  lost.  A  tumult  then  arose. 
Some  shouted  for  Souther  and  Gillis  and  others  for  Stokes.  Mr.  Gillis 
mounted  a  table  and  endeavored  to  make  some  remarks  of  a  general  char- 
acter, when  the  committee  appeared  and  asked  leave  to  report. 

"The  preamble  and  resolutions  were  read  by  Mr.  Reuben  Winslow, 
but  in  so  low  a  tone  that  a  call  was  made  to  have  them  read  by  a  louder 
voice.  Mr.  Barr  then  read  them,  when  a  motion  for  their  adoption  was 
made. 

"  Mr.  Gillis  then  resumed  his  speech  in  opposition  to  the  resolutions, 
but  the  noise  was  so  great  that  I  could  not  hear  his  remarks  sufficiently 
correct  to  report  them,  but  I  heard  him  say  that  he  had  been  told  by  a 
person  from  St.  Mary's  that  they  had  the  power  in  Elk  County,  and  they 
were  going  to  make  use  of  it. 

"  Here  one  of  the  secretaries,  dressed  in  a  blue  overcoat,  rose  and 
interrupted  him  and  said,  '  You  mean  me  ;  I  told  you  so.' 

"  Mr.  Gillis  replied  that  he  mentioned  no  names,  and  did  not  person- 
ally implicate  any  one,  but  he  had  been  told  so,  and  could  prove  it. 

"  The  same  person  interrupted  him,  saying,  '  You  meant  me ;  I  can 
tell  by  the  wink  of  yer  eye,  Jim  Gillis,  who  you  referred  to.' 

"Mr.  Gillis:  If  the  coat  fits,  wear  it.  But  it  will  not  do  for  St. 
Mary's  to  come  out  so  bold  at  this  early  day. 

"  Here  a  call  was  made  for  a  vote  on  the  resolutions,  which  was  taken, 
but  the  confusion  became  so  loud  that  the  chairman  was  unable  to  de- 
cide upon  the  vote. 

"Mr.  Johnson,  of  Warren,  rose  to  make  a  few  remarks  :  said  he  felt 
a  delicacy  in  participating  in  a  matter  which  in  no  way  concerned  him. 
He  thought  the  measures  adopted  by  the  removal  party  were  only  calcu- 
lated to  breed  disturbance  and  prolong  the  consummation  of  their  object. 
His  sympathies  were  with  the  citizens  of  Ridgway,  and  believed  it  would 
be  an  injustice  to  remove  the  county  seat  from  its  present  location.  He 
recommended  that  the  passage  of  the  resolutions  should  not  be  insisted 
upon,  and  would  move  that  they  be  laid  upon  the  table. 

"  Several  voices  :  He  has  no  business  to  make  a  motion  !  He  don't 
live  in  the  county  ! 

"Mr.  Gillis:  I  live  in  the  county.  I  have  a  right  to  speak,  and  I 
make  the  motion. 

654 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"  Mr.  Stokes  :  I  move  as  an  amendment  that  Mr.  Gillis's  motion  be 
laid  on  the  table. 

"  Here  a  discussion  ensued  in  relation  to  parliamentary  usage  (a  thing 
very  common  in  such  places),  in  which  some  half  a  dozen  voices  partici- 
pated at  the  same  time. 

"  The  chairman  called  for  a  division  of  the  house  on  the  passage  of 
the  resolutions,  but  no  division  could  be  made ;  the  house  was  too  full. 
But  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  few  of  the  removal  party  who  understood 
English  running  to  and  fro,  gathering  their  flock  together. 

"  The  chairman  then  put  the  motion  viva  voce,  when  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  '  Lilliputian'  band  jumped  upon  the  judge's  desk  and  waved  his 
hand,  when  one  tremendous,  unearthly,  unmeaning  '  yaw'  burst  forth, 
which  caused  the  walls  of  the  building  to  tremble  for  its  fate  ;  which 
being  partially  subsided,  without  calling  for  the  negative,  the  president 
declared  the  resolutions  passed  unanimously. 

"  We  doubt  very  much  whether  the  resolutions  could  have  been  passed 
fairly,  as  the  largest  portion  of  the  meeting  was  opposed  to  the  removal. 

"  Immediately  after  the  announcement  of  the  chairman  several  persons 
endeavored  to  obtain  the  floor,  and  each  party  called  for  its  speaker  ;  but 
before  it  could  be  decided  which  should  have  it  the  candles  were  blown 
out,  and  all  was  darkness. 

"A  general  rush  was  made  for  the  doors  and  windows,  and  if  the 
court-house  was  not  removed,  we  are  certain  that  considerable  glass  in  the 
windows  was  destroyed. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  could  not  procure  a  copy  of  the  resolutions,  etc.,  as 
they  were  no  doubt  drawn  up  for  publication,  but  at  the  time  when  dark- 
ness prevailed,  neither  resolutions,  president,  secretaries,  nor  anything  re- 
lating to  them  could  be  found.  But  I  have  no  doubt  the  above  report 
will  be  received  by  your  readers  as  well  without  as  with  them.  It  was  a 
'  bear  fight'  certain,  and,  like  the  old  woman,  I  did  not  'care  which 
whipped,  but  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  removal  party  met  with  a 
warmer  reception  than  was  anticipated,  and  when  I  left  the  next  day  the 
court  house  and  jail  were  still  in  Ridgway.  The  meeting  adjourned  to 
meet  in  two  weeks,  whether  in  St.  Marys  or  in  Ridgway,  I  cannot  say, 
but  if  I  can  get  to  it  I  will  let  you  hear  from  me  again. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"A  RAMBLER. 

"  February  22,  1849." 

ELK  COUNTY  MEETING. 

"At  a  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Benzinger  township  and  the 
county  of  Elk  generally  held  at  the  borough  of  St.  Marys,  on  Monday 
evening,  February  12,  1849,  George  Weis,  Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair, 
and  Ignatius  Garner  and  James  P.  Barr  were  appointed  secretaries. 

"William  A.  Stokes,  Esq.,  in  compliance  with  the  unanimous  call  of 

655 


. 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

the  assemblage,  addressed  them  in  plain  and  practical  speech  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  county  seat. 

"  Anthony  Hanhauser,  Esq.,  moved  for  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 
tee of  three  to  draft  resolutions,  whereupon  the  following  were  appointed  : 
Dr.  B.  D.  Holcomb,  I.  Garner,  and  A.  Volmerj  who,  having  retired, 
reported  on  their  return  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : 

"  '  WHEREAS,  Petitions  now  before  this  meeting  from  the  various  town- 
ships of  this  county,  prove  by  the  names  thereto,  that  a  large  majority  of 
the  permanent  inhabitants  and  substantial  farmers  and  freeholders  of  the 
county  desire  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Ridgway  to  St.  Marys, 
and  whereas  the  former  location  is  inconvenient,  expensive,  and  im- 
proper, and  the  latter  location  is  central,  easy  of  access,  convenient,  and 
suitable  in  all  respects  ;  and  whereas,  we  are  able,  willing,  and  ready  to 
erect  the  public  buildings  without  cost  to  the  county,  by  individual  and 
private  subscription ;  therefore, 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  unite  in  application  to  the  Legislature  for  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  of  Elk  county  from  Ridgway  to  St.  Mary's, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  bill  before  the  Senate. 

' ' '  Resolved,  That  the  attempt  of  a  part  of  the  small  population  of 
Ridgway  to  anticipate  expected  action  of  those  who  are  favorable  to  the 
removal  of  the  county  seat  and  to  forestall  public  opinion  on  this  has 
been  ludicrously  ineffective,  except  in  so  far  as  it  has  precipitated  what 
otherwise  might  have  been  delayed,  a  movement  of  the  people  to  an  end 
always  desired  by  them,  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Ridgway, 
where  it  was  located  against  their  wishes,  and  by  intrigue  and  arrange- 
ment, directed  only  to  answer  the  selfish  purposes  and  private  ends  of  a 
few  interested  individuals. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  this  county  feel  quite  competent  to  the 
management  of  their  own  business,  and  consider  it  derogatory  to  their 
character  that  gentlemen  from  other  States,  and  other  persons,  not  resi- 
dents of  this  county,  should  have  largely  participated  in  the  efforts  made 
to  keep  the  county  seat  at  Ridgway. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  will  of  the  people  should  always  be  the  supreme 
law,  and  that  what  the  citizens  of  this  county  desire  in  regard  to  the  re- 
moval of  the  county  seat  should  be  done  without  respect  to  the  influence 
of  wealth,  or  the  representations  of  self-appointed  leaders,  who  have  for 
years,  by  the  mere  power  of  presumption,  managed  all  the  public  affairs 
for  their  own  private  ends ;  and  we  call  on  our  senators  and  representa- 
tives in  the  General  Assembly  to  hear  and  respect  that  popular  voice 
which  at  the  polls  is  decisive,  and  now  emphatically  demands  that  justice 
be  done  to  the  oppressed  people  of  this  county,  by  removing  the  courts 
and  offices  from  the  inconvenient,  expensive,  and  improper  location  at 
Ridgway  to  the  central  and  convenient  point  which  the  borough  of  St. 
Mary's  presents,  free  of  cost  for  that  purpose.' 

656 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

"The  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 

"  On  motion  of  George  F.  Schaefer,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
attend  to  the  petitions  and  other  business  connected  with  the  removal  of 
the  county  seat. 

"  The  following  gentlemen  constituted  the  committee  :  T-  Walker, 
Charles  Fisher,  G.  Schaefer,  G.  Schcening,  X.  Brieberger,  J.  Fitzpatrick, 
J.  Dill,  A.  Pearsall,  E.  C.  Winslow,  A.  Fochtmann,  M.  Spuler,  J.  Schaus, 
J.  Ganser.  M.  Schissle,  A.  Ostermann,  M.  Wellendorf,  L.  Stockmann,  A. 
Andrews,  L.  Diez,  Dr.  Sap,  M.  Munich,  P.  Steavens,  M.  Frey,  J.  Seel, 
A.  Hoffman,  J.  Meyer,  John  A.  Durgind,  David  Hubbard,  James  C. 
Parkhurst,  S.  B.  Gardner,  C.  Clinton,  John  Keller,  William  Rodroch, 
William  Hicks,  and  William  Myers. 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  William  A.  Stokes,  Esq., 

"  '  Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  proceedings  be  sent  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  and  be  published  in  the  Jefferson  Democrat, 
McKean  Yeoman,  Harrislmrg  Union,  and  Philadelphia  PennsylvanianS 

"  GEORGE  WTEIS, 

"  Chairman." 

PUBLIC    MEETING    IN    KERSEY. 

"At  a  large  meeting,  held  at  Kersey,  on  the  3d  of  March,  1849, 
Joseph  T.  Comely,  Esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  C.  Spely  and  P. 
Malone  were  appointed  secretaries. 

"A  committee,  consisting  of  John  T.  Comely,  Matthew  McEwen, 
and  Charles  Lewis,  was  appointed  to  prepare  resolutions,  who  reported 
the  following,  which  were  considered  and  unanimously  passed : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  county  of  Elk,  being  poor  and  thinly  settled,  it 
is  particularly  important  that  the  public  expenses  should  be  as  moderate 
as  possible,  and  with  this  view  the  seat  of  justice  should  be  central  and 
convenient  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  not  (as  it  is  at  Ridgway)  on 
one  side  of  the  county  and  remote  for  the  people  generally,  thereby  sub- 
jecting the  county  for  the  public  charges  and  the  citizens  for  their  private 
expenses,  to  great  and  unnecessary  loss  and  inconvenience. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  repairing  the  great  injustice  which 
was  done  by  locating  the  county  seat  at  Ridgway,  and  of  removing  it 
from  that  place  at  the  earliest  moment  to  St.  Mary's. 

"'Resolved,  That  we  protest  against  a  division  of  this  county, — a 
movement  made  for  the  mere  purpose  of  retarding  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  justice.  The  county  is  already  too  small,  and  if  reduced  in  size 
and  the  courts  are  held  at  Ridgway,  the  taxes  will  necessarily  be  increased 
to  a  most  ruinous  and  oppressive  extent. 

"  '  Resolved,  That  we  hereby  instruct  our  Senator  and  Representative 
to  use  all  honorable  means  to  carry  out  these  views  by  having  the  bill  for 
that  purpose  passed  without  delay,  according  to  the  resolutions  of  the 
county  meeting,  which  truly  represented  and  fairly  spoke  the  views,  in- 

657 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

terests,  and  opinions  of  the  large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  county, 
who  are  in  favor  of  the  removal  of  the  seat  to  St.  Mary's.' 

"The  meeting  was  addressed  by  William  A.  Stokes,  Esq.,  Joseph  T. 
Comely,  Patrick  Malone,  Edward  McQuone,  and  Charles  Lewis. 

"  On  motion,  '  Resolved,  That  these  proceedings  be  communicated  to 
the  Legislature,  and  be  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Spirit  of  the  Times, 
Harrisburg  Keystone  and  Intelligencer,  McKean  Yeoman,  and  Brookville 
Jefferson  Democrat. ' 

"  J.  T.  COMELY, 

"  Chairman.''1 

Meetings  were  held  in  Fox  and  other  townships,  of  which  there  is  no 
printed  record. 

During  the  progress  through  the  State  Legislature  of  the  bill  for  the 
removal  of  the  county  seat  of  Elk  County,  an  important  amendment  was 
proposed  by  the  Hon.  Timothy  Ives,  repaying  to  the  donors  the  whole 
amount  of  money  expended  by  them  in  erecting  the  present  county 
buildings. 

The  bill  being  brought  up  on  second  reading  in  the  Senate  on  Mon- 
day, the  26th  of  March,  Mr.  Ives  offered  an  amendment  so  as  to  make 
the  fifth  section  read  as  follows  : 

"The  commissioners  of  Elk  County  are  hereby  required,  so  soon  as 
the  aforesaid  seat  of  justice  is  removed,  to  sell  the  court-house  and  jail  of 
Ridgway,  and  to  pay  the  proceeds  thereof  to  the  several  persons  who 
have  contributed  towards  the  erection  and  completion  of  said  buildings ; 
the  balance,  if  any,  to  be  paid  into  the  county  treasury,  for  the  use  of 
said  county,"  which  was  agreed  to. 

The  bill,  as  amended,  was  then  read  a  second  time  (yeas,  fifteen  ; 
nays,  ten),  and  afterwards  a  third  time,  and  passed  finally. 

Colonel  A.  I.  Wilcox,  who  is  still  living  in  his  eightieth  year,  was 
opposed  to  the  change,  and  the  removal  act  failed  in  the  House.  This 
agitation  in  Elk  County  started  an  epidemic  of  "removal  of  county 
seats."  A  petition  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania  asking 
the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Warren  to  Youngsville.  Agitators 
were  desirous  to  remove  the  county  seat  from  Smethport,  McKean  County, 
the  county  seat  from  Clearfield  to  Curwensville,  and  from  Brookville  to 
Punxsutawney.  The  cause  of  this  agitation  was  land  speculation  and  the 
"  cursed  love  of  gold." 

LOCAL  HISTORY. 

PIONEERS    OF    RIDGWAY   TOWNSHIP,    ELK    COUNTY,    PENNSYLVANIA,    AS    PER 
ASSESSMENT   IN    1843,    IN   JEFFERSON    COUNTY   SEATED    LIST. 

Names  of  Taxables. — William  Armstrong,  Watts  Anderson,  Thomas 
Graniff,  Pierce  T.  Brooks,  Ephraim  Barnes,  David  Benninger,  William  S. 
Brownell,  William  Crow,  James  Cochran,  John  G.  Clark,  Jesse  Cady, 

658 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

James  Crow,  John  Cobb,  Job  Carr,  William  H.  Clyde,  Absalom  Conrad, 
'Squire  Carr,  William  Daugherty,  Henry  Dull,  Caleb  Dill,  George  Dick- 
inson, Eli  Frederick,  John  Evans,  Daniel  Fuller,  Ridgway  O.  Gillis, 
Caroline  Gillis,  James  L.  Gillis,  Silas  German,  Rufus  Galusha,  Enos 
Gillis,  William  H.  Gallegher,  James  Gallegher,  Esq.,  Charles  Gillis,  Rich- 
ard Gates,  Miles  German,  Arthur  Hughes,  Peter  Hardy,  Joseph  S.  Hyde, 
Ralph  Hill,  Charles  H.  &  L.  Horton,  Frederick  Heterick,  Chester  Hayes, 
Harvey  Hoyt,  Hughes  &:  Dickinson,  James  A.  Johnston,  Henry  Karns, 
Frederick  Kiefer,  Benjamin  Kiefer,  John  Knox,  Reuben  Lyles,  Thomas 
Lynn,  Ebenezer  Lee,  William  McLatchey,  Erasmus  Morey,  John  Mc- 
Latchey,  Joseph  Meffert,  William  Meade,  Horace  Olds,  Riverus  Prindle, 
Paine  &  Watterson,  Chester  Paine,  George  Phillips,  Willoughby  Redline, 
D.  S.  Ramsey,  Amos  Sweet,  John  Snyder,  John  Sharley,  George  L. 
Smith,  Samuel  Stoneback,  Ephraim  Shawl,  James  Shawl,  David  H.  &  L. 
Thayer,  Cornelius  Van  Orsdale,  Jamison  Yeasey,  Van  Schirk,  Elisha 
Weaver,  David  Worden,  Maria  Wilcox,  Boston  Lumber  Company. 

THE    FIRST    PAPERS    PUBLISHED. 

As  I  have  given  you  the  history  of  the  first  paper  published  in  the 
county, — viz.,  the  Elk  Advocate, — I  will  now  give  the  name  of  the  first 
paper  published  for  the  county, — viz.,  the  Jefferson  Democrat  and  Jeffer- 
son and  Elk  County  Advertiser. 

This  paper  was  published  every  Wednesday  morning,  in  Brookville, 
by  Evans  R.  Brady  and  Clark  Wilson  ;  terms,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents 
a  year.  This  paper  was  published  to  and  ended  with  the  issue  of  April 
6,  1850.  I  find  in  vol.  iv.,  No.  i,  of  the  Jeffersonian,  in  the  issue  of 
January  5,  1848,  the  following: 

"  Having  made  arrangements  with  some  of  the  officers  of  Elk  County 
to  furnish  blanks,  to  do  their  advertising,  etc.,  we  have  changed  the 
name  of  our  paper  to  suit  this  arrangement." 

I  see  by  the  paper  that  David  Thayer  was  sheriff,  Charles  Horton, 
prothonotary,  and  Henry  Souther,  treasurer. 

The  only  item  of  interest  that  I  can  find  in  these  papers  is  in  rela- 
tion to  two  or  three  Democratic  meetings  in  Ridgway. 

The  total  vote  of  the  county  in  1848  was  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight. 

THE    FIRST    POLITICAL,    MEETING. 

The  first  political  gathering  in  Ridgway  of  which  there  is  any  pub- 
lished record  was  held  in  the  court-house,  February  28,  1848.  It  was 
a  Democratic  meeting.  Hon.  Isaac  Horton  was  appointed  president, 
Nathaniel  Hyatt  and  John  S.  Brockway,  vice-presidents,  and  Charles 
Horton  and  W.  A.  Simpson,  secretaries. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  having  been  stated  by  S.  M.  Burson,  Esq., 
on  motion,  a  committee  of  eight — viz.,  Thomas  Dent,  Samuel  Overturf, 

659 


PIONEER   HISTORY   OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

John  Mead,  H.  Reburger,  Joseph  Taylor,  Joseph  S.  Hyde,  Isaac  Keefer, 
and  Thomas  Irwin — was  appointed  to  draft  resolutions. 

In  their  absence,  B.  Rush  Petriken  and  D.  B.  Jenks  addressed  the 
meeting  at  length. 

A.  I.  Wilcox  was  appointed  delegate  to  the  4th  of  March  convention 
as  representative  delegate. 

The  committee  returned  and  reported  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

"WHEREAS,  The  sovereign  power  of  this  government,  vested  in  the 
people  of  these  United  States,  is  again  to  be  called  into  action  in  the 
choice  of  agents  through  whom  this  power  is  to  be  exercised,  it  becomes 
the  pleasure  and  duty  of  freemen  by  a  public  expression  of  their  will,  to 
announce  to  the  world  the  principle  by  which  they  will  be  governed  in 
the  selection  of  their  agents,  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  sustain  our  present  administration  in  all  its 
measures,  and  that  we  will  support  no  man  for  office  who  will  not  carry 
out  the  same  in  principle  and  in  detail. 

"  Resolved,  That  those  who  denounce  the  present  war  and  give  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemy  secure  for  themselves  present  shame  and  eternal 
infamy. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  James  Buchanan,  by  his  dintinguished 
services  and  unwavering  fidelity  to  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  has  secured  our  entire  confidence,  and  that  we  will  reward  him  for 
his  services  by  using  our  influence  to  secure  his  nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency ;  and  that  our  representatives  be,  and  they  are  hereby  instructed, 
to  give  him  their  support  at  the  4th  of  March  convention. 

"Resolved,  That  our  delegates  to  the  4th  of  March  convention  be 
instructed  to  support  Timothy  Ives  for  canal  commissioner. 

"On  motion,  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be 
transmitted  to  John  S.  McCalmont  and  A.  I.  Wilcox. 

"  On  motion,  Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  pub- 
lished in  the  Democratic  Union  at  Harrisburg,  and  in  all  the  Democratic 
papers  in  this  senatorial  district. 

"  On  motion,  Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be 
signed  by  the  officers. 

"  ISAAC  HORTON, 

President. 
CHARLES  HORTON, 
W.  A.  SIMPSON, 

Secretaries. 
NATHANIEL  HYATT, 
JOHN  S.  BROCKWAY, 

N  Vice  Presidents. ' ' 

660 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  pioneer  court  held  in  the  county  was  at  Caledonia,  twenty  miles 
east  of  Ridgway,  on  the  Milesburg  and  Smethport  turnpike,  in  Jay  town- 
ship. The  judges  present  were;  Associates,  James  L.  Gillis  and  Isaac 
Horton;  Prothonotary,  etc.,  W.  J.  B.  Andrews;  Commissioners,  Reuben 
Winslow,  Chauncey  Brockway,  and  a  Mr.  Brooks.  But  little  business  was 
transacted.  Attorneys  present  :  George  R.  Barrett,  Ben.  R.  Petriken, 
and  Lewis  B.  Smith.  The  first  court  held  in  Ridgway  was  in  the  school- 
house,  February  19,  1844,  Alexander  McCalmont,  president  judge  ;  Isaac 
Horton,  associate  judge  ;  and  Eusebius  Kincaid,  sheriff. 

The  pioneer  court  crier  was  Nathaniel  Hyatt,  from  Kersey,  and,  like 
everybody  else  in  those  days,  was  fond  of  attending  court,  for  the  sake 
of  visiting,  seeing  the  judge,  telling  stories,  and  "smiling  with  his 
neighbors." 

Mr.  Hyatt  was  a  large  man,  peculiar,  and  had  a  coarse  voice.  Judge 
McCalmont,  of  Venango,  was  on  the  bench,  a  very  easy-going,  mild- 
mannered  man. 

One  day,  while  the  court  was  in  session,  Mr.  Hyatt,  in  a  loud  tone  of 
voice,  was  busy  telling  stories  to  his  neighbors  in  the  court-room.  The 
judge  thought  there  was  a  little  too  much  noise,  and,  to  personally  repri- 
mand Mr.  Hyatt,  he  commenced  "a  rapping,  gently  tapping,  tapping" 
three  times  on  the  desk,  and  addressing  Mr.  Hyatt  thus  :  "  Crier,  there 
is  a  little  too  much  noise  in  court." 

Promptly  Mr.  Hyatt  responded  by  stamping  his  right  foot  violently 
on  the  floor,  and,  in  his  loud,  coarse  voice,  exclaimed,  "Let  there  be 
silence  in  court !  What  the  h —  are  you  about?" 

EARLY    RAILROADS. 

The  Sunbury  and  Erie  Railroad,  now  the  Philadelphia  and  Erie,  was 
chartered  April  3,  1837,  but  it  was  not  until  about  1852  that  construc- 
tion was  commenced,  and  it  was  not  completed  until  about  the  fall  of 
1864. 

In  the  speculative  times  of  1836  non-residents  of  then  Jefferson 
County  bought  largely  of  the  wild  lands  in  and  around  Ridgway  town- 
ship, which,  of  course,  when  railroad  and  other  bubbles  burst,  was  left 
on  their  hands.  This  land  had  been  advertised  to  contain  valuable  iron 
ore  and  bituminous  coal,  and  much  of  it  could  have  been  bought  as  late 
as  1851  at  fifty  cents  an  acre. 

To  build  a  railroad  through  a  dense  wilderness  of  worthless  hemlock, 
ferocious  beasts,  gnats,  and  wmtergreen  berries,  required  a  large  purse 
and  great  courage.  Of  course,  there  was  no  subject  talked  about  in  the 
cabin  homes  of  that  locality  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  pioneers  as  this 
railroad.  Living,  as  they  were,  in  the  backwoods,  they  were  perfectly 
excusable  when  the  subject  of  railroads  was  broached,  even  if  they  did 
cut  all  kinds  of  fantastic  tricks. 

66 1 


PIONEER   HISTORY  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  PENNA. 

The  first  railroad  meeting  held  in  Ridgway,  Elk  County,  was  in  the 
fall  of  1845.  Gentlemen  were  present  from  Erie,  Warren,  McKean, 
Centre,  Philadelphia,  and  other  counties.  The  deliberations  were  held 
in  the  old  school-house,  and  there  the  road  was  constructed  in  words,  as 
it  was  all  through  the  seasons  for  years  afterwards. 

In  any  event,  I  suppose  those  railroad  barons  enjoyed  themselves  in 
Ridgway,  and  were  fed  on  elk-steak  for  breakfast,  blackberry-pie  for 
dinner,  speckled  trout  and  bear  meat  for  supper,  with  nothing  stronger 
to  drink  than  sassafras- tea.  This  generous  diet,  in  sleep  at  least,  would 
build  railroads. 

1852  was  the  railroad  era.  Engineers  surveyed  the  route  through 
Ridgway  for  the  Allegheny  Valley  Railroad,  the  Venango  Road,  and  the 
Sunburyand  Erie  Road.  Numerous  other  railroads  were  talked  about, — 
viz.,  the  Clearfield  and  the  Buffalo,  Rochester  and  Pittsburg.  In  antici- 
pation of  the  completion  of  all  these  railroads,  I  suppose,  the  county 
commissioners,  in  September  of  this  year,  erected  a  stone  wall  around  the 
jail-yard  two  feet  thick  and  fourteen  feet  above  the  ground,  and  to  civil- 
ize the  Whistletown  section  for  these  iron  horses,  my  old  friend,  B.  F. 
Ely,  Esq.,  in  this  month,  killed  three  bears  in  fifteen  minutes. 

EARLY   HOME   OF   THE    WILD    PIGEON. 

In  1845,  Ridgway  township  was  the  nesting  and  roosting  home  of  the 
wild  pigeon.  There  was  a  roost  at  or  near  what  is  now  Bootjack,  one 
near  Whistletown,  and  another  near  Montmorenci.  These  big  roosts 
were  occupied  early  in  April  each  year.  They  were  usually  four  to  five 
miles  long  and  from  one  to  two  miles  wide.  Every  tree  would  be  occu- 
.  pied,  some  with  fifty  nests.  The  croakings  of  the  pigeons  could  be  heard 
for  miles. 

The  wild  pigeon  laid  one  or  two  eggs,  and  both  birds  did  their  share 
of  incubating,  the  female  from  two  P.M.  until  nine  A.M.,  and  the  male 
then  to  two  P.M.  These  roosts  were  great  feeding-places  for  animals  as 
well  as  for  man.  As  late  as  1851  the  American  Express  Company  car- 
ried in  one  day,  over  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad,  over  seven  tons 
of  pigeons  to  the  New  York  markets.  A  wild  pigeon  can  fly  from  five 
hundred  to  one  thousand  miles  in  a  day. 

Like  the  buffalo  and  elk  of  this  region,  the  wild  pigeon  has  been 
doomed. 


662 


INDEX. 


Abolition  meetings,  274;  law,  268 

Abolitionists,  early,  275 

Academy,  507  ;  trustees  of,  198 

Advertisements,  623 

Advocate,  626,  627,  644 

Agriculture,  pioneer,  152,  153 

Algerines,  535 

Allegheny  Portage  Railroad,  326;   town, 

58 

Allegheny  River  lands,  48 
American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  268 
Amusements,  161,  440,  441,  479,  526,  530, 

555 

Animals,  88-100,  442;  natural  life  of,  101 
Apprentices,  indentured,  284—296,  539 
Armstrong,  Colonel,  34 
Armstrong,  Jesse,  435~437 
Assembly  acts,  43,  48,  49,  50,  52,  54,  57, 

60,  85,  87,  91,  124,  126,  130,  132,  136, 

138,  141,  142,  191,  193,  194,  198,  20C- 
203,  205,  207,  210,  211,  214,  270,  272, 
286-290,  304,  314,  340,  358,  360,  363, 

365,  373.  375,  38o,  384,  385,  421,  433, 
459,  461,  470,  488,  489,  492,  496,  497, 
499,  504,  550,  588,  611,  613,  646 

Associate  Reformed  Church,  246 

Atlee,  Samuel  John,  43 

Atly,  Lieutenant.  39 

Audenried,  Senator,  209 

Backwoodsman,  The,  412 
Bald  Eagle,  102,  126,  137,  140 
Baltimore  Conference,  253 
Bank-note  detector,  299,  553 
Bank  of  Maryland,  297 
Banks,  pioneer,  298 
Baptist  church,  259-262 
Barclay,  Rev.  David,  208 
Barnett,  Andrew,  I2O,  193,  195,  423 
Barnett,  Joseph,  9,  32,  84,  116,  117,  120,  ' 
121,  193,  195,410,  57°,  575 


Barnett  township,  460 

Barring-out,  551 

Barry,  William  T.,  441 

Bear- pen,  93 

Bear-skins,  92 

Beaver,  county  of,  58 

Beaver  dam,  building  of,  89 

Beaver  Meadow,  88 

Beechwoods  church,  242 

Bee-hunting,  111-114 

Bee-trees,  112 

Bethel  church,  237-239,  241 

Bethesda  church,  243 

Bienville,  Celeronde,  132 

Bingham,  William,  80 

Bird,  Colonel,  169 

Birds,  loi-uo,  158 

Birthday,  celebration  of,  475-481 

Blood,  Cyrus,  472 

Blood  settlement,  474 

Bonnecamp,  Father,  132 

Bounty,  90,  375,  379,  626 

Braddock,  General,  335 

Braddock's  road,  335 

Brady,  Captain,  30,  35 

Breck,  Senator,  209 

Biick-yard,  455 

Bridges,  328,329,453 

Bridges  and  roads,  county,  348,  357 

Brodhead,  General,  30 

Brookville,  243,  558;  church,  254;  church 
mission,  260;  Academy,  380;  Female 
Seminary,  380;  Republican,  410;  bor- 
ough, 496;  pioneer  resurrection,  598- 
610 

Brown,  Major-General  Jacob,  172 

Bryan,  George,  270 

Building,  raising  a,  521 

Burnside,  Hon.  Thomas,  323,  365,  366 

Burnside,  Judge  William,  499 

Burrowes,  Thomas  H.,  200,  214,  221 


663 


INDEX. 


Campaign  of  1864,  593-598 

Canal,  326,  327 

Candles,  making  of,  544 

Canoe  Place,  42 

Canoes,  567 

Carding-mill,  469 

Carmalt,  Isaac  P.,  281 

Catholic  church,  262 

Census,  206,  226,  227,  493,  537,  555 

Centre  Furnace,  181 

Chain-carriers,  84 

Cherry  Tree,  42,  79,  82 

Chimney-sweeps,  503 

Churches,      237-265,     433,     459,      487, 

632 

Civil  war,  268 
Clark,  William,  212 
Clarke,  Dr.  A.  M.,  466 
Clocks,  545 
Clothes,  160,  161,  441 
Clover,  Judge  Peter,  116 
Clover,  Levi  G.,  523 
Clover  township,  487 
Coal,  228,  326,  479,  492,  495,  556,  630, 

635 

Coinage,  first,  297 
Coleman,  Professor  J.  M.,  198 
Colonial  records,  29 
Commissioners,    auditors,   and    collectors, 

names  of,  195 
Concord  church,  243 
Conewango  Creek  lands,  48 
Congress,  297 

Constables,  early,  223,  224,  226,  367 
Continental  Congress,  44,  269 
Conventions,  305,  306,  307 
Convictions,  426 
Cooking,  527,  528 
Cooper,  Benjamin  B.,  451 
Cooper  lands,  451 
Copper,  28 
Cornplanter,  560-565 
Counties,   48,    185,    186,    191,   192,  332, 

333 

County  rates,  207  ;  seat,  58 
County  seat  fight,  649-659 
Courts,  364,  365,  553 
Court-houses,  473,  513,  530 
Coxson  John  K.,  28 
Crawford  Weekly  Messenger,  342 
Cumberland  church,  244 


Delaware  Indians,  16,  iS,  21-23,  27>  3°j 
3J>  7i,  72,  74,  79>  I29»  13°,  '83,  229, 
231,  233,  335,  511 

Dental  College,  554 

Deputy  surveyors,  51,  53,  54,  57-59,  82-84 

Dinwiddie,  Governor,  115 

Dissection,  604,  606 

Distillery,  121,  423,  523 

District  lines,  79-88 

Dixon, John, 616 

Doctor,  description  of,  393 

Drainage,  188 

Dress,  153,  154 

Drink,  160 

Eagles,  golden,  103 

Early,  Dr.  C.  R.,  635 

Earthquake,  422 

Eclipse  of  the  sun,  422 

Education,  acts,  201-204 ;    law  of   1809, 

203 ;  general  system  of,  207  ;  committee 

on,  209,  210;  of  women,  548 
Ejectment,  157 
Eldred  township,  470 
Elections,  210,  211,  304,  305,  422,  428, 

433.  434,  454,  456,  461,  469,  481,  486, 

488,  489,  492,  493,  497,  498,  505,  538, 

539,  54° 

Electors,  211,  212,  433 
Elk,  county  of,  454 
Ellicott,  Andrew,  127,  138 
Ellicott,  Joseph,  127 
England,  common  law  of,  172,  173 
Erie  Conference,  253,  254 
Erie  triangle,  purchase  of,  57 
Ettwein,  Rev.  John,  41,  234,  237 
Express  business,  228 

Factory,    woollen,   491;    furniture,    501; 

harness,  501 
Fair-Play  Men,  49 
Farming  implements,  152,  157 
Fawns,  capture  of,  96 
Female  workers,  548 
Fence  law,  151 ;  viewers,  489 
Fenton,  Colonel  James,  172 
Fetterman,  N.  B.,  209 
Fields,  Rev.  Mr.,  237 
Findlay,  James,  212 
Fines  for  misdemeanors,  425-427 
Fireplace  in  1840,  527 


664 


INDEX. 


First  steamer,  269 

Fish,  kinds  of,  158 

Five  Nations,  27,  28,  78 

Fleming,  John,  143 

Flint,  uses  of,  26 

Floods,  134 

Flour,  28  ;  mill,  500 

Fogle,  Mother,  256 

Forbes,  General  John,  338 

Forbes  road,  338  ;  trail,  137 

Forest- trees,  190 

Fort  Bedford,  39  ;  Duquesne,  30,  35,  335  ; 

Franklin,  560;  Granville,  184;  Harmar, 

560;  Le  Bceuf,  58,  59;  Ligonier,  36, 39 ; 

Mclntosh,  46,  57,  60,  70,  71,  75,  79,  80 ; 

Pitt,  57,  58,  137,  138,335;  Potter,  118; 

Stanwix,  42,  44,  45,  46,  48,  60,  6l,  70, 

7i,  72,  73.  74,  76,  79,  56°5  Venango, 

32,  183,  230 

Forts,  magazines,  and  dock-yards,  59 
Foundry,  pioneer,  501 
Fourth  of  July,  162,  321,  417,  543,632-635 
Fox,  George,  143 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  52;  house,  320,  321 
French  and  Indian  war,  30 
French  Creek,  59 
Friedenschnetten,  mission    settlement   at, 

233 

Friedenstadt,  mission  established  at,  234 
Frolic,  kicking,  442 
Fruits,  159 

Fulton  steamboat,  228 
Furs,  price  of,  99 

Gaskill,  Charles  C.,  87,  88,  123 
Gaskill  township,  488 
Game,  122 
Gazette,  The,  409 
Geiger,  Lieutenant,  39 
General  Assembly,  report  of,  45 
Geological  structure,  190,  191 
Germans,  importation  of,  289,  291,  294 
German    Redemptioners,   291,    294,    295, 

296;  settlement,  454 
Gigging,  158 

Gillis,  Hon.  James  L.,  447,  526,  627 
Girard  College,  209 
Gist,  Christopher,  334 
Government,  Proprietary,  So 
Graham,  M.  Elijah,  84,  169 
Grampian  Hills,  440 


Grand  jurors,  366 

Graveyards,  85,  122,  238,  241,  424,  425, 

469,  489,  492,  502 
Grist-mill,  429,  433," 447,  467,  469,  491, 

492,  501,  566,  571,  622 

Habits  of  game,  589-591 

Hail-storm,  422 

Hall,  Thomas,  531 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  296 

Harmer,  Colonel,  57 

Harris  Ferry,  40 

Harvest-time,  152 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  268 

Haying,  153 

Heath,  Judge,  208,  531 

Heck,  Barbara,  252 

Heckewelder,  Rev.  John,  40,  232 

Henderson,  Judge,  526 

Highways,  371,  383;  supervisor  of,  202 

Hoffman,  Dr.  Fred.,  168 

Holland  Land  Company,  86,  87,  168,  567 

Hollow-eve,  545 

Honey,  securing  of,  1 14 

Horse-racing,  454,  458 

Hotels,  433,  514,  532 

Houses,  early,  558,  559 

Hunters,  430,   453,  466,   472,  475,  491, 

513,  576,  585,  586,  588,  589,  625,  626 
Hunting,  still-,  98 
Hurly-burly,  164 
Hutchinson,  Joseph,  120,  121,  151,  423 

Incidents,  interesting,  227-229 

Independent  Greens,  542 

IndLn,  rulers  of  tribes,  12,  13;  heirship, 
13;  religion,  family  relations,  14;  fu- 
neral customs,  15,  16 ;  bark-peeling, 
16;  hut-building,  16,  17;  marriage,  18; 
travelling,  18,  19;  amusements,  19; 
war-dance,  19,  20;  medical  customs, 
20,  21;  wars,  weapons,  21-24,  335  > 
declaration  of  war,  22,  23 ;  canoe,  run- 
ners, antiquities,  25 ;  household  and 
war  implements,  24-26;  intemperance, 
27,  29,  30;  trails,  28,  115,  116,  182, 
183;  council,  30;  corn,  32;  captives, 
35,  116,  122,  184;  relics,  32,  538;  con- 
ference, 45 ;  deed  of  lands,  46,  68 ; 
claims,  48;  treaties,  29,  60-78,  79; 
price  for  land,  80 


665 


INDEX. 


Indiana  American,  410 

InJiana  Free  Press,  457 

Indians,  families  of  Iroquois,  12-32;  last 
ramble  among,  26;  Virginia,  26 

Ingersoll,  General,  56 

Institution  for  insane,  269 

Irish  settlement,  247,  248 

Iron  Bar  Ripple,  182 

Iron  ore,  1 80,  492 ;  furnace,  181  ;  ship- 
ping, 181,  182 

Iroquois  Indians,  12-32 

Irvine,  General  William,  59,  60,  127,  138 

Jack,  Judge  William,  523 

Jefferson  Blue?, 416, 417,419,420;  church, 
247 

Jefferson  County,  371,  372,  375-38o5 
Graphic,  topography,  121 ;  rattlesnake, 
167  ;  area,  name,  185  ;  map,  186  ;  geog- 
raphy, 187;  jails,  198,  239,  513,  531; 
year  of  1816,  flood,  227;  officials,  302; 
description  of,  311,  312;  statistical  table, 
312;  taxable  inhabitants,  315;  land, 
322;  townships  of,  381-383;  highways 

of,  383-391 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  57,  152,  296 
Jeffersonian,  The,  321,  409 
Jenks,  Dr.  John  W.,  391 
Jenks,  Judge  W.  P.,  391 
Jenks  township,  471 
Jews,  slavery  among  the,  267 
Johnson,  Francis,  43 
Jones,  John,  569 
Juniata  iron,  181 
Jurors,  grand,  366 
Justice  of  the  peace,  202,  307,  308,  425, 

452 
Justice,  seat  of,  193,  377 

Keystone  State,  122 
Knapp,  Moses,  566 
Knox,  John,  199 
Kyler,  Jesse,  635 

Land,  fraudulent  sale  of,  40;  purchase, 
42  ;  grants  to  associations,  51 ;  laws,  55  ; 
office  established,  80 ;  holders,  81 ;  ele- 
vation of,  188;  deed,  195;  owners,  541 

Lawanakanuck  mission,  233 

Law  of  1834,  212,  219;  of  1806,  90;  of 
1809,  203;  of  1705,  588 

Lawrence,  Joseph,  214 


Laws,  pioneer,  371 ;  pamphlet,  315 
Lawyers,  366,  369,  370,  624 
Legal  rights  of  married  women,  172,  547 
Le  Roy,  Marie,  and   Barbara   Leininger, 

32-40 

Letter  postage,  478 
Letters,  43,  81-84,  13&, 139,  144, 146,  170, 

171,  279,  544,  594 
Life,  description  of,  119,  120,   485,  528, 

529,  553 

Light,  artificial,  157,  480,  503 
Lincoln  story,  a,  594 
Linen,  making  of,  154 
Liquor  introduced,  29 
Local  history,  593 
Log  church,  old,  239,  241 
Logging,  150 
Long,  Bill,  576-584 

Lottery  warrants,  81,  85;  land-office,  50 
Lumber,  459,  468 
Lumbering,  532,  533 
Luther,  Martin,  199 
Lutheran  Church,  265 

Maclay,  William,  43 

Magna  Charta,  269 

Mail  route,  341,  343,  345,  447;  coach,  339 

Mails,  503,  544;  robbery  of,  345 

Manufactures,  541 

Map,  8e,  i86^3  £> 

Maple-sugar  industry,  178-180  ;  camp,  178 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  56,  86 

Marshall,  Joseph,  130 

Maryland,  Bank  of,  297 

Mason  and  Dixon  line,  430 

Mass-meeting,  597 

Matches,  making  of,  228 

McCalmont,  Judge,  545 

McClelland,  Major  William,  169 

McGarraugh,  Rev.  Robert,  258 

McKean,  Governor  Thomas,  144,  146,  192 

McKnight,  Alexander,  313,  500 

McKnight,  W.  J.,  645 

Mead,  David,  116 

Meade's  trail,  115,  116,  121,  137,424,  575 

Meats,  158 

Medical  society,  394 ;  college,  269 

Mercer,  Colonel,  39 

Methodism,  252 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  255 

Methodist  paper,  253 


666 


INDEX. 


Mifflin,  Thomas,  138 

Mile,  Lieutenant,  39 

Mile-stones,  359 

Military  officers,  417 ;  company,  434 

Militia,    137,   522;    company,   415,    487; 

drills,  416 

Mill  Creek,  120,  165,  239,  260 
Mills,  123,  228,  246,  424,  429,  433,  447, 

448,  449,  452,  455,  456,  459,  461,  467, 

469,  481,  487,  491,  492,  500,  501,  566, 

568,  570,  571,  631 
Ministers,  early,  239-256,  259-262,  265, 

266,  391,  392,  423,  474,  484,  524,  625 
Ministers'  salaries,  239,  256,  257 
Mint,  establishment  of,  296 
Missions  established,  40 
Mitchell,  Judge,  28 
Mitchell,  Thomas  Sharp,  431,  432 
Montour's  Island,  60 
Morgan,  William,  447 
Mormon  Church,  264 
Mormonism,  264 
Morris,  Robert,  80,  86,  296 
Morrow's  freight  line,  517,  519 
Mowers,  153 
Music  teachers,  538 

Napoleon,  172 

National  bank,  269 

Newbold,  Charles,  inventor  of  plough,  152 

Newlanders,  284 

New  Rehoboth  and  Licking  church,  243 

Newspapers,  407-409,  541 

Nicholson,  John,  80 

North  American  Land  Company,  55 

Northumberland  County  Lottery  Warrants, 

5* 
Noshaken,  legend  of,  31 

Occupations  of  the  people,  154 

Ocean  voyage,  479 

Olean  road,  384 

Overseers  of  the  poor,  201,  202 

Pamphlet  laws,  315 

Paradise  township,  493 

Patton,  Colonel  John,  180 

Peale,  Charles  W.,  554 

Penn,  William,  29,  Si,  185,  617;  treaty 

with  Indians,  government  land  granted, 

78 


Penn's  arrival  in  1682,  27 

Penn's  Valley,  i\S 

Pennsylvania,  78,  268-270;  population, 
330,  331,  479;  common  school  law, 
200;  mint,  269;  canal,  322 

Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Railroad,  207,  322 

Pennsylvania  Population  Company,  55, 
56;  trustees  for,  56 

Perry  church,  243 

Perry,  Commodore,  430 

Perry  township,  430 

Philadelphia  and  Columbia  Railroad,  326 

Philadelphia  Gazette,  345 

Philadelphia  mint,  297 

Phillips,  James,  143 

Physicians,  446,  487,  525,  637,  638 

Pigeon-roosts,  108,  662 

Pine  Creek  township,  421 

Pioneer,  surveys  and  surveyors,  78-88 ; 
animals,  88-100;  hunters,  89-94,  96, 
100;  trapping,  93;  settlement,  Il6; 
settlers,  120,  121,  423;  explorers,  cabin 
and  mill,  120 ;  tailors,  153 ;  wagons,  153, 
531  ;  homes  and  mode  of  life,  154-163  ; 
days,  160;  tools,  169;  songs,  174,  176; 
singing  masters,  175;  transportation, 
181;  court-house,  197;  academy,  198, 
507 ;  licenses,  222,  223 ;  constables, 
223 ;  telegram,  gas,  steam-vessels,  strike, 
228 ;  thanksgiving  days,  229 ;  mission- 
ary work,  229-237  ;  churches,  237-266; 
circuit  riders,  253,  254,  256;  temper- 
ance society,  253  ;  meetings,  257-259  ; 
train,  269;  mill,  288;  money,  296; 
banks,  298  ;  appeals,  310;  county  bridge, 
328,  329;  counties,  332,  333;  trading 
house,  334;  coach,  338,  339;  taverns, 
362,  434,  456,  474,  502,  571;  courts, 
364,  365  ;  bar,  364  ;  lawyers,  366 ;  ses- 
sion, 366;  highways,  371;  physicians, 
391-395;  society,  394,  395;  townships, 
396;  newspaper,  407-409,  412;  print- 
ing-office, 410;  militia  regiment,  414- 
416;  military  volunteer  company,  416, 
434 ;  musters,  416  ;  marriage,  423 ;  hotel, 
433  ;  tanneries,  448,  449,  502;  railroad, 
452;  coal  trade,  462;  flat-boats,  463- 
465;  training-day,  479;  census,  493; 
fire-engine,  501 ;  court,  662 

Pioneers,  names  of,  9;  first  white,  32; 
ancestry  of,  187 


667 


INDEX. 


Pisgah  church,  239,  241,  242 

Pittsburg,  335,  630;  Conference,  253;  coal 

trade,  462 

Political  meeting,  659 
Politics  of  the  county,  525 
Poll-evil,  536 

Population,  184,  185,  206,  330,  331 
Port  Barnett,  32,  117,  120,  122,  133,  146, 

181,  237,428 
Porter  township,  486 
Post,  Rev.  C.  Frederick,  36,  229-231 
Post  road,  345  ;  office,  340-346,  474,  647, 

648;  route,  439,  440,  468,  647 
Postage,  342,  345,  544  ;  stamps,  346 
Post's  journal,  230,  231 
Potter,  Fort,  118 
Presbyterian  Church,  237 
Presbytery,  238,  241,  246 
Presque    Isle,    57,     58,    126,    137,     138, 

139 

Priest,  pioneer,  263 
Primogeniture,  269 
Printing-office,  510 
Public  buildings,  377 
Puma,  description  of,  90 
Punxsutawney,  440;  church,  245,  261 
Puritans,  199 
Purvis,  Robert,  275 

Rabbits,  526 

Rafting  season,  134 

Raftmen,  134-136 

Railroad  collision,  314;  pioneer  train,  269 ; 

history,  661,  662 
Railroads,  478 
Rattlesnakes,  165,  166,  169 
Red   Bank,  27,  129,  132,  181,  182,  189, 

383 

Registry  office,  288 
Reptiles  and  snakes,  165 
Republican  party,  269;  celebration,  316- 

319;  organization,  619-621 
Reservations,  57 

Revolutionary  war,  expenses  of,  541 
Rewards,  278,  315,  539,  574 
Richland  church,  243 
Ridgway,   453;  township,   444;   mission, 

256;  early  history,  621 
Ridgway,  Jacob,  444 
Rittenhouse,  David,  297 
Rivers  and  creeks,  129-137 


I  Road,  137-149,  425,  429,  446,  449,  575; 
expenses,  129;  appropriation,  139;  di- 
rection, 144,  145 ;  review,  146,  147 ; 
tax,  360,  363,  374,378;  obstruction,  364 
Roads,  116,  379;  opening  of,  124-129; 
improvement  of,  148;  petitions  for,  347, 
348 ;  roads  and  county  bridges,  348-357, 

384-391 

Rockland  church,  243 
Rodgers,  Major  William,  182 
Roth,  John,  234,  237 

Salaries  of  teachers,  209,  216,  218,  220, 

228,  530 

Salem,  Peter,  269 
Salt  territory,  487 
Sand  spring,  32 
Saturday,  observance  of,  195 
Saw-mills,  123,  428,  429,  433,  448,  452, 

453.  455.  456.  459.  461,  469,  481,  487, 

491,  500,  501,  566,  568,  570,  622 
Schooling,  price  of,  208,  209 
School-masters,  121,  208,  209,  216,  452, 

474,  482,  491,  506,  507,  519,  549,  551, 
552,  616,  617,  623,  624,  640,  641 
Schools,  121,  208,  209,  216-222,  425,  428, 

433.  452.  459.  471,  483,  501.  5°5.  549, 
616,617;  Sunday,  242,  252,483,624; 
manual  training,  210 

School  system,  199;  law,  200,  212;  tax, 
202,  207,  221 ;  fund,  200,  207,  210,  214, 
221,  552;  discipline,  204,  550;  meet- 
ing, 204 ;  trustees,  204,  380 ;  text-books, 
205,  208,  216,218,  549,  552;  organizers, 
208,  209,  216,  219,  452;  directors,  21 1, 
212,  216,  219,  507,  508,  538;  age,  213; 
inspectors,  213,  214,  219;  attendance, 
216;  convention,  220;  superintendents, 

471,  483 

Scotch-Irish,  299,  300 

Scott,  Samuel,  120,  423 

Screw  factory,  182 

Session,  pioneer,  366 

Settlements,  173 

Settler,  pioneer  colored,  272 

Settlers,  early,  85,  115-124,  334,  362,  424, 
425,  428,  430,  431,  433,  434,  435,  437, 
444,  446,  447,  448,  452,  455,  460,  467, 
469-471,  474,  481,  486,  487,  488,  490- 

492,  500,  536,  537,  626 
Sheriff,  2IO,  211 


668 


INDEX. 


Shingle-weavers,  541 
Shipper),  Judge,  29,  429 
Shoemakers,  153 
Shooting-stars,  32 

Shulze,  Governor  John  A.,  134,  551 
Silver,  28 

Six  Nations,  12.  27,  29,  30,  42,  44,  46,  57, 
60,  63,  66,  68,  69,  72-74,  79,  116,  234, 

563,  565 

Slavery,   266-268,  480,  537;   act  for  the 

gradual  abolition  of,  270 
Slave  traffic  and  trade,  276 
Slaves,  268,  275.  282,  283,  294 
Smith,  Captain  John,  26 
Smith,  Joseph,  264 
Smith,  Senator,  209 
Snow  Shoe,  182 
Snow  storm,  636 

Snyder,  Governor  Simon,  149,  204,  466 
Snyder  township,  465 
Soldiers  of  1812,  169-172 
South  Side  pioneers,  438 
Spelling-bee,  508 
Spinning,  160 
Stage  coach,   338,    361;    line,   515,   516, 

627-630 

St.  Clair,  General,  57 
St.  John's  Church,  265 
Star-Spangled  Banner,  269 
State  roads,  137-149,  384-391 
Steamboat,  567 
Stevens,  Thaddeus,  209,  213 
Stores,  495 

Sugar,  146  ;  making,  572 
Sunday-schools,  242,  252,  483 
Surveys  and  surveyors,  51,  53,  54,  57-59, 

82-84,  140 
Susquehanna    and    Waterford   Turnpike, 

181,384,515 
Swiss  settlers,  291 

Tailors,  153 

Tanneries,  448,  495>  502 

Taverns,  362,  434,  456,  474,  502,  571 

Tax,  207,  562 

Taxables,  177,   178,   396-406,   422,  430, 

434,  444,  454,  466,  490,  658 
Teachers,  salaries  of,  209,  216,  218,  220, 

228,  550;  institute,  614-619,  641-643 
Telegram,  pioneer,  228 
Temperance  society,  253,  325,  485 


Text-books,  205,  208,  216,  218,  549,  552, 

617 

Thanksgiving  days,  229 
Timber,  128,  132, 150,  429,  492  ;  raft,  429, 

627 

Tiiles  and  surveys,  78-88 
Tobacco,  146 

,  Toby's  Creek,  133,  136,  449 
Toll-gate,  359 
Toll-gatherers,  360 

:  Tolls,  360 

Town  lots,  58;  surveys,  58,  59 
Townships,  215,  396—402,  404,  405,  406, 

444,  465,  493,  495,  630,  646 
Trading  house,  334 
Trails,  28,  115,  n 6,  182,  183 
Training-day,  479 
Trapping,  93 
Travis,  William,  130 
Treaties,  29,  60-78,  79,  335,  560 
Trees,  164,  165 

Tschechsehequanink  mission,  234 
Turkey,  wild,  159 
Turnpike  companies,  387-389 
Turnpikes,  138,  358-360,  363,  372,  374 

Underground  railroad,  273,  281,  284)  531 
United  Presbyterian  Church,  245 
United  States,  fir»t  coinage  of,  297 

Volunteer  Rifle  Association,  416 

Wagons,  153,  531 

War,  cost  of,  172 

Warsaw  township,  490 

Washington,  George,   57,  115,    169,  296, 

335.  336,  480 
Washington  township,  474 
Water  routes,  326;  works,  546 
Wayne's  treaty,  560 
Weddings,  161,  162 
Weiser,  Captain,  39 
Weiser,  Conrad,  44 
Weiser,  Samuel,  44 
Wesley,  John,  252 

Westmoreland  County,  officials  of,  302-304 
Wheat,  price  of,  146,  151 
White,  Jacob  C,  275 
White,  Rev.  William,  232 
Wild  pigeon,  662 
Wilkins,  General,  139 


669 


INDEX. 


Wilson,  George,  127 

Windmills,  153 

Wolf,  Governor   George,   131,    200,  205, 

212,  378,  551 
Wolf-pen,  93 
Women  lawyers,  548 
Wood,   Jethro,   improvement    in    plough, 

152 
Wood,  Major  James,  172 


Wright,  William,  274 
Wyalusing,  40,  233,  234 

Yeates,  Judge,  86 
Young,  Brigham,  264 
Young  township,  434 

Zeisberger,  Rev.  David,  40,  232 
Zion  Church,  262 


THE    END. 


670 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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